Student representation has been conceptualised and studied in different ways and by different researchers for more than 10 years. However, there are too few meta-narrative reviews indicating the main developments that have taken place in student representative councils (SRCs). Against this background, this article offers a summary of the events and actions that affected student representatives at historically white universities (HWUs) from 2011 to 2022. The data underpinning this summary, which is presented as a meta-narrative review, derive from a search of the literature conceptualising and studying student representation experiences including electronic sources, journal articles and book chapters. Synthesis and analysis of the data revealed a number of themes, including experiences of diversity; experiences of disruption; the use of protests; and the development of policies promoting transformation at HWUs. The review concludes by highlighting the significance of understanding the experiences of student representatives through the pursuit of a scholarship of integration that identifies and consolidates the university governance efforts that have a major impact on the prospects of holistic student success.