Campus Engagement

How Political Scientists Engage on Campus

Group of casual groupmates discussing their thoughts about working over home task for next lesson

In these blog posts and articles, featured on PoliticalScienceNow.com, the Journal of Political Science Education, and PS: Political Science & Politics, political science faculty and students discuss their experiences and suggested strategies for encouraging civic engagement on campus. Links to new posts will be added as they are published.

Best Practices in Encouraging Student Voting and Civic Engagement

"Best Practices in Encouraging Student Registration, Voting, and Democratic Engagement"	Jennifer J. Hora (Valparaiso University) and Kylie Schreiber Wolf (Indiana University - Purdue University Indianapolis)
#BITETHEBALLOT: Boosting Political Efficacy in Youth by Demystifying Registration & Voting	Jill Laufer (San Francisco State University)
"Campus Activism's Role in Increasing Voter Turnout in Mississippi"	Emily Allegrezza (Mississippi State University)
"Civics in the Lion's Den: How the University of Arkansas- Fort Smith Promotes Civic Engagement on Campus"	Williams Yamkam (University of Arkansas)
"Democracy's Best Defense: Inoculation, Digital Literacy, and Vote Planning?"	Benn Marine (University of Southern Maine)
"Engaging Students on National Voter Registration Day at Mississippi State University"	Thessalia Merivaki (Mississippi State University)
"Engaging Student Voters in Pennslyvania"	Sarah Niebler (Dickinson College)
"How Non-Partisan Student Groups at the University of Michigan are Promoting Voter Registration and Turnout in the Primaries"	Logan Woods (University of Michigan)
"How to Construct a Campus Civic Action Plan: Learning from the University of Illinois at Chicago"	Dick Simpson (University of Illinois at Chicago)
"Ideas to Promote Student Voting: The Big Ten Voting Challenge"	Edie N. Goldenberg (The University of Michigan)
"Nudging Students to Register, Vote, and Engage in Politics"	Lori Kumler (University of Mount Union)
"Registration, Education, and Mobilization: Galvanizing the Oklahoma Student Vote in 2020"	Natalie Bayer and Destinee Noel Dickson (The University of Oklahoma)
"A Roadmap for Engaging College Students in Our Nation's Elections"	Rachael Houston (University of Minnesota, Twin Cities)
"Vote Oswego: Developing and Assessing the Campaign-as-Course Model"	Allison D. Rank (SUNY Oswego)
Equal Votes, Better Participation? Exploring how the National Popular Vote Compact Could Affect Voter Turnout in Presidential Elections	Alice Malmberg (University of California, Santa Cruz)
"Mobilizing Students through Faculty Engagement: Join the Faculty Network for Student Voting Rights"	Sabrina Medler (The Faculty Network for Student Voting Rights)
"How Colleges Can Help Overcome the National Poll Worker Shortage"	Andrew J. Seligsohn and Emily Bottie (Campus Compact)
"Inclusive and Representative Government Could Be the Key to Unlocking the Youth Vote"	Jared McDonald (TomKat Center)
"Students Learn, Students Vote, Democracy Wins: Resources and Tools for the Classroom"	Clarissa Unger (Students Learn Students Vote Coalition)
"Leaning into Education and Politics: Preparing All Students for the 2020 Elections and Beyond"	Abe Goldberg (James Madison University)
"Breaking Barriers and Empowering Students: One School's Multi-Pronged Approach"	Emily Sydnor (Southwestern University)
Now Trending: The Changing Face of Civic Engagement on College Campuses	Olusoji Akomolafe (Norfolk State University)

Best Practices in Getting Students to the Polls

"Rutgers University Gets Out the Vote: Going Big in the Big Ten and and Beyond"	Elizabeth C. Matto (Rutgers University)
"Preparing Your Students to be ALL IN for the 2020 Election"	Stephanie King (ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge)
"Protecting the Student Vote: How One University is Scaling Up Their Efforts to Meet the National Need"	Elizabeth C. Matto (Rutgers University)
"Institutionalization: Making the Right to Vote Accessible for All Students"	Steven Adelson (Stony Brook University)

