There are many benefits to participating in a culturally-responsive learning environment. Here are few benefits, specific to our program:

• Culturally relevant classes and professors
• Supportive Faculty & Staff
• Tutoring Support
• Textbook Loans (for Cohort classes only)
• Counseling & Advising
• Engaging workshops
• Computer lab access
• College Tours & Field Trips
• Cultural Celebrations

By joining Umoja-UBAKA, students are expected meet standards. At bare minimum, students will:

·         Attend and participate in Umoja-UBAKA orientation & closing ceremony

·         Enroll in Umoja-UBAKA classes until the completion of certificate or transfer-level courses

·         Meet with the Umoja-UBAKA Counselor at least 2 times each semester

·         Maintain a minimum 2.5 GPA while striving for a GPA of 3.0 or higher.

·         Participate in Umoja-UBAKA tutoring sessions or study in the Village during the semesters I’m enrolled in Umoja classes

·         Participate and be actively involved in as many Umoja-UBAKA workshops or program activities as possible (at least 1 each month) including at least one college tour or transfer workshop per year (when applicable).

·         Utilize all relevant Student Services at Laney, including applying for Financial Aid by completing FAFSA & California Promise Grant forms, applying for EOPS, CARE, CalWORKs and DSPS (if appropriate)..

·         Keep a CURRENT contact phone number, email address and physical address on file with Umoja-UBAKA at ALL times.

·         Let instructors, counselors and Umoja-UBAKA staff know if you are facing challenges that are interfering with your schoolwork.

·         Be my brother’s or sister’s keeper by staying connected with fellow Umoja-UBAKA students

·         Return the books (and/or calculator) provided by Umoja, to Umoja, at the end of the semester in good condition.

Umoja is a community of educators and learners committed to the academic success, personal growth and self-actualization of African American and other students. The Umoja Community seeks to educate the whole student–body, mind and spirit. Informed by an ethic of love and its vital power, the Umoja Community will deliberately engage students as full participants in the construction of knowledge and critical thought.The Umoja Community seeks to help students experience themselves as valuable and worthy of an education. The Umoja Community gains meaning through its connection to the African Diaspora. African and African American intellectual, cultural, and spiritual gifts inform Umoja Community values and practices. The Umoja Community seeks to nurture knowledge of and pride in these treasures. The learning experience within the Umoja Community will provide each individual the opportunity to add their voice and their story to the collective voices and stories of the African Diaspora.African American students are inextricably connected to global struggles for liberation throughout the African Diaspora. In light of this, the Umoja Community views education as a liberatory act designed to empower all students to critique, engage, and transform deleterious social and institutional practices locally and globally. The Umoja Community will practice and foster civic engagement so that all its participants integrate learning and service. Likewise, the Umoja Community will instill in our students the knowledge and skills necessary to enable them to make positive differences in their lives and the lives of others.