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National Study of Learning, Voting, and Engagement

FOUNDED 2012

About

NSLVE matches student enrollment data with the voter file to allow colleges to learn their campus voter registration and voter participation rates. With other 850 campuses now participating and enabling analysis of over 7.4 million student records, NSLVE researchers are conducting studies to determine what institutional characteristics and individual behaviors reinforce college student political learning.

Team: Adam Gismondi

Process

In 2011, FCL President and Principal Ian Simmons learned that national databases on voting records were now high quality enough to do new kinds of analyses in higher education. He began searching for an academic partner with the capacity and national stature to take on the work of creating a data service to match voter file records to enrollment records in the national student clearinghouse. The Tisch College of Civic Life at Tufts University had started to become the clear national leader on the issue of youth civic engagement stepped up to become the program partner in 2012. After a national search, Nancy Thomas was hired as the founding program director. Over the course of five years, the program has grown to significant scale with over 1/3 of eligible institutions now participating and is poised to reach financial sustainability through expanded development work and earned revenue streams. 

Institutional Partnerships

Institutional partnerships have included: