The University launched a video advertisement contest today meant to increase student participation in the 2010 national census.
During the last census in 2000, students living in college towns like Ann Arbor had the lowest response rates of any demographic. Lisa Neidert, director of data services at the University’s Population Studies Center said students often choose not to fill out the census because they are confused about how the survey works or because they are concerned about the amount of time it takes.
In an effort to clear up the confusion and encourage students to fill out the survey, Neidert is working with the Institute for Social Research and the Office of the Provost on a campaign aimed at raising low census participation by University students.
Any registered student may submit a video encouraging students to fill out the census. Students, faculty and staff will be able to vote on submissions on YouTube and the University’s website, and only the first 250 entries will be available for judging. The top two vote getters will get a $1,000 cash prize. The deadline for submissions is March 8.
Every 10 years, the United States government is required by the U.S. Constitution to survey the population in order to gauge how many people are living in the country at the time. The 2010 census forms will be mailed in March and will be due on April 1.
According to thecensusproject.org, each uncounted citizen causes his or her community to lose around $1,200 a year in federal funding.
Neidert said in the past, students have typically had low response rates to the census.
“The main reason I think is that there is a misunderstanding about the census residence rules,” Neidert said.
She explained that most students do not realize they need to fill out a census form based on where they’re living at the time.
“Let’s say you’re from New Jersey, you would be counted in Ann Arbor, and you would not be counted on your parents’ census form,” she said. “You are counted where you are living and eating most of the time.”
The census is meant to count people who are living in a specific location on April 1. Neidert said this might be a problem if students think they should fill out the form based on where they will be living after the semester is over.
Neidert added that international students often experience some confusion with regard to the census, because they think they are exempt from filling it out since they aren’t U.S. citizens.
“Our census is one where everyone is counted, so you don’t have to be a citizen,” she said.
The University’s census campaign aims to clear up these misunderstandings. The hope is to improve the low response rates from University students in the last census.
While the national response rate was 67 percent and Ann Arbor’s response rate was 76 percent for the 2000 census, one Ann Arbor neighborhood — made up of predominantly student-based housing — had an approximately 38-percent response rate.
The U.S. Census Bureau sends out follow-up investigators — called census takers — to low response areas in late April after the census forms are due, but since students tend to move out of housing around that same time, many of these efforts are ineffective in college towns.
While students will be studying for finals and making graduation plans around the time the census is due, Neidert said students shouldn’t be concerned about the amount of time needed to fill out the form.
She estimated that students living in residence halls on campus can expect to answer only five or six questions, while students living in off-campus apartments or houses will only have to answer a few more than six.
Neidert said it’s important for students to fill out the forms because answering about 10 questions for roughly 10 minutes can give the Ann Arbor community about $10,000 per person in federal funds over the next decade.