I took Dr. Harrell’s Community Psychology course through the Transfer Summer Program (TSP) when it was online. The course grade consisted of 3-4 page weekly connection papers, an open-note exam, a community organization development project, participation, and a final class study circle reflection. Class meetings were Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for 2 hours, but she did give us breaks at the half. The weekly connection papers are an interesting assignment because they give you an opportunity to tie class concepts to relevant topics like a social justice film or social justice organization. The exam, on the other hand, was a very subjective experience for many of us. Although it was intended for us to take it within a few hours, it took all of us several hours to complete it, some more than others. I highly suggest studying with others and making your own study guide with definitions and examples of the course content in order to do the best you can. The community organization development project is a creative paper where you get to develop a community organization that addresses a mental health or social justice issue. It is time-consuming, but it has the potential to be interesting if you choose a topic you are genuinely interested in. Participation was graded on weekly forum posts, which could be either tedious or fascinating whether you are into current events, and PLF sessions. Aside from clarifying a few concepts and questions I had, I personally did not find the PLF sessions too helpful with grasping the material. The last assignment is a reflection on a discussion you do at the end of class. When I was going through a rough time early in the program, Dr. Harrell was very accommodating to me when that was communicated to her. Overall, she is very experienced and accomplished, so she does hold her students to a high academic standard, especially as UCLA students. Nonetheless, she is very compassionate, knowledgeable, and caring. This was definitely a class where you have to put in the work to earn an A.

I took this class as part of the Transfer Summer Program (TSP). The curriculum itself made it difficult to manage this class, however, it was undoubtedly my favorite course. Dr. Harrell is one of the nicest, easy to talk to professors I have had the privilege of learning from.

Having completed the program in 6 weeks, I can say that the workload was pretty heavy. I am sure that if it were offered during the regular school year it would be much easier to handle. We were assigned a connections paper every week, had weekly discussions, a midterm and a final research paper. She was always very clear with her instructions and often offered assistance with minor issues like citation corrections.

I really enjoyed this class. I definitely recommend taking it too! The content is interesting and engaging.