ASUM (Associated Students of the University of Missouri) was founded in 1975 by the University of Missouri-Columbia Missouri Student Association. MSA felt that students needed a specific legislative arm and requested that a fee be administered to support the program which came to be known as ASUM. ASUM has now functioned for 30 years.
In a national survey conducted in 2004 (Building the Student Voice, Student Empowerment Training Project, March 2004), forty-one state student associations in thirty-four states were identified. ASUM, when compared to similar student associations across the country:
ASUM´s mission is to advocate and lobby for student interests while educating students on the importance of involvement in government. ASUM lobbies of behalf of UM student interests and provides meaningful student leadership and hands-on learning experiences in the area of policy development, higher education concerns and processes, and day to day operations of state and federal government.
Missouri Representative Sam Page (and ASUM alumnus) says of ASUM, "ASUM introduced me to the legislative process. I quickly learned that state government makes decisions that have a direct impact on the University; I learned how to influence those decisions."