New knowledge – University employees required to complete newly developed training modules

University of Idaho employees, including student employees and supervisors, will be required to complete training programs recently developed to teach employees about topics ranging from sexual harassment to overall university goals.

“We”re proposing to define supervisor pretty widely,” said Brian Foisy, vice president of Finance. “If you supervise any employee, even including student employees, we want to make sure you”re appropriately trained.”

All employees are required to complete three training modules by April 5. The first program, Our Inclusive Workplace, was required of UI employees last year and addressed topics to do with discrimination and sexual harassment prevention.

In a similar format, the UI Stewardship of Resources and Ethical Conduct training covers topics ranging from conflicts of interest to ethics and resource stewardship.

Finally, UI Mission and Goals discusses broader topics such as the role of the university and the current strategic plan.

Employees will not be required to retake Our Inclusive Workplace or UI Stewardship of Resources and Ethical Conduct if they have already completed the training in 2015.

Employees will be required to complete refresher trainings every three years.

Foisy said the set of the three programs can be completed in about one hour.

University supervisors are required to complete four additional modules by April 5. The training programs are Performance Management, Performance Evaluation, Navigating the Employment Legal Landscape and Strategies for Selection and Hiring Success.

In total, the courses require about three hours of time to complete.

At a Faculty Senate meeting, Foisy said the definition of a supervisor at UI is purposefully broad.

Successful and timely completion of these training modules will be taken into account in 2016 performance evaluations and 2017 pay determinations. The three additional modules will be included in the employee training plan by 2016.

More instructions will be sent to UI employees on Dec. 22. Yet, current employees can access the training modules by going to uidaho.edu/human-resources/pdl/compliance-training.

Erin Bamer  can be reached at  [email protected]  or on Twitter @ErinBamer

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