In the last few statewide elections, college-aged Americans played a major role in who was elected. The same thing could happen again if all students get involved in the Iowa Caucuses, said Steffen Schmidt, political science professor at Iowa State.

“Barack Obama did well in Iowa because he was able to get students excited and going, and they gave him the victory in Iowa. I hope students will remember that and say, ‘maybe we can do the same thing in both the Republican and Democratic parties in 2016,’” Schmidt said.

The first way to get involved with the presidential election is to participate in the caucuses.

Caucuses are a series of meetings held across a state to discuss and vote for state delegates who represent the presidential candidates they support. After the state delegates are chosen, they choose which candidates will go to the national convention to support the candidate they promised to support.

If that definition is not clear right now, don’t worry because the massive open online course taught by Schmidt can help you learn the ins and outs of the caucuses. This free online course is being offered by Iowa State starting in September and is open to everyone. Students can sign up for the class online at iowacaucusesmooc.org.

In this course, students can learn why the Iowa Caucuses, and caucuses in general, are so important in the way they can shape history. Other portions of the course offer information on the media’s role in the caucuses and campaign finance and advertising.

The course is four weeks long and can be taken at the student’s desired pace. It is offered four times starting in September 2015 and leads up to the caucuses, which start in early 2016. A certificate is offered if students achieve a score of 70 percent or higher and complete the assigned quizzes.

Schmidt has analyzed every presidential caucus for the past 45 years and is the co-founder and chief political correspondent of the Internet magazine, Insider Iowa at InsiderIowa.com.

Schmidt’s reason for holding the course is that he “thought it would be important and also fun to offer a free class, open it up to as many people as possible [and] invite them to come and join a discussion on the presidential selection process.”

Schmidt said it is extremely important for college students to enroll in the class, so they can gain or further their knowledge on the issues they value in this country.

“We need younger people to get excited about the elections and get excited about the caucuses and go to their caucus, just because that’s the one opportunity to influence who runs the country,” Schmidt said.

The Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics is also taking on the challenge to promote the massive open online course to college students.

Dianne Bystrom, director of the Carrie Chapman Catt Center, is involved in the campaign advertising portion of the class. She is focusing on the strategies of women and men, and the representation of women in different facets of campaigning.

The need for more education and participation by the younger generation in politics is urgent, Bystrom and Schmidt said. Participating in the online course is a way for students to take that first step in becoming an informed voter.

“The youth vote is actually amplified by participation in the caucus because they’re tends to be fewer people coming out and they can get more bang for their buck going in a caucus,” Bystrom said.