On Tuesday, August 19, the Department of Education issued a “Dear Colleague” guidance letter prohibiting colleges and universities from using Federal Work-Study (FWS) funds to pay students for work involving any partisan or nonpartisan political activity on or off campus, which the new guidance interprets to include “voter registration, voter assistance at polling places or through a voter hotline, and serving as a poll worker.”
The letter rescinds guidance from the previous Administration, which interpreted the same Federal regulations as explicitly allowing a broad range of nonpartisan civic engagement activities, including all those mentioned above.
Fair Elections Center and its Campus Vote Project, along with NASPA-Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education, express concern with the new guidance, which prohibits the use of FWS for critical learning and employment experiences that have historically benefited students with the greatest financial need. This shift limits opportunities for higher education institutions to prepare well-rounded, civically engaged leaders for tomorrow.
Michael Burns, the national director of Fair Elections Center’s Campus Vote Project said, “We celebrated the previous guidance letters as important steps in expanding civic engagement and civic education opportunities for students. We disagree with the about-face here and the harmful impact of the new guidance on students and educational institutions. Engaging young people in civic processes is something that should be championed by government and educational institutions at all levels. Sadly, it is the students—especially those from lower-income backgrounds—who will end up paying the price, limiting the kind of enriching, firsthand civic learning experiences—assisting new voters with registering, working at polling places, understanding the issues that affect their lives—that turn curious young learners into fully engaged, civic-minded adults. Campuses will now have to scramble as they try to fulfill the High Education Act requirement to distribute voter registration forms to eligible students.”
Burns pointed out that despite the new prohibitions, there remain multiple alternative resources and opportunities available for campuses to engage students in voter registration and voter education activities outside of Federal Work-Study funds. “These are the kinds of circumstances where we have to get creative in utilizing such existing mechanisms as student government, student affairs and student activities, clubs, academics, and athletics,” he stated.
There are resources available to continue, and strengthen, this important work on campus, including:
- The Ask Every Student toolkit to help campuses ask every student to participate in the democratic process and achieve full student voter registration.
- Monthly webinars and personalized support to campuses within the Voter Friendly Campus program.
- NASPA’s Effective Strategies for Student Civic Engagement
- Fair Election Center’s State Voting Guides and Voter Registration Drive Guides
“We are committed more than ever to assist institutions in meeting their mission to develop a civically educated, engaged citizenry,” said Jill Dunlap, NASPA’s Assistant Vice President for Civic Engagement, Policy Research, and Advocacy. “While this loss of funding for students to engage in this work is disappointing, we rest assured that institutions are committed to this work and we are proud to partner with the Fair Elections Center to support them in those efforts. We will continue these important conversations at this year’s Civic Learning and Social Change conference December 8-10th in Long Beach, California, and we hope to see many of our colleagues there in order to build community and collectively develop strategies for ensuring college students’ ability to access the vote.”
Fair Elections Center and NASPA have partnered together for nearly ten years on the Voter Friendly Campus program (www.voterfriendlycampus.org), created to support higher education institutions in fulfilling the requirements of the Higher Education Act of 1965. In the most recent 2025-2026 cohort, two hundred and seventy-five campuses across thirty-nine states earned the “Voter Friendly Campus” designation. The Voter Friendly Campus program will continue to support campuses in navigating civic learning and democratic engagement efforts.
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Fair Elections Center is a non-partisan organization dedicated to safeguarding the future of our democracy through innovative efforts focused on voting rights and civic engagement. We use advocacy, litigation, organizing, education, and technology to protect and expand the right to vote, understanding the particular impact on disenfranchised, underrepresented, and marginalized communities. Through our unique partnerships with hundreds of campuses across the country, we are able to empower millions of new voters to participate in our democracy. Our litigation and advocacy efforts across dozens of states allows us to anticipate and counteract threats to free and fair elections. With our visionary use of technology we are able to support election administration throughout the nation.
NASPA is the professional home for the field of student affairs. With an understanding that students are at the center of their work, NASPA provides timely and relevant resources to support student affairs leaders. This work includes providing exceptional professional development opportunities, research to take on our biggest challenges, advocacy for equitable practices, and nurturing intentional networks and pathways to mentor, rejuvenate, and support all student affairs professionals and students. NASPA is dedicated to cultivating student success in collaboration with the missions of our institutional members, a network of colleges and universities representing every sector of higher education.