The Umoja Community serves educationally and economically under-resourced students, believing that when the voices and histories of students are deliberately and intentionally recognized, students develop self-efficacy and a foundation for academic success. Umoja actively promotes student success for all students, with an emphasis on African American student success, through culturally responsive curriculum and practices. Chancellors and college presidents from across the state support and advise the Umoja Governing Board.
Professional Development, Core Academic Programming, and Integrated Student Services
The Umoja Community provides “transformative” professional development to faculty, staff, students, and administrators. Each year, we host a summer learning institute, statewide conference, and regional symposia. Further, we support colleges in the following: a “readiness process” to identify when they are institutionally prepared to affiliate with Umoja, a subsequent pilot year including site visits and assessment, as well as ongoing training for all Umoja coordinators and area faculty. Along with signing an MOU, colleges must agree to maintain the core components of the Umoja Community to be an affiliated program. The core components include: participation in the full matriculation process, now mandated by the SSSP; designing an academic pathway, usually a learning community, which accelerates student progress to transferdirected status; and providing intrusive and wrap-around support services.