At A Glance
About Clemente
Our Mission
The Clemente Course in the Humanities provides a transformative educational experience for adults facing economic hardship and adverse circumstances. Our free college humanities courses empower students to further their education and careers, become effective advocates for themselves and their families, and engage actively in the cultural and civic lives of their communities.
Approach
Instead of building grand structures, Clemente educates people in spaces embedded in their communities, from health centers to public libraries. As college tuition soars, Clemente remains free, while also providing crucial wrap-around support by covering childcare and transportation costs. While many institutions curtail or eliminate humanities programs, Clemente wagers on their enduring value and power to uplift individuals and communities.
Organization
The national Clemente organization is an indispensable resource for all Clemente courses, providing assistance with student recruitment, curriculum development, staff and faculty hiring and training, course accreditation, and grant-writing.
We are proud to lead a community of practice, sharing research and resources through our publications, toolkits, presentations, and annual retreat. In addition to helping existing Clemente Courses flourish, we actively seek to establish and nurture new courses, bringing the Clemente experience to as many students in need as possible.
Model
Over thirty Clemente Courses operate across the United States and Canada, from Boston, MA to Oakland, CA and from Madison, WI to Atlanta, GA. Each course is embedded in the community it serves, with the support of local and regional networks and institutions.
All Clemente courses are accredited, either through our primary partner Bard College, or universities closely linked to Clemente sites. Our core model consists of six credit hours delivered over two semesters to cohorts of 15-20 students. Guided by experienced college faculty in a rigorous and supportive classroom, students are taught via seminar, encouraging active participation. Classes offered include philosophy, history, literature, art history, and writing.
All who complete the course receive a certificate of achievement. Students who demonstrate college-level work may earn college credit from Bard College or one of our other academic partners.
Students
Our students face significant barriers to higher education. The U.S. Federal Poverty Level is $15,000 for individuals; $31,000 for a family of four. Many of our students fall below this threshold, and the vast majority qualify for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Medicaid (130% and 150% of the Poverty Level respectively).
In addition to financial distress, our students commonly report other major barriers to higher education, including housing insecurity, incarceration, trauma, health-related challenges, and immigration status issues.
Clemente offers an open door. We require only that students are at least 17 years old, able to read a newspaper, and plan to complete a year-long course. We do not require a high school diploma, GED, college test scores, or proof of immigration status.
Impact
Clemente graduates consistently tell us the course serves as a turning point in their lives: it expands their worldviews, makes them deeper thinkers and better writers, and above all gives them the confidence that they can accomplish difficult things.
- 99% of respondents reported participating in Clemente helped them improve their writing (2011)
- 81% of respondents reported that Clemente courses played a major role in preparing them academically for college coursework (2017)
- 87% of respondents reported that Clemente courses played a major role in developing in-depth analytical skills (2017)
- 90% of Veterans Initiative participants said Clemente invited them to think about issues related to military service they had not considered (2019)
- 95% of participants in the Veterans Initiative said they would recommend the course to other veterans (2019)