Heartland recognized as Most Engaged Campus for student voting

Heartland Community College has been recognized by the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge (ALL IN) as a 2022 ALL IN Most Engaged Campus for College Student Voting. By making this list, Heartland is recognized amongst the top colleges and universities making intentional efforts to increase student voter participation. 

Heartland joins a group of 394 colleges and universities recognized by ALL IN for completing these four actions:

• Participate in the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge
• Shared 2020 NSLVE Reports with campus voting data with ALL IN
• Developed and submitted a 2022 democratic engagement action plan with ALL IN
• Have a current signatory to ALL IN’s Higher Education Presidents’ Commitment to Full Student Voter Participation 

All efforts are non-partisan and designed to help provide access and information to the student body. 

“By supporting student voter participation, we reinforce our commitment to service-learning and civic engagement,” said Sarah Diel-Hunt Heartland Vice President, Enrollment and Student Services. “As part of our mission to promote student success, it is vital to assist our students with the tools of civic and social responsibility that will help empower them and bring their informed voices to the community we serve.” 

Institute for Democracy and Higher Education’s (IDHE) National Study of Learning, Voting, and Engagement (NSLVE) is the nation’s largest study of college and university student voting. Institutions must opt-in to the study, and at this time, nearly 1,200 campuses of all types—community colleges, research universities, minority-serving and women’s colleges, state universities, and private institutions—participate. The dataset reflects all 50 states and the District of Columbia and includes 49 of the nation’s 50 flagship schools. IDHE uses de-identified student records to ensure student privacy. The 2020 dataset is robust with 8,880,700 voting-eligible students representing 1,051 colleges and universities. 

“College student voter turnout has increased since 2016, and this increase has been driven by students. The ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge is excited to expand our ALL IN Student Voting Honor Roll to recognize these student voting champions across the country,” said Jennifer Domagal-Goldman, Executive Director of the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge. “These students registered voters, served on their campus voting coalitions, spearheaded voter education efforts, advocated for campus polling locations, and organized other voter engagement efforts to ensure their peers were confident and informed voters. We are excited to see what they continue to accomplish ahead of the 2022 midterms.” 

About the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge

The ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge (ALL IN) is a national nonpartisan initiative of Civic Nation, a 501(c)(3) organization. The ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge strives to change the civic culture and institutionalize democratic engagement activities and programs on college campuses, making voter participation a defining feature of campus life. 

ALL IN, in collaboration with over 960 higher education institutions, seeks to make participation in local, state, and federal elections a social norm; substantially increase the number of college students who are democratically engaged on an ongoing basis, during and between elections, and not just at the polls, and; make educating for democratic engagement on college campuses an accepted and expected part of the culture and curriculum so that students graduate with the knowledge, skills, behaviors, and values needed to be an informed and active citizen.