Faculty and Staff Development

The Division of Student Affairs is committed to partnering with faculty and staff to ensure students’ success, both academically and personally. We offer a series of professional development sessions for faculty and staff to learn more about:

  • critical student issues;
  • strategies for supporting students;
  • available campus resources.

You are invited to review the goals for each session below and to schedule a session for your school/college/department.

The following sessions are currently available:

Student Accessibility Services Information Session

The Student Accessibility Services information session presents an overview of ways UVM's Student Accessibility Services supports students with disabilities. This 30-minute presentation gives an introduction to the process for faculty and staff who are interested in understanding best practices in working with students with disabilities.

Learning Goals:

  • Participants will identify how Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the ADA Amendments impact Higher Education.
  • Participants will understand the rights and responsibilities of UVM, faculty, students with disabilities, and the ACCESS program.
  • Procedures for granting and receiving accomodations will also be reviewed.

Link to presentation

If you would like to schedule a session, please contact:

Dani Comey
Director, Center for Academic Success
Dani.Comey@uvm.edu

Alcohol, Cannabis, & Other Drugs (ACOD)

This presentation describes the climate on campus as it relates to students’ use/abuse of alcohol, marijuana, and other drugs and the University’s current research, prevention education and initiatives. The work and recommendations from the President’s Committee on Alcohol and Other Drugs will also be shared.

Learning Goals:

  • Provide participants UVM data regarding the impacts of alcohol and other drugs within the University community and compared to other institutions.
  • Provide participants information about intervention strategies and helpful campus resources.
  • Provide participants opportunities to generate ideas for fully engaging students at UVM.

If you would like to schedule a session, please contact:

Tom Fontana
BASICS Coordinator, LivingWell
Tom.Fontana@uvm.edu

Campus Connect: Suicide Awareness

Campus Connect, developed by the Syracuse University Counseling Center, is a gatekeeper training program for college faculty, staff and students. The experientially based training is designed to enhance participant’s knowledge, awareness and skills concerning college suicide. Research has demonstrated that approximately 80% of college students who died by suicide were not previously known to college mental health providers, which makesthis type of "gatekeeper" training both necessary and critical.

  • Enhance participants’ knowledge about suicide statistics, warning signs, and referral resources.
  • Increase empathic listening skills, communication skills and to ask if individuals are thinking about suicide.
  • Develop a network of individuals within the community to assist in identifying and supporting students in crisis.

If you would like to schedule a session, please contact:

Annie Valentine
Mental Health Educator
Annie.Valentine@uvm.edu

Identifying and Supporting Students of Concern

This presentation will discuss current mental health and behavioral trends and challenges in today’s college student population. Presenters will identify best practices for faculty and/or staff in identifying, supporting, and referring students with behavioral and/or mental health concerns within and outside the classroom. Ethical and legal concerns in managing students at risk will be addressed, as well as how to effectively partner with and refer students to campus resources as part of a campus-wide and interdisciplinary approach to student success.

Learning Goals:

  • Identify ways to recognize common indicators and discern the difference between distressed and disruptive students.
  • Develop skills and response strategies.
  • Learn about campus referral resources and appropriate referral channels to better support faculty and staff.

If you would like to schedule a session, please contact:

Joseph Russell
Assistant Dean for Students
deanofstudents@uvm.edu

or

Sarah Helmer
Assistant Dean, College of Arts and Sciences
Sarah.Helmer@uvm.edu

Mental Health First Aid

Learning Objectives for Mental Health First Aid  (8 Hour Course)

Mental Health First Aid for Higher Education which focuses on the unique experience and needs of college students-gives you the skills to reach out and provide initial support to someone who may be developing a mental health or substance use problem and help connect them to the appropriate care.   Just as CPR training helps a person without medical training assist an individual following a heart attack, Mental Health First Aid training helps a person assist someone experiencing a mental health crisis.

The evidence behind Mental Health First Aid demonstrates that it makes people feel more comfortable managing a crisis situation and builds mental health literacy —  helping the public identify, understand and respond to signs of mental illness.  Specifically, studies found that those who trained in Mental Health First Aid have greater confidence in providing help to others, greater likelihood of advising people to seek professional help, improved concordance with health professionals about treatments, and decreased stigmatizing attitudes.

For more information visit the Mental Health First Aid website.

To learn about training opportunities, contact:

Annie Valentine
Center for Health and Wellbeing, Living Well
Annie.Valentine@uvm.edu

Career Development & Career Success Plan

Several sessions are offered through the Career Center and can be adjusted to fit the interests of faculty.

Intro to Career Center and Career + Experience Hub
Learn about the services UVM provides students and alumni as well as the resources and expertise available to faculty and staff who are working on related projects, (e.g., internship programs or classes, recommendation letters, advising, course design, guest lecturers).

Learning Goals:

  • Know goals, services and delivery mechanisms for career and experiential learning that are available to UVM students.
  • Understand and be able to access career consultants’ help in planning or providing career-related learning, activities or services.
  • Locate additional career related information and assistance.

Using the 4-Year Path for Career Success
The 4-Year Plan for Career Success (4YP) is a deceptively simple tool to promote student engagement in “High Impact Practices” that positively correlate to student learning and retention. Many faculty and departments are using the tool to encourage student independence, career preparation and good career outcomes.

Learning Goals:

  • Understand features, goals and purpose of the 4YP.
  • Learn ways UVM faculty and advisors are using the 4YP.
  • Explore ways to apply this resource to their own work.

Career Outcomes
Increasingly, prospective students and families want to see statistics and stories about post-graduation jobs and graduate school enrollments. This session will explain cross-departmental efforts to collect and report this information, ask participants for their input, and solicit ways to improve student participation.

Learning Goals:

  • Learn about national reporting standards and UVM’s challenges and strategies.
  • Access UVM-level data on last year’s students.
  • Apply knowledge and experience to improve data gathering and reporting.

If you would like to schedule any of these sessions, please contact:

Pamela K. Gardner, Ed.D.
Director, Career Center
Career@uvm.edu

Mandatory Reporter Training: Clery Act and Title IX

The Dean of Students Office, Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity, Police Services, and General Counsel have prepared an educational program to help mandatory reporters familiarize themselves with their legal obligations under the Clery Act, Title IX, and University Policy. Mandatory Reporters are strongly encouraged to attend this educational program annually.

In accordance with federal law, the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act (Clery Act) and Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (Title IX), the University of Vermont is required to both disclose statistics concerning the occurrence of certain criminal offenses reported to local law enforcement agencies or any official of the institution with mandatory reporting obligations, and promptly and appropriately respond to all instances of sexual misconduct of which it, through its employees with mandatory reporting obligations, becomes aware.

Learning Goals:

  • Identify why legal obligations of mandatory reporters exist and how they apply to a UVM employee.
  • Learn how to report qualifying incidents to appropriate University offices.
  • Learn how to support members of the campus community who have been affected by an incident.

If you are unsure whether you are a mandatory reporter, please contact:

Jes Kraus, J.D.
Title IX Coordinator
Jes.Kraus@uvm.edu

If you would like to schedule a dedicating training session for your department, please contact:

Kelly Riel
Clery Act Coordinator
Kelly.Riel@uvm.edu