In January 2012, the U.S. Department of Education issued a “call to action” challenging colleges and universities to support academic programs and experiences designed to increase student civic learning and engagement in democracy. This year, with the presidential election looming in the near future once again, the importance of civic responsibility and democratic engagement is heightened.
Although many institutions already support civic learning experiences, there is little knowledge whether these experiences increase the skills and commitment students need to engage in democracy, politics, policy making, and social action. Voting is by no means the only indicator of civic engagement, but it is fundamental.
With a database of more than 800 participating colleges and universities and 7 million student records, the National Study of Learning, Voting, and Engagement (NSLVE) at Tufts University is the first and only objective national measure of college student voting and a significant research initiative on college student engagement in democracy. In partnership with the National Student Clearinghouse, the project matches student and voting records to provide a service to institutions interested in learning about their students’ voting habits and to also build a national database for research on college student political learning and engagement in democracy. Participating campuses receive customized reports based on shared information and the research provides a window into learning how campuses might create a robust environment that engages in politics and its local communities.
Ishara Casellas Conners, NSLVE; Scott Owczarek from the University of Wisconsin-Madison; and Douglas Shapiro, National Student Clearinghouse presented a session at AACRAO’s 102nd Annual Meeting to discuss the project, its latest research results, and how one campus is working to capitalize on this research to encourage more civic engagement.
Handouts are available here.
Interested institutions may opt in to the study by completing a short authorization form. The latest deadline for signing up is April 15, 2016.