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California to Launch College for Undocumented Students
By Catherine Groux
Posted August 02, 2012 01:02 PM
California plans to launch an online school for undocumented students.Under a new collaboration between the University of California, the Los Angeles Center for Labor Research and Education and the National Labor College, undocumented students may soon have new opportunities to pursue higher education, Fox News Latino reports. Recently, the institutions announced they plan to launch National Dream University, a school that will provide online courses to immigrants and labor rights activists.
In 2013, about 35 students will be accepted to take six courses on subjects like labor history, social movements and nonviolence. These classes - which will cost $2,490 - will be open to anyone interested in learning more about the topics, regardless of their legal status.
Alma Castrejon, the project's coordinator, told Fox that students who complete the program will earn a certificate and the chance to transfer their credits to another school. However, if the project is successful, future participants may be able to earn a full associate's or bachelor's degree.
Students who participate in the program will be required to travel to Maryland and California at the beginning and end of the academic year, but can complete all other assignments through online education.
Kent Wong, director of the University of California, Los Angeles' (UCLA) Labor College, told LA Weekly that the online format is designed to assist illegal students, who often face different scheduling challenges than their peers.
"My undocumented students really struggle to complete their education at UCLA," Wong said. "Many have to take off quarters to work. Many have to work in the underground economy to save money to go to school. Many have to commute two, three hours to go to UCLA. It's not easy for Dream Act students to attend college."
The idea for National Dream University came from a Georgia project known as Freedom University, Fox reports. Last year, after state lawmakers considered a bill that would have prevented illegal immigrants from going to college in Georgia, five college professors decided to work together to find a way to offer these individuals an education. These teachers formed Freedom University, which strives to offer classes that give undocumented students the same experience they would receive in Georgia universities. The university is beginning its second year of classes this fall.
