Developing

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Developing Civically Engaged Students Annual
ADP National Meeting Albuquerque, New
Mexico August 1, 2004
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Dewey reminded us
The troubleis that we have taken our democracy
for granted we have thought and acted as if our
forefathers had founded it once and for all. We
have forgotten that it has to be enacted anew in
every generation.
John Dewey
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The American Democracy Project is framed by two
issues

• Concerns about our Democracy
• Concerns about our Institutions

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What are the Concerns about our Democracy?
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Specific Concerns

• Decline in social capital
• Lack of civic understanding
• Decline in civics education in K-12 grades
• Growing inequality
• Decline in political participation, esp. among
  the youngest adults
• Threats in an era of terrorism

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A Decline in Social Capital
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A Lack of Civic Understanding

• In a survey in 2002, the following percentage of
  the American public could NOT identify the 5
  freedoms guaranteed by the First Amendment to the
  Constitution
• 42 could not identify freedom of speech
• 82 could not identify freedom of religion
• 86 could not identify freedom of the press
• 90 could not identify freedom of assembly
• 98 could not identify freedom of petition

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A Decline in Civic Education K-12
Only 56 of high school students take the courses
recommended in A Nation at Risk. Only 5 states
require a high school exit exam in civics or
related topics. On the NAEP exam, only 26 of
12th graders demonstrated proficiency in civic
understanding Courses stress government
structure and process, as well as wars and
heroes, not issues and analysis Zero tolerance
teaches more than courses do about democracy
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Growing Inequality
Income Inequality and Political Polarization
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Decline in Political Participation
The youngest generation of voters has the
greatest distrust of others
Source The Civic and Political Health of the
Nation, A Generational Portrait, 2002.
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The youngest voters have the lowest participation
in presidential elections
25 turnout
18-24 turnout
Source Current Population Survey (CPS),
November Supplement, calculated using CIRCLE
method.
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Other examples of the Age Gap in Voting
Percentage of women who say they always vote in
local and national elections
Rutgers University study
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Karthick Ramakrishnan and Mark Baldassare, The
Ties That Bind Changing Demographics and Civic
Engagement in California (2004) www.ppic.org
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Terror as a Threat to our Democracy
They that can give up essential liberty to obtain
a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty
nor safety. Ben Franklin
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What are the Concerns about our Institutions?
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Post WWII
Decreasing focus on liberal education Decreasing
focus on teaching Decreasing focus on
undergraduates Increasing focus on
research Increasing allegiance to
disciplines Increasing focus on career outcomes
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And then came the 21st century

• Accelerating Trends
• Steep declines in public funding
• Rapid changes in technology
• Growth of for-profit universities
• Increase in merit, not needs-based
• scholarships
• Increasing expectations for accountability

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The core question for public colleges and
universities
What is public about public higher education?
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Public Higher Education

• AASCU believes that the solution is not to become
  more private but to become more explicitly public
• 3 obligations
• To students
• To place
• To country

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In the focus on STUDENTS,
the key question is
What are our obligations to ensure that students
have access to high quality programs, adequate
support, and substantive outcomes?
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In the focus on PLACE,
the key question is
What is the role of higher education in the
development of its community and region?
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In the focus on COUNTRY,
the key question is
What is the role of higher education in the
development of citizens?
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American Democracy Project Design Components
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Project Design

• Three (3) year initiative
• Campuses start when and where they are
• 191 Colleges and Universities, 1.7 million
  students
• Year One campus conversations, audit
• Years Two and Three multiple activities
• Campus-specific
• AASCU, The New York Times, and all our friends
• Supporters, Connectors, Facilitators 

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The American Democracy Project seeks to

• Increase understanding of democracys conceptual
  and historical roots
• Create understanding of contemporary issues and
  events
• Provide opportunities to learn and experience
  core processes of civic engagement
• Develop a commitment to act, to become involved
  in the life of the community

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What is our Goal?
Outcomes for Students
Campuses can be engaged.. Faculty can be
engaged.. But that doesnt guarantee student
engagement Campus and faculty engagement are
necessary but insufficient conditions
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A Focus on Institutional Intentionality

• Campuses are using the American Democracy Project
  to
• Identify and recognize existing activities
• Link similar initiatives
• Create new projects and programs

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Definition of Civic Engagement

• Working to make a difference in the civic life
  of our communities and developing the combination
  of knowledge, skills, values, and motivation to
  make that difference
• Promoting the quality of life in a community
  through both political and non-political
  processes.
• Thomas Ehrlich, Ed. Civic Responsibility and
  Higher Education 2000

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Key Features American Democracy Project

• 191 projects with regional and national support
• Campus specific local goals, local definitions,
  local timeline
• Non-partisan
• Collaborative, within and between campuses

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Campus Conversation
Things to consider when starting the conversation

• Steering committee composition
• Use of key readings (Educating Citizens and
  discussion guide)
• Institutional mission and other contextual issues
• Defining civic engagement for your campus
• Identifying areas of possible focus
• Specific activities that the Committee might
  undertake

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Campus Conversation
Examples of Discussion Questions
Building blocks 1.       How do we define civic
education? 2.       What is / should be higher
educations responsibilities / role in civic
education? 3.       What kind of civic education
would / should we sponsor? What
not? Inventory 1.       What events / activities
/ courses already offered by / through the
university have some civic education content?
What is that content? Can we capitalize on
it? 2.       Can a mechanism be developed that
provides on-going information instead of
capturing a snapshot? University
culture 1.       Who will have to approve of this
definition of civic education in order for it to
be accepted by the stakeholders of the
university? From Indiana University Purdue
University Fort Wayne
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Campus Audit

• Part One Institutional Intentionality
• Part Two Academic Focus on Civic Engagement 
• Where is civic engagement found in the academic
  areas of campus?
• Curricular Focus on Civic Engagement
• Teaching and Learning
• Student Experiential Learning
• Colleges and Departments
• Programs
• Policies, Codes, Standards of Conduct
• Part Three Co-Curricular Focus on Civic
  Engagement 
• Where can civic engagement activities be found in
  the co-curricular life on campus?
• Part Four Evaluations of civic engagement
• How is your campus evaluating civic engagement?

