Civic Learning on College Campuses

Higher education institutions have a responsibility to educate students for democracy and to facilitate electoral participation by providing opportunities for voter registration. Colleges and universities are also valuable political homes for millions of students where they learn about issues, take action with peers, and acquire the knowledge and skills necessary for lifelong civic participation.

To study and support civic learning and engagement efforts on college campuses, CIRCLE conducts the National Study of Learning, Voting and Engagement (NSLVE). This study of student political engagement in higher education institutions is also a service to over 1,000 U.S. colleges and universities that can use it to understand and improve their student voting rates. Educators, students, and community partners use NSLVE data to improve civic learning in and out of the classroom, to develop or enhance co-curricular programming, to benchmark student voter participation, to inform accreditation reports, and more.