Candidates

Caucuses and Primaries

U.S. Census

Electoral Politics and Civic Engagement

Campus Plans, Models, and Resources

Resources for Campus Engagement

Civic Engagement Models & Campaign Action Plans

Resources for Campus Engagement

2018 NSLVE National Data	Institute for Democracy & Higher Education
A Crucible Moment: College Learning & Democracy’s Future	Association of American Colleges & Universities, 2012
Coalitions 101: Students, College Administrators, Faculty and Election Officials Working Together to Overcome Barriers to Student Voting	Campus Vote Project
Democracy Counts 2018: Increased Student and Institutional Engagement	Institute for Democracy & Higher Education
Democracy's Future: Proposals to Expand Access to Registration and Voting for a New Generation	Campus Vote Project
Democratic Engagement Action Plan Rubric	Students Learn Students Vote
Engage 2020	Wesleyan University
Election Imperatives: Ten Recommendations to Increase College Voting and Improve Political Learning and Engagement in Democracy	Institute for Democracy & Higher Education
Empowering Communities at the Ballot Box: How to Increase Voter Participation	Online MSW Programs
How to Vote: 7 Simple Steps for Ballot Beginners	Student Training & Education in Public Service
Institutionalizing Voter Engagement: A Guide to Developing and Adopting Handbook Language	Campus Vote Project
National Resource Consortium on Full Student Voter Participation, Insights from January - June 2019
Power Civics Toolkit	The Citizens Campaign
Strengthening American Democracy: A Guide for Developing an Action Plan to Increase Civic Learning, Political Engagement, and Voter Participation Among College Students	Students Learn Students Vote
How to Vote: An Online Guide for Students and Other Election Newcomers	STEPS (Student Training & Education in Public Service)
Voting Resource Center	FindLaw
Civil Right to Vote	LawInfo
Civic Responsibility Guide: Resources to Promote Civic Engagement	Concord Law School

Civic Engagement Models & Campaign Action Plans

The Association of Big Ten Students' "Big Ten Voting Challenge"

Bethune-Cookman University

Bowdoin College

College of the Canyons

Drexel University

Duke University

Indiana University Bloomington

Maryland Institute College of Art

Mercer University

Northhampton Community College

Northwestern University's "NUVotes" program

Southern Utah University

State University of New York (SUNY)

SUNY Geneseo

Syracuse University, Maxwell Program in Citizenship & Civic Engagement, Syracuse University

University of Illinois at Chicago

University of San Diego

University of Texas, Austin

Winthrop University

Civic Engagement Groups

The below groups are also working to increase student registration, voting, and civic engagement in the lead up to the 2020 election and beyond. Each provides a wealth of additional resources from which political science faculty can draw from to use in and outside of the classroom.

Additional Teaching Resources

In recognition of the COVID-19 pandemic that has changed the ways students and faculty can civically engage, APSA has compiled a list of resources and responses from different civic engagement groups that may be helpful for faculty.

Absentee Ballots and COVID-19 (Nonprofit Vote)
COVID-19 Student Voting Initiative (Campus Election Engagement Project)
COVID-19: Local-Global Learning and Civic Resources (Campus Compact)
COVID-19: Resources for Individuals and Governments (National Civic League)
Elections and COVID-19 (Andrew Goodman Foundation)
#HigherEd Civic Engagement Resource Collection for Online Learning (Campus Election Engagement Project)
Novel Coronavirus and COVID-19 Campus Democratic Engagement Resources (All-In Campus Democracy Challenge)
Remote Learning Toolkit (iCivics)
State Election Resources (Democracy Works)
Young Invincibles’ Letter on Phase Four COVID-19 Stimulus Policy Recommendations (Young Invincibles)

"Racial Liberalism: Connecting Protest and Electoral Politics Today"	Sanford F. Schram (City University of New York) and Richard Fording (University of Alabama)