Higher Education Civic Engagement Collaborative of Chicago

Composed of the leading colleges and universities of the region, the Higher Education Civic Engagement Collaborative works with communities and government agencies to build networks for action based on the best knowledge and experience available. Our goal is to use the resources of local universities to better serve Chicago, by sharing best practices and deploying resources strategically across our region. At the same time, these collaborations provide rich opportunities to educate our students about engaged citizenship. HECEC currently counts 20 Chicago-area institutions among its members, led by a committee of senior faculty and administrators from Loyola, Elmhurst College, DePaul, Chicago State, Northwestern, and Northern Illinois. With the 2016 presidential election on the horizon, and shared concerns about political participation rates and civic education, the HECEC group is turning its attention to a comprehensive effort to significantly improve voter registration, education, and turn-out among college students as a shared, city-wide priority. Building on the expertise of faculty and community organizations here in Chicago and nationwide, the HECEC group will study various approaches to promoting active, educated political engagement among college students. The group will integrate comprehensive, 50-state voter registration mechanisms on each campus, including efforts to make absentee ballots available to students who prefer to vote at their permanent address. The program will also explore best practices to educate and engage students on the issues and candidates both locally and nationally. And finally, the HECEC group will measure and share its progress toward educating a more active and engaged cohort of college students across the area.