Join DeCal

The DeCal board is a student group that provides outreach and publicity services for student-initiated group study courses by familiarizing students with the course initiation process and listing courses on a website. We are not responsible for reviewing, approving, or supervising Special Studies courses. The departments and the Academic Senate handle all academic and administrative aspects of DeCal courses.

The DeCal Program is one of the largest student-run educational organizations in the country.

There are four main ways to get involved:

• As a volunteer.
• As an intern. (and receive academic credit)
• As a course facilitator
• As a member of the advisory board. (and receive academic credit)

Here's what you will gain by joining the DeCal Board:

• Strong leadership skills: Through better understanding of the dynamics of group learning environments and the connection between learning and society, which are central areas of thoughts in DeCal’s philosophy, you will gain the confidence and ability to lead and work in groups.

• New friends and peers with a unique perspective: DeCal facilitators are among the top students on campus. We also regularly have contacts with people outside of Berkeley’s community. Just last year, student and campus representatives from UC Santa Cruz, UPenn and UCLA met with us to discuss their version of Dem. Ed in their respective universities. Other people we meet with regularly are top people in their fields and are very understanding of the need to provide quality opportunities to people our age.

• Academic credit for your work: DeCal Board members receive 0-4 units of credit for their work with DeCal. It is an enormously powerful leadership opportunity.

• Responsibility in a major non-profit organization: DeCal is the largest student-run educational organization in the country, with over 1,000 students enrolled in classes and between 120 to 150 classes each semester.

• An understanding of the factors that underly historical movements for social change: On the DeCal Board, we believe that students have great power when they come together. History of social change on the Berkeley campus has shown what a powerful force for change students can be.

• The ability to create your own projects: Because of the breadth of the organization, there is a lot of opportunity for you be creative. In DeCal you can leverage your talents to help improve the student experience at Berkeley and  contribute to changing the overall perception of education on a national level.

Created by students, the DeCal Board is really accommodating so that you can have a great time while learning and performing a lot of high-quality and meaningful work.

If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact us, please call 510.642.9127, e-mail us at decalprogram@gmail.com, or fill out our online interest form! If you are interested in joining us in Spring 2009, let us know!

Updated November 13, 2008.