U.S. Anti-Black Racism Course

The course is for everyone. That said, the course centers the experiences of Black students, in particular. By doing so, we believe all students will learn and benefit from the course. 

Any UConn student can take the course, as well as UConn faculty and staff.

This course was spoken into existence by Guymara Manigat and Wanjiku Gatheru who during the virtual town hall hosted by the African American Cultural Center in July 2020, noted that the university had put resources and time into creating a 1-credit course related to the COVID-19 pandemic, but had not done something similar to address the other pandemic-- anti-Black racism. President Katsouleas promised the students that he would make the course happen and entrusted Provost Carl Lejuez to execute the course. Provost Lejuez asked Drs. Milagros Castillo-Monntoya, David Embrick, and Shardé Davis to be the course coordinators and bring this course into fruition. Soon thereafter, these three invited Dr. Frank Tuitt (Office of Diversity and Inclusion), Dr. Willena Price (African American Cultural Center), Dr. Milena Pappademos (African Studies Institute) to serve on the Advisory Board for this course, along with the course coordinating faculty, and Dr. Peter Diplock from the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL). The course was first offered in the fall 2020 semester.

You should expect to dedicate 5 hours a week to this course. This expectation is based on the various course activities, assignments, and assessments and the University of Connecticut’s policy regarding credit hours. (More information related to hours per week per credit can be accessed at the Online Student website.)

This course is graded Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory (S/U)

For additional information on undergraduate grading policies see here: https://registrar.uconn.edu/grades/.

The nine-week course begins on Tuesday, Jan.19 and ends on March 21. The course is entirely online and does not have any required meeting times. Students with less than 24 earned credits should enroll in UNIV 1985, and students with more than 24 earned credits should enroll in UNIV 3985. Graduate students should enroll in UNIV 3985. Students can enroll up until the end of add/drop period.

Staff and faculty can enroll directly through HuskyCT: https://confluence.uconn.edu/ikb/teaching-and-learning/huskyct/u-s-anti-black-racism-course.

No, this course is free to all active, matriculated students. The non-credit version, available for faculty and staff in HuskyCT, also carries no cost.

• Without a W: Students can drop using the form on the Registrar’s website. Undergraduates must request the drop by Feb. 1 to avoid receiving a “W” on the academic record.  Please note that if students are full-time based on this one-credit course, they should consult with their advisor and Financial Aid to determine the best course of action regarding the withdrawal.
• With a W: Requests made after the aforementioned date must be made via the official withdrawal channels (online Course Withdrawal Form) and students must have advisor approval; all must be completed by March 29.

Graduate students should select UNIV 3985, the credit-bearing course. The non-credit course is for faculty/staff who do not have an active academic career open at UConn.

Yes, if you are at your credit maximum, you should reach out to your advising dean’s office about the possibility of obtaining excess credit permission so you can take this course.

Can students enroll in the non-credit faculty and staff section? No, active students must take one of the credit-bearing options.