According to the survey only 16.9 percent of the schools polled met the standards set by the 1998 act. Results were based on the responses from 249 U.S. colleges and universities. More than one-third of these schools failed to meet even the spirit of the law.

SFSU was singled out for being one of the best universities in finding innovative ways to encourage students of voter age to vote. The University has worked to establish a voting precinct and polling place on campus. In addition to panel discussions and voter registration drives, SFSU student clubs and student government run ads in the school newspaper and hold ballot receipt promotions.

"We pride ourselves on being a politically aware, civically engaged University, and I can think of no more important expression of those values than casting a vote on Election Day," says SFSU President Robert A. Corrigan.

This year SFSU is putting as much effort into voter education as voter registration. According to Chris Treadway, director of government and community relations, the University plans to sponsor a voter education and get-out-the-vote event in collaboration with the San Francisco mayor's office. The Political Science Students Association plans to sponsor candidate visits to campus. The SFSU Web site will highlight voter registration, education and get-out-the-vote efforts on the home page. Live broadcasts of a popular radio show will take place on campus on Sept. 23 and 30 as part of the effort, and representatives from the San Francisco Department of Elections are planning to make on-campus presentations to students to educate them about rank choice voting.

Several classes focus on voting and the current election, including a free public lecture series that students can take for credit, led by College of Behavioral and Social Sciences Dean Joel Kassiola. Political science classes are including assignments for students to register voters and work on political campaigns.

Voter registration on campus is expected to dramatically increase this year due to the re-opening of the Towers dormitory which houses up to 600 students. Treadway believes that another on-campus polling place could be added in time for the upcoming national election.

"San Francisco State students are among the most politically active in the nation, and we get a tremendous response to our voter campaigns," says Corrigan. An on-campus study conducted by the Public Research Institute revealed that nearly two out of three SFSU students who were eligible to vote voted in the 2002 elections.

For more information about the IOP/Chronicle of Higher Education survey, visit www.iop.harvard.edu.

-- Denize Springer