Kutztown University Ranked Among Best Colleges for Student Voting

Kutztown, PA (11/05/2018) — Kutztown University was recently named to Washington Monthly's 2018 America's Best Colleges for Student Voting. KU was among 132 schools to be recognized from a pool of nearly 1,500 colleges and universities.

Official Release

A part of Washington Monthly's College Guide and Rankings - which rates colleges and universities on their contributions to social mobility, research, and public service - this is a first-of-its-kind list of the schools doing the most to turn students into citizens. KU's inclusion on the list demonstrates the commitment Kutztown has made to promote civic engagement among the student body, encouraging students to vote and actively participate in community decisions.

Kutztown was 1-of-3 institutions named from the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE), including California University (PA) and West Chester University.

According to Washington Monthly, just 16 percent of 18-24 year olds reported voting in the 2014 midterms, compared to 59 percent of adults ages 65-74. The gap was not much smaller in the 2016 presidential elections, with just 39 percent of 18-24 year olds reported voting compared to 70 percent of 65-74 year olds.

Kutztown participates in the National Study of Learning, Voting, and Engagement (NSLVE), which offers colleges and universities an opportunity to learn their student registration and voting rates. KU also participates in the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge, a national, nonpartisan awards program recognizing colleges and universities for improving civic learning, political engagement, and student voting rates.

Using data from the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge and NSLVE at Tufts University, Washington Monthly featured a list of national universities that met all four of its scoring criteria: