One student told us he had never believed “some PhD” would want to teach “the likes of me.” Other students said they had never considered university education to be a possibility. We heard difficult and troubling stories about previous educational experiences and current barriers, which kept university campuses and classrooms out of reach. These are the students of the University 101 program.
Last month, the University of Victoria celebrated the 10th anniversary of this program, which has been offering barrier-free university courses since 2006 to people who otherwise have no access to post-secondary education.
A decade ago, a small group of UVic and community people were inspired by the principle that those marginalized in our communities by poverty, mental-health issues, single parenthood and physical disabilities should have access to broader educational opportunities. Too often, it is assumed that members of marginalized communities lack the capacity to think about, debate and research pressing historical and contemporary issues. We strongly disagreed.
Instead, we envisioned a course with a twofold purpose: It would offer community members access to the intellectual mysteries of the humanities and it would ideally provide an opportunity for its students to participate actively in the production of knowledge about what makes us human.
Similar initiatives have flourished across North America over the past 20 years since the first Clemente course in the Humanities was offered in New York City. Such courses likewise focus not on short-term vocational job training, often considered appropriate for low-income, marginalized individuals, but rather on the skills of critical thinking and reflection.
The UVic program draws on the strengths of the humanities, social sciences and liberal arts curricula. UVic offers two non-credit courses, one in the humanities (Uni 101) and one in the social sciences (Uni 102, launched in 2007). The courses, taught each week by a different volunteer faculty member, introduce a range of topics, including an introduction to poetry, media and pop culture, the history of indigenous-settler relations in Canada, social constructions of gender, neuropolitics and how culture shapes thought and behaviour, and eyewitness error and wrongful imprisonment.
Thanks to the generous support of various UVic units and individual donors, the program is able to provide free meals, bus tickets, child care and course materials. In this way, the program helps students overcome material barriers to university education, but it is the students themselves who overcome invisible barriers.
In course evaluations and at completion ceremonies, students have expressed how the program helped them “grow tall” or awakened their inner writer or poet. The students also came to realize, often for the first time, that university spaces were open to them — both physically and intellectually. They have worked hard to develop enhanced confidence and skills, which provide them with increased options in their lives and allow them to give back to their families, their communities and to the program itself.
Many of the students opt to continue their post-secondary journeys through University 201, a course for graduates that provides shorter month-long courses on topics ranging from astronomy and Canadian cinema to international law and fundamental immunology.
What distinguishes our program from other strong university programs of its kind is its deeply collaborative and democratic approach. From the seed of an idea 10 years ago, Uni 101 is now being fundamentally shaped — as it should be — by the vision of its students and alumni.
University 101 is particularly committed to ensuring alumni of the program play a central role in setting its direction. They do so through involvement on the steering committee, composed primarily of those who have completed one or more of the courses. Some alumni also participate in a year-long leadership program developed by and for Uni 101 graduates, while others go on to serve as volunteer facilitators in Uni 101 classrooms.
In these ways, our Uni 101 students model non-hierarchical ways of leadership and learning for participants and instructors alike, leading us all toward a more inclusive and collaborative vision of higher education.
More info: uvic.ca/uni101
Annalee Lepp, Lynne Marks and Kristin Semmens are members of the Uni 101 administration committee at the University of Victoria.
