National Study of Learning, Voting, and Engagement

National Study of Learning, Voting, and Engagement. It is a signature research initiative of the Institute for Democracy & Higher Education (IDHE) at Tufts University. The study provides participating colleges and universities with tailored reports on their students' voter registration and voting rates, using de-identified administrative data. By benchmarking civic participation, it aims to help institutions strengthen their role in democratic engagement and fulfill their civic missions.

Overview

Launched in 2013, the study is housed within the Institute for Democracy & Higher Education at Tufts University, which is part of the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life. The project was developed under the leadership of director Nancy Thomas and involves collaboration with the Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE). Its primary objective is to examine the relationship between higher education and democratic participation, offering a diagnostic tool for institutions rather than a ranking. Participation has grown significantly, encompassing over 1,200 institutions across the United States, including community colleges, liberal arts colleges, and major research universities like the University of Michigan and the University of Texas at Austin.

Methodology

The methodology relies on a novel matching process between de-identified student records from participating campuses and nationwide voter files maintained by organizations like TargetSmart. Data points include enrollment fields, demographics, and academic majors, which are stripped of personally identifiable information before being matched to public voting records. This process allows for the analysis of voting patterns by variables such as age, field of study, and institutional type. The reports generated compare institutional voting rates to national averages, often benchmarked against studies from the United States Election Project, and track trends across election cycles including the 2016 United States presidential election and the 2020 United States presidential election.

Key Findings

Reports have consistently shown that student voting rates increased markedly between the 2014 United States elections and the 2018 United States elections, with significant surges in participation during presidential elections. Disparities in turnout are frequently noted by academic discipline, with students in fields like STEM and business often voting at lower rates than those in the social sciences or humanities. The data also reveals persistent gaps in participation among demographic groups, informing national discussions led by entities like the American Association of State Colleges and Universities and the Association of American Colleges and Universities. A notable finding was the high level of engagement from students at historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and women's colleges.

Impact and Reception

The study has significantly influenced campus practice and national policy discourse on civic learning. Its data is frequently cited in reports by Campus Compact and the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA). Many institutions, such as Rutgers University–New Brunswick and the University of California, Los Angeles, have used their reports to inform the work of campus democracy fellows and to develop action plans through initiatives like the All In Campus Democracy Challenge. The research has been presented at major conferences including those of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) and has informed grantmaking by foundations like the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Related Initiatives

The study operates alongside several complementary programs aimed at strengthening democratic engagement in higher education. These include the All In Campus Democracy Challenge, which provides a framework for campuses to develop and execute civic action plans, and the Voter Friendly Campus designation, a partnership with Campus Vote Project and NASPA. The IDHE also runs the Democracy Fellows program, which prepares graduate students for careers in the field. Research from the study often intersects with the work of the American Democracy Project and the Civic Learning and Democratic Engagement (CLDE) network.

Category:Tufts University Category:Civic engagement Category:Education research