Washington — College employees ranked among the top donors to three new U.S. senators and a number of freshman members of the U.S. House of Representatives, according to data compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan research group.

That pattern could indicate that higher-education issues will be priorities for many new legislators. The new members of Congress, the center said, “should very quickly learn what the veterans know so well: the donors and industries that helped you win your seat often expect payback.”

Among the first-term senators who received significant donations from college employees is Jeanne Shaheen, a Democrat who won the Senate seat that was up for grabs in New Hampshire last fall. Employees at two institutions were among her top 20 contributors. Harvard University ranked seventh, with its employees giving her campaign $19,250, and Dartmouth College ranked 16th, with its employees donating $10,740.

Employees of Oregon Health & Science University ranked fifth on the list of contributors to the campaign of that state’s new senator, Jeff Merkley, a Democrat. Employees of the university gave him a total of $22,200.

Kay R. Hagan, a Democrat who is North Carolina’s new senator, received $16,700 from employees of the University of North Carolina, which ranked sixth on the senator’s list of contributors.

College employees also ranked among the top five contributors to six first-term Democrats and one first-term Republican in the House. Those members are Steven Leo Driehaus, Democrat of Ohio; Mary Jo Kilroy, Democrat of Ohio; Dan Maffei, Democrat of New York; Betsy Markey, Democrat of Colorado; Tom Perriello, Democrat of Virginia; David Philip Roe, Republican of Tennessee; and Mark Schauer, Democrat of Michigan. —Sara Hebel