UUARC offers Computer Courses and Citizenship Training for Immigrants in the Philadelphia Area

Computer Courses

UUARC, in partnership with Manor College, is now offering computer training courses for new immigrants from Ukraine, which are being held at the Manor College Computer Lab in Jenkintown, PA. Registration for the fall semester of 2006 will take place on August 26th and September 9th from 9:00 AM to 12:00 Noon at UUARC Headquarters, 1206 Cottman Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19111. $200 covers registration, the text book and the training in full. Please call 215-728-1630 with questions.

The first 16-week course took place in the Fall of 2005. An English competency exam was a prerequisite of the course, but the course was taught by a bi-lingual instructor, Mr. Danylo Nysch to assure full understanding. The course, entitled "Bi-Lingual Introduction to MS Office 2003", covered Microsoft Word, Excel, Power Point and Access, as well as facility in internet access, resume writing, and resume posting. UUARC had intended to offer only one 15-student course for that semester, but the overwhelming response filled two sections, thus 30 students were registered. The students earned a certificate of course completion as well as 4.8 Continuing Education Units, and were all very satisfied with the experience. The students expressed gratitude to UUARC with comments such as, "finally", "this was a very useful thing" and "they understood our needs".

The subsequent computer course offered through this program was "Bi-lingual MS Office 2003 - Advanced", for those students who desired to achieve a deeper knowledge of the programs. The new bi-lingual instructor is Borys Krotiak, who will continue teaching the courses.

Citizenship Preparation

UUARC also continues to offer Citizenship Preparation Classes at UUARC Headquarters, which are taught by Metodij Boretsky, head of UUARC's Information Bureau. This is the eighth time the courses have been held at UUARC, with excellent results. Immigrants are completely prepared to take the Citizenship exam. The requirements for applying for citizenship are a "green card" and four years' residence (two years if married to a US citizen), but the courses can be taken slightly in advance. Registration for the next course will take place on September 9, 2006 from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM at UUARC Headquarters as mentioned above. There is only a $15.00 registration fee.

UUARC is exploring the possibility of expanding both of these programs to areas where new immigrants have settled throughout the US.