Employees encouraged to participate in 2020 Census
The 2020 Census is underway, and West Virginia University and WVU Medicine encourage our campus communities to participate in this important process and make it count for current and future Mountaineers.
The census is a short questionnaire administered by the federal government every 10 years with the goal of creating an accurate population count. The information gathered through the census provides the basis for distributing more than $900 billion in federal funds annually to communities across the country.
These funds support vital programs for our state, such as education (including federal student financial assistance), employment, healthcare, housing and public policy programs. View this report for information on how the census influences the distribution of federal funds.
Census information also is used to redraw the boundaries of congressional and state legislative districts and accurately determine the number of congressional seats each state has in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Beginning this month, you will receive a notice in the mail to complete the 2020 census. After receiving this notice, you can respond to the census online, via a paper form or by calling a 1-800 number to provide your response over the phone. Responding to the census not only is your civic duty, it also is required by law.
The census will collect basic information about the people living in your household, including: The total number of people living or staying in a home on April 1, 2020; whether the home is owned, rented or occupied without rent; a phone number for a person in the home; the name, sex, age, date of birth and race of each person in the home; and more.
It’s important to note that students living away from their parents’ or guardians’ home while attending college are counted at the on- or off-campus residence where they live on April 1, 2020. This means students should respond to the census based on their residence while attending school.
Parents or guardians should not include students as part of their household when responding to the census unless the student is living with them on April 1, 2020.
Local census takers will assist those who do not initially respond beginning in May.
Thank you for participating in the 2020 census. Visit 2020Census.wvu.edu for more information and FAQs on the 2020 census. Contact the WVU Government Relations team at governmentrelations@mail.wvu.edu with any questions.