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Accomplishments First Year
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Accomplishments First Year
Meetings AASCU meetings of
Participants Snowbird, July 2003
183 Tampa, February 2004
140 Albuquerque, August 2004
290 Regional Meetings Indiana 60 Wisconsin
27 New York 93 New Jersey 26 Oklahoma 1
70 California 20 Louisiana 28
Minnesota 66 Kentucky 30
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Accomplishments First Year

• Inside The Times
• Student newspaper editors on American
  Democracy Project campuses went to The New York
  Times on February 20th to learn about the role of
  a newspaper in a democracy. More than 170
  participated in the program.

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Accomplishments First Year

• Wingspread Conference
• June 6-9, 2004
• Supported by the Johnson Foundation and The
  New York Times, this conference was designed to
  develop a guide for presidents/ chancellors and
  other senior university leaders who want to
  create a civically engaged university 38
  participants publication out this fall.

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Accomplishments First Year

• National Student Essay Contest
• Students from AASCU institutions submitted
  essays on civic engagement to The New York Times

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Accomplishments First Year

• FYI (Film Your Issue)
• National Student Film Competition
• FYI, created by a group of entertainment
  executives, encourages students to develop 30
  second PSA about issues they care about.
  Campuses will submit finalists for a national
  competition.

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Accomplishments First Year
NSSE Survey Questions

• 32 Campuses in NSSE Consortium 13,000 students
  participated in Spring 2004 Survey
• How important to you is each of the following
  issues or causes?
• Below are some activities that you might have
  done in the past year. Please indicate if you did
  it and why you did it.
• Where do you generally get most of your
  information about each of the following?

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Friends of the American Democracy Project
Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of
Teaching Campus Compact Journey Towards
Democracy Democracy Matters
Democracy Lab National Constitution
Center Justice Talking / Justice
Learning Partnership for Public Service
P.O.V. (Point of View) POD Network Public
Achievement Higher Education Research
Institute (HERI) National Service-Learning
Clearinghouse
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More Friends of the American Democracy Project
Center for Democracy and Citizenship
Imagining America CIRCLE (University of
Maryland) By the People Film Your Issue (FYI)
Declaration of Independence Road Trip New
Voters Project National Survey of Student
Engagement (NSSE) Election Assistance Commission
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• Plans for Next Year (2004-2005)
• The New York Times
• Film Series, The Times/Discovery Channel
• Student Newspaper Editors at The NYT
• National Student Essay Contest
• Newspaper Program
• Speakers
• Full Page Ads

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Plans for Next Year (2004-2005)
Focus on the Scholarship of Civic
Engagement September 18, 2004, University of
Michigan Julie Ellison, Imagining America
Project
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Plans for Next Year (2004-2005)
Civic Engagement in the First Year September
28-29, Annenberg Center at the University of
Pennsylvania and the National Constitution
Center Kitty Kolbert, John Gardner, other
participants
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Plans for Next Year (2004-2005)

•  P.O.V. (Point of View) Democracy in Action Film
  Series
• Thirst Water is becoming the catalyst for
  explosive community resistance to globalization
  and the conflict between public stewardship and
  private profit.
• Every Mother's Son Three New York mothers,
  whose sons were killed in police actions,
  unexpectedly find themselves united to seek
  justice and transform their grief into an
  opportunity for social change.
• A Panther in Africa In 1969, a young Black
  Panther, arrested for transporting a gun in
  Missouri, fled to Tanzania. Today, 30 years
  later, he confronts very different challenges.

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 P.O.V. (Point of View) Democracy in Action Film
Series (continued) Freedom Machines A new look
at disability through the lens of technology.
Engineers, designers and users challenge barriers
in our built environments. Farmingville
The hate-based attempted murders of two Mexican
day laborers on Long Island focuses on illegal
immigration and the 'American dream. Last Man
Standing A Texas Political Journey A lively,
behind-the-scenes look at a pair of 2002
elections in Texas. Bill's Run A Political
Journey in Rural America Bill Kassebaum, a
rancher and father of two, decides to run for the
Kansas House of Representatives.
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Plans for Next Year (2004-2005)

• FYI (Film Your Issue) second round
• Democracy Matters
• Democracy Lab
• Youth 04
• Regional Meetings
• Democracy Day (September 17th)

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Opportunities for Civic Engagement on Campus and
in the Community
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Libraries
Service Learning
Teacher Education
Faculty Development
Campus Culture
Opportunities For Action
Assessment
First Year Programs
Voter Registration Education
Co-Curriculum
General Education
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Telling the Story

• Using your campus Communications Office
  effectively
• Building a campus website
• Contributing to the AASCU and New York Times
  websites
• Writing articles and news releases
• Creating awards and recognition programs

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Assessment Resources

• National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE)
  http//www.indiana.edu/nsse/
• UCLAs Cooperative Institutional Research Program
  (CIRP) http//www.gseis.ucla/heri/heri.html
• Center for Information and Research on Civic
  Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE)
  www.civicyouth.org

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The death of democracy is not likely to be an
assassination from ambush. It will be a slow
extinction from apathy, indifference and
undernourishment  Robert Hutchins
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