NASPA – Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education and Fair Election Center’s Campus Vote Project have granted the ‘Voter Friendly Campus’ designation to 235 colleges and universities across 37 states and the District of Columbia. The program requires college and university campuses to engage their campus communities and promote voter registration and voting as part of their institutional mission. The goal of the Voter Friendly Campus designation program is to bolster efforts that help students overcome barriers to participating in the political process and develop a culture of democratic engagement on campus.
The institutions designated Voter Friendly Campuses represent a wide range of two-year, four-year, public, private, rural, and urban campuses. Notably, the list of designated institutions includes many Minority Serving Institutions and Historically Black Colleges and Universities. The program is ultimately serving over 3.5 million students.
Despite the enormous hurdles caused by a global pandemic, campus representatives participated in trainings to develop, implement and report results for engagement programs that encouraged their students to register and vote. Campus administrators, faculty, and students rose to the challenge of a drastically changed engagement landscape with remote and hybrid learning environments and rapidly changing election laws, to quickly adapt efforts to support their students through a very confusing election cycle.
Ultimately campuses were evaluated on their ability to complete a three-step process. These included writing a campus plan about how they would engage student voters in 2020, facilitating voter education and engagement efforts on their campus, and writing a final analysis on their efforts. The designation is valid through December 2022.
“This year brought incredible challenges to the many professionals on campuses who are dedicated to encouraging and increasing student civic engagement,” said NASPA President Kevin Kruger. “We are thrilled that in spite of these challenges, a record number of campuses are being honored this year with the Voter Friendly Campus designation. The completion of the Voter Friendly Campus designation process speaks to the unwavering commitment of campus administrators who ensure students are educated about, have access to, and ultimately are empowered to have their voices heard in the democratic process.”
Motivating students to register and vote establishes civic habits that last well beyond the collegiate experience. Incorporating democratic engagement into campus life creates structure and stability for students as they explore what their political beliefs are, and how they would like to engage in the democratic process. According to the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement 52 percent-55 percent of voting-eligible young people, ages 18-29, cast a ballot in the 2020 presidential election. Student-specific voter turnout data will be available later this year via the National Study of Learning, Voting, and Engagement produced by the Institute for Democracy and Higher Education. Campuses that participated in Voter Friendly Campus, and similar engagement programs are undoubtedly a large factor in such historic turnout in the face of unprecedented challenges.
“We saw the highest turnout ever for an election in this country in 2020, in spite of unprecedented obstacles from the global pandemic, a mix of remote and hybrid learning across campuses, along with the most election law changes across the country in a six month period in my lifetime, all at a time of extreme political polarization and social unrest,” said Campus Vote Project National Director Mike Burns. “Through the Voter Friendly Campus program we know that hundreds of colleges and universities were crucial in making sure that millions of student voters had the nonpartisan information and support they need to navigate these changes and successfully have their voices heard up and down the ballot.”
The following colleges and universities earned the Voter Friendly Campus designation for 2021-2022:
The University of Alabama in Huntsville
Arkansas Tech University
Arizona State University
Mesa Community College
South Mountain Community College
California College of the Arts
Chapman University
College of the Canyons
Los Angeles Pierce College
Mount Saint Mary’s University LA
University of San Francisco
Whittier College
Arapahoe Community College
Auraria – Tri Institution
George Washington University
Barry University
Edward Waters College
Florida Atlantic University
Florida Gulf Coast University
Florida International University
Florida State University
Miami Dade College
New College of Florida
Rollins College
Sante Fe College
Seminole State College of Florida
Stetson University
University of Central Florida
University of Miami
University of South Florida
Agnes Scott College
Clark Atlanta University
Dalton State College
Emory University
Fort Valley State University
Georgia State University
Kennesaw State University
West Georgia
Iowa State University
DePaul University
Eastern Illinois University
Illinois State University
McKendree University
Northwestern University
University of Illinois at Chicago
