SIUE Earns Highly Established Action Plan Seal for Democratic Engagement Efforts

SIUE Earns Highly Established Action Plan Seal for Democratic Engagement Efforts

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville has earned the 2026 Highly Established Action Plan (HEAP) Seal from the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge for its comprehensive approach to nonpartisan civic learning, voter education and student electoral participation.

SIUE's 2026 Nonpartisan Democratic Engagement Action Plan received 28 out of 32 possible points, placing the University in ALL IN's highest scoring category. Among 398 campus plans submitted during the review cycle, the national average score was 25.7.

The plan was developed by SIUE's ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge team, a cross-campus coalition of faculty, staff and students. Laurie L. Rice, PhD, chair and professor of political science, and Cordell Billups, associate director for Empathy, Humility and Action in the Kimmel Belonging and Engagement Hub, serve as co-chairs.

"We are so excited to have received the 2026 Highly Established Action Plan Seal from the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge," said Billups. "We are looking forward to all the civic engagement opportunities this upcoming academic year, which will range from dialogue programming, voter engagement and empowerment, and advocacy; additional ways to encourage students to engage with their communities."

The action plan combines ongoing civic engagement efforts with strategies focused on the 2026 election and continuing into 2027. Goals include holding at least four voter registration events ahead of the November election, expanding access to civic education and reducing disparities in voter turnout among historically underrepresented groups.

The Department of Political Science also plans to increase capacity in Introduction to American National Government and Politics by as much as 20% compared with fall 2025. Additional programming will include voter registration efforts, a Constitution Day event, midterm elections and National Voter Education Week activities developed with campus partners.

"Furthering the University value of civic engagement takes concerted action and collaboration across campus," said Rice. "We've made some significant strides since joining the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge and it is great to receive external recognition of that progress as we continue our work."

SIUE joined the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge in 2016 with commitments to increasing student voting, fostering active and informed citizenship and coordinating democratic engagement efforts across campus. The 2026 action plan reports that SIUE's voter turnout in 2022 exceeded the average across all participating institutions by 2.4 percentage points.

Reviewers listed SIUE's commitment and goals as particular strengths and described the action plan as an excellent example for those seeking guidance on what a strong plan should resemble.