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Urban Action Institute (UAI)

Urban Action Institute (UAI)

Preparing students to meet the challenges that face our urban environment

About Areas of Work Worcester State Teaching Garden Older Student Registration

UAI News

Empty Bowls fundraiser combats food insecurity, fosters community

The annual Empty Bowls fundraiser was held Nov. 14 in the exhibit area of the Student Center. The Urban Action Institute, which is the outreach and community action arm of the Urban Studies Department, partnered with Chartwell’s and the Student Government Association for the event to promote hunger awareness and provide resources to students in need.

Shared Scholarship Series highlights research on food insecurity and water pollution

The Shared Scholarship Series resumed for its tenth year on Friday, January 26, with presentations by Danielle Morales, assistant professor in the Urban Studies Department, and Laura Reynolds, assistant professor in the Earth, Environment, and Physics Department.

Worcester State University announces Housing Justice Summit open to the community

Worcester State University will bring together community organizations, affordable housing advocates, housing experts, and city officials Tuesday, March 12, for its first Housing Justice Summit. The half-day event is open to the public.

Community leaders tackle housing justice at university summit

Worcester State University brought together community organizations, affordable housing advocates, housing experts, and city officials on March 12 for its first Housing Justice Summit.

Grassroots initiative to provide meals for students gets boost from donor

Worcester State students are not immune to food insecurity. A Worcester State Urban Action Institute self-study conducted before the pandemic revealed that close to a third of the university’s students struggle with hunger.

Areas of work

The Urban Action Institute (UAI) aims to enable students and community members of all ages and backgrounds to work for an equitable world. Work is conducted in different formats, including community fieldwork courses, events, workshops, etc. The UAI also oversees and manages the Worcester State Teaching Garden and Older Student Registration.

Social Justice

Working with community partners on initiatives that defend human rights and the struggle for equity across the greater Worcester area, including work on issues of racial and economic justice, LGBTQ rights, environmental justice and diversity.

Educational Collaboration

Partnering with students from across the education system to identify pathways to academic success in which they can build leadership and active citizenship skills through mentorship initiatives that emphasize inclusive communities, social justice, collective good, global citizenship, and intergenerational solidarity.

Inclusion & Equity

Seeking and supporting initiatives that strive to make Worcester and WSU an inclusive and equitable place for all, including newcomer communities and those who have been historically under-served or excluded.

Sustainability

Building off the idea of "the commons" for a just city; working to expand and protect collective resources on campus and in the city that are maintained by engaged urban residents for the benefit of larger communities.

Advocacy & Leadership

Co-producing knowledge with students of all ages in order to collectively speak up for change in their communities on the city, state, and federal level.

Global Citizenship

Forging connections between WSU students and the greater Worcester community to address global issues locally as well as abroad through advocacy, outreach, and transformative action.

Urban Action Institute Staff and Faculty

Associate Professor, Chair

asaltsman@worcester.edu

129B

Department: Urban Studies

Yeruksew Hoyt-Rouse

Staff Associate

yhoytrouse@worcester.edu

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Department: Urban Studies

Older Student Registration

Older students may now take courses in-person! Massachusetts residents age 60 and older may be eligible for per credit tuition and fee waivers on a space available basis at WSU. The Urban Action Institute assists with older student registration prior to fall and spring semesters. Eligible older students register directly with the Registrar’s Office for undergraduate courses and the Division of Graduate and Continuing Education for evening and graduate courses for winter and summer sessions.

Older Student Registration will open on Summer Session I and Full Summer: Thursday, May 15 @ 9am. For Summer II: Thursday, July 10 @ 9am.
Download the following list of courses to select your classes:
Summer Session II Course Offerings
You may register online by downloading and completing the following form and sending it via email to dgce@worcester.edu. You must be a resident of Massachusetts and be over 60 to be eligible for the tuition and fee waiver. You must email a scan or copy of your Massachusetts Driver’s License verifying your age. If you have previously taken a course at Worcester State University using this tuition waiver, you do not need to provide documentation of your residency or age.
Older Student Registration Packet
In-person registration will be available in the Division of Graduate and Continuing Education (on the fourth floor of the Shaughnessy Administration Building) if you experience any issues with registering online.
Any sections ending in “S” are not available during Older Student Registration.
Graduate and Continuing Education reserves the right to limit registration on certain evening and graduate classes.
Audit forms are available by request after registration by emailing registrar@worcester.edu and must be returned with instructor permission by the end of the add/drop period.
Proof of completion of course prerequisites is required at the time of registration. Students will not be allowed to register for a course unless they have completed the prerequisite or its equivalent or have written departmental approval. Advanced degrees, certificates, doctorates do not replace meeting the requirement of fulfilling course prerequisites.
List the course that you want to take first in the “course selection” area. List any alternative classes you would like to take if those are not available. Write “Alternative” next to those course titles. This will streamline the process and cut down on back and forth emails between you and the Registrar’s office.

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