Cracks in the Bedrock of American Democracy: Differences in Civic Engagement Across Institutions of Higher Education

Preparing educated and active citizens is one of the primary goals of higher education, yet colleges and universities may neglect civic engagement due to the prioritization of labor market preparation. Drawing on neoinstitutional theory, this paper examines the missions, infrastructure, activities, and outcomes related to civic engagement across postsecondary institutional characteristics. By combining several data sources on a diverse set of institutions, we empirically demonstrate institutional isomorphism with respect to civic engagement mission and decoupling of mission from infrastructure and activities. Our most striking finding is that a residential student population is strongly associated with an increased emphasis on civic engagement even after controlling for institutional control, selectivity, research funding, and student services spending. Given the growing number of students attending nonresidential institutions, this finding has important implications for whether higher education is an effective instrument for preparing civically engaged citizens in our society