OU recognized for promoting nonpartisan civic engagement

Oakland University is among 129 college campuses to receive the 2026 Highly Established Action Plan Seal from the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge.

The seal recognizes higher education institutions with strong action plans to increase nonpartisan civic engagement by promoting civic learning, political engagement and college student voter participation.

As part of the ALL IN program, campuses create and implement a nonpartisan democratic engagement action plan every two years. OU’s current action plan received 31.5 of 36 possible points based on the Strengthening American Democracy Action Planning Guide (SADG) Rubric.

“The Center for Civic Engagement is extremely gratified that Oakland University has been recognized with this achievement for the third straight election cycle,” said Dr. Nicole Asmussen Mathew, associate professor of political science and assistant director of the Center for Civic Engagement. “OU students have a history of high rates of voter participation, and we hope to build on this success by helping students participate in the political process – not only by facilitating voting, but by giving students the tools to understand current issues, advocate effectively for their interests and become bridge-builders and problem-solvers in their communities.”

Criteria for a Highly Established Action Plan include:

•  Leadership team of all relevant stakeholders, including diverse and marginalized communities.
  
  
• Institutional commitment that is visible and widely communicated, internally and externally.
  
  
•  Description of multiple voter registration, voter education and voter turnout activities.
  
  
•  Plan communicates a comprehensive understanding of the institution’s students, campus efforts and climate.
  
  
• Short-term and long-term democratic engagement goals and strategies.
  
  
• Summary and detailed National Study of Learning, Voting and Engagement (NSLVE) data, with specific goals based on the data.
  
  
• Action plan, data and NSLVE reports are shared on campus and publicly available.

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

Since joining ALL IN in 2018, Oakland has earned numerous honors for creating strong action plans and increasing nonpartisan student voter participation.