Frostburg State University Receives Bronze Seal for Excellence in Student Voter Engagement

Dec 7, 2017 12:25 PM

Frostburg State University has received a bronze seal from the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge for achieving a student voting rate of 55.7 percent in the 2016 national election, an increase of 9.6 percentage points over 2012’s 46.1 percent. The Bronze Seal was awarded to colleges and universities that achieved a rate between 50 and 59 percent.

In 2016, 85.5 percent of FSU students were registered to vote, compared to 81.8 percent in 2012. Student participation in elections has increased in the past few years.

A recent report, “Democracy Counts: A Report on U.S. College and University Student Voting” from the National Study of Learning, Voting and Engagement, an initiative of Tufts University’s Institute for Democracy in Higher Education, shows that between the 2012 and the 2016 U.S. presidential elections, student voting went from 46.1 percent of eligible voters in 2012 to 55.7 percent in 2016.

“I am proud to honor Frostburg State University with an ALL IN Challenge Bronze seal in recognition of their dedication, hard work and achievement,” said Zaneeta E. Daver, director of the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge. “Frostburg State University is not only ensuring that a more representative population participates in our nation’s democracy, but is educating students to be civic-minded. They are an example to be emulated.”

The All IN Campus Democracy Challenge is a national awards program that encourages higher education institutions to help students form the habits of active and informed citizenship, and make democratic participation a core value on their campus. By joining the Challenge, campuses commit to convening a campus-wide committee that includes members from academic affairs, student affairs and the student body, as well as any other relevant stakeholders; developing and implementing an action plan to improve democratic engagement; participating in the National Study of Learning, Voting and Engagement (NSLVE) to measure student voting rates; and sharing their campus’ action plan and NSLVE results.

More than 300 campuses, enrolling more than 4 million students, have joined the Challenge since its launch in 2016.

For more information about civic engagement at FSU, contact Patrick O’Brien, director of Civic Engagement, at pobrien@frostburg.edu.