1
Introduction
Colleges and universities around the country are seeking ways to enrich American
democracy through the development of courses and programs designed to promote
political and social engagement. As of September 2005, 201 American Association of
State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) institutions with 1.8 million students are
involved in efforts to enhance and promote citizenship through the American Democracy
Project (ADP).
1
An overwhelming majority of these colleges are focusing their efforts on
traditional full-time college students, ranging from 18 to 24 years of age. The voting
behavior, and one can assume, general civic engagement activities of traditional full-time
students are quite disappointing compared to that of older citizens. According to a Bureau
of the Census survey, 28.4 percent of 18 to 20 year olds reported voting in the 2000
presidential election, while only 24.2 percent of 21 to 24 year olds exercised the
franchise.
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Rates of participation in voting increase with age, but since total voter turnout
in some presidential elections in the 1990s did not reach even 50% of eligible voters, the
need to examine civic engagement across the spectrum of citizens is abundantly clear.
This research represents an effort to understand the civic engagement activities of adult
learners, defined as part-time college students.
1
Letter of invitation to AASCU Chief Academic Officers and American Democracy Project Coordinators
to attend Invitational Luncheon Meeting at American Political Science Association Annual Meetings,
Washington, D.C., August 31
st
, 2005. Forwarded by George L Mehaffy.
2
Barbour, C., Wright, G., (2003). Keeping the Republic: Power and Citizenship in American Politics, 2
nd
edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company. Cited in Table 11.1, p.439, Percentage Reporting Voting in
the 2000 Presidential Election,.
Convention