USP Five-Year Strategic Plan: 2015-2020

We aspire to provide undocumented students with fundamental support and fair access to opportunities so they may readily achieve their full potential.

Strengthening our services

The Undocumented Student Program is at a critical crossroads in its evolution. Despite the program’s growth and success, there are still clear challenges for undocumented students at Cal. These students continue to face enormous financial, cultural, and institutional barriers, which keep its members from achieving their full potential.

From 2015 until 2020, our plan was to continue to strengthen our services in the following areas:

• Academic Counseling and Case Management — deliver individualized service plans for each student and expand the USP’s peer counseling program.

• Mental Health — continue directly providing specialized services to USP students with a long-term goal to shift mental health services back to UC Berkeley, this includes ensuring there are culturally-competent staff who understand how to serve this population.

• Legal Services — assess available immigration pathways for undocumented students; develop a network of pro bono attorneys for students’ families.

• Academic Experience — connect undocumented students to campus programs and services to enhance their student experience and support their successful transition from high school and/or community college.

• Financial Wellness and Emergency Assistance — help students navigate financial aid and scholarships; continue to provide emergency grants to help with unexpected financial strains.

• Housing and Food Security — identify ways to help students find affordable housing options and achieve food security.

Extending the support

The program also seeks to institutionalize support for undocumented students more broadly throughout the UC Berkeley system and at leading universities across the country. Sharing our USP model supports our goal to increase support for undocumented students nationwide.

Please download our Strategic Plan to explore these goals and the related strategies in more detail. Our next 5 year Strategic Plan is currently in the works and we will be pleased to share it once it is finalized.