Colorado Mountain College launches Center for Civics Education and Engagement, eyes a civics 'seal' and campus voter programs

Colorado Mountain College on its Western Slope has launched a Center for Civics Education and Engagement and is pursuing curricular and extracurricular programs intended to increase student civic knowledge and participation.

Becky Musselman, the founder and director of the new center, told the League of Women Voters of Colorado’s civics education task force that the college completed a yearlong feasibility study and “we officially launched the Center for Civics Education and Engagement” in fall 2025. Musselman said the center will combine two core goals — education and engagement — and will work across CMC’s 11 campuses to offer courses, author talks, field trips and civic internships that “give [students] a self agency.”

The center is considering a “seal of civics literacy” that, if approved, could eventually appear on diplomas to recognize students who complete a specified set of civic-learning activities. Musselman said other states and institutions — including programs at Purdue, Miami Dade College and the University of Nevada, Reno — have analogous seals, and CMC’s leadership is supportive; she named college president Matt Gianneschi as an internal advocate. Musselman cautioned that creating a diploma-level seal would require accreditation and robust technology for tracking student activities so that the credential does not delay graduation.

Beyond the seal concept, the center is designing hands-on programming to lower barriers to civic participation for students in vocational and academic pathways alike. Musselman said activities will include town-council visits, voter-registration drives, internships and an immersive state-capitol field trip planned for March where students can observe the House and Senate and meet with budget committee staff. She described the center’s approach as intentionally broad so that students studying subjects from ski-area management to nursing can access civic learning and leadership opportunities.

Musselman also outlined campus-level voter assistance tactics to address practical barriers. On rural campuses without ballot drop boxes, CMC has offered van rides and discreetly provided stamps in the past, while publicizing drop-box locations and polling sites. She emphasized student-facing supports such as laptop clinics and “cookies and conversation” sessions to walk students through ballot materials and online tools.

Task force members raised readability and signature-curing issues; the group noted Colorado’s ballot materials can be hard to navigate and that curing a signature mismatch is often unfamiliar to young voters. Musselman said the center will use nonpartisan partners and digital tools — including Ballotpedia and a “blue book” walkthrough — to teach students how to read ballots and respond if their ballot needs curing.

Musselman said the center will maintain a public-facing website and an internal student landing page where voting resources are centralized, and that the program will seek to share big events and speakers across campuses to maximize reach.

The presentation closed with a request for follow-up: Musselman offered to share contact information and resources with League members and volunteers to coordinate outreach and possible collaborations.

The task force did not take any formal votes; Musselman and members agreed to continue conversations and share materials and links as CMC moves from pilot activities to broader program rollout.