UC Essential Needs Training and Education
At the Center for Economic Justice and Action, we offer a wide range of trainings and educational programs for UC practitioners that are designed to increase knowledge of state and national essential needs issues and trends, enhance skills, foster capacity, and build community. We work closely with UC campuses, providing specialized technical assistance that aligns campus priorities and is responsive to state and national policy issues.
Throughout the 2024-25 academic year, Ruben Canedo is providing training and technical assistance related to financial aid and social services through Communities of Practice. Tim Galarneau is focusing on affordable housing and student billing services through three Learning & Action (L&A) Cohorts alongside Salon workshops focusing on electronic benefit transfer (EBT), graduate student essential needs services and programs, non-resident student essentials needs, and weaving campus programs into larger food access efforts in CA. Both were involved in the planning and facilitation of last year’s CHEBNA Summit and will continue plannng with CHEBNA partners for the 2026 CHEBNA Summit and regional convenings in FY24-25. As Co-Directors they also work across a range of intersectional UC engaged programs. These activities entail campus specific technical assistance and support to campuses as well as broader consultations with the UC Student Association (UCSA), UC Graduate and Professional Council (UCGPC), as well as State and Federal entities and affiliates working together to improve student essential needs and success.
See the 2024-25 UC Essential Needs Consortium Salon Series and Social Services Community Meetings
Please visit often as we continue to expand training and education resources on this site.
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A brief history of UC basic needs training and education
In 2014-2015, efforts to address food insecurity were launched by a committee that included students, staff, faculty, administrators, and community partners across the ten UC campuses. Co-led by Ruben E. Canedo (UC Berkeley) and Tim Galarneau (UC Santa Cruz), the committee initially focused on food insecurity. It expanded to include housing insecurity in 2018, ultimately becoming known as the UC Basic Needs Committee. This work expanded to include UC Washington, DC (UCDC).
The systemwide committee met several times annually, rotating convenings across UC campuses. Additionally, UC Basic Needs Committee Co-Chairs Galarneau and Canedo traveled to all campuses, holding visits at which campus and community leadership discussed challenges, progress, needs, and future plans. These convenings provided opportunities for education and training related to administrative data collection, research and evaluation, effective campus practices, and state and national essential needs issues. During the COVID-19 pandemic, meetings were held remotely, and thematic “pods” focused on specific issues and interests.
Strong partnerships with state and national organizations and agencies, government departments and committees, and state and national associations/organizations/campaigns were formed. For example, the California Higher Education Basic Needs Alliance (CHEBNA) was created in 2016-2017 to understand how to address and evaluate basic needs programs across all three of California’s public higher education systems. Requests from these groups frequently included education and training across entry, intermediate, and advanced levels on our UC Basic Needs efforts. These education and training efforts have resulted in webinars, train-the-trainer curriculum, improving proposed policies, testimony for legislative and budget hearings, conference sessions and keynotes―all dedicated to improving student basic needs.
This work continues today through the Center for Economic Justice and Action’s Training and Education initiatives.