University of Illinois at Springfield
Indiana University – Bloomington
Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis
Independence Community College
Wichita State University
Bellarmine University
Centre College
Boston College
Boston University
Lasell University
Middlesex Community College
Northeastern University
University of Massachusetts – Lowell
Frederick Community College
Frostburg State University
Johns Hopkins University
Maryland Institute College of Art
Morgan State University
Towson University
University of Baltimore
University of Maryland – Baltimore County
University of Maryland – Eastern Shore
Wor-Wic Community College
Bates College
The University of Maine
Central Michigan University
Delta College
Grand Valley State University
Henry Ford College
Lake Michigan College
Lansing Community College
Macomb Community College
Michigan State University
Mid Michigan College
Northern Michigan University
Oakland University
Saginaw Valley State University
University of Michigan – Dearborn
University of Michigan- Ann Arbor
Washtenaw Community College
Wayne State University
Central Lakes College
Gustavus Adolphus College
Hennepin Technical College
Winona State University
Missouri Western State University
University of Missouri – St. Louis
Washington University in St. Louis
Webster University
Saint Louis University
Mississippi State University
Northeast Mississippi Community College
University of Mississippi Main Campus
Duke University
Durham Technical Community College
East Carolina University
Elon University
North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University
North Carolina Central University
Queens University of Charlotte
University of North Carolina Asheville
University of North Carolina Charlotte
University of North Carolina Greensboro
University of North Carolina Pembroke
Wake Forest University
Warren Wilson College
Western Carolina University
North Dakota State College of Science
Middlesex County College
Montclair State University
Ramapo College of New Jersey
Rowan University
San Juan College
Truckee Meadows Community College
University of Nevada, Las Vegas
University of Nevada, Reno
Alfred State College
Alfred University
Cornell University
Rochester Institute of Technology
Russell Sage College
Siena College
Stony Brook University
SUNY Binghamton University
SUNY Buffalo State College
SUNY Cortland
SUNY Westchester Community College
Molloy College
Baldwin Wallace University
Bowling Green State University
Case Western Reserve University
Cleveland State University
Columbus State Community College
Cuyahoga Community College (Tri-C)
Mount St. Joseph University
Oberlin College
Ohio University
Otterbein University
Sinclair Community College
The Ohio State University
University of Cincinnati
University of Mount Union
Wright State University
University of Oklahoma
Pacific University
Allegheny College
Alvernia University
California University of Pennsylvania
Cedar Crest College
Chatham University
Clarion University
Community College of Allegheny County
Community College of Philadelphia
Drexel University
Duquesne University
La Salle University
Lincoln University
Montgomery County Community College
Neumann University
Northampton Community College
Shippensburg University
Susquehanna University
Swarthmore College
Temple University
University of Pennsylvania
University of Pittsburgh
West Chester University of Pennsylvania
Clemson University
University of South Carolina Columbia
University of South Carolina Upstate
Winthrop University
Belmont University
East Tennessee State University
Maryville College
Middle Tennessee State University
Tusculum University
Pellissippi State Community College
Baylor University
Lone Star College – Montgomery
Prairie View A&M University
Southwestern University
Tarleton State University
Tarrant County College – Connect Campus
Tarrant County College – Northwest Campus
Tarrant County College. – Northeast Campus
Tarrant County College – South Campus
Tarrant County College – Southeast Campus
Tarrant County College – Trinity River Campus
Texas A&M International University
Texas A&M University – Central Texas
Texas A&M University – Galveston
Texas A&M University – San Antonio
Texas Lutheran University
Texas State University
Texas Woman’s University
University of Houston – Clear Lake
University of North Texas
University of Texas Austin (Annette Strauss Institute for Civic Life)
University of Utah
Weber State University
College of William and Mary
George Mason University
James Madison University
Liberty University
Northern Virginia Community College
Old Dominion University
Piedmont Virginia Community College
Shenandoah University
University of Mary Washington
University of Virginia
Virginia Commonwealth University
Virginia Tech
Virginia Wesleyan University
Norfolk State University
University of Vermont
Washington State University
Whatcom Community College
Alverno College
Cardinal Stritch University
Carroll University
Carthage College
Marquette University
St. Norbert College
University of Wisconsin – La Crosse
University of Wisconsin – Madison
University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee (UWM)
University of Wisconsin-Superior
University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point
Marshall University
West Virginia University
