Personal Skills for a Diverse Campus Course FAQs

Based on the results of the 2020 Campus Climate Study, and in alignment with our values as a Catholic, Jesuit institution, Marquette University recognizes a need for a more comprehensive approach to educational opportunities for employees around issues related to diversity and inclusion. This deficiency was also identified by members of the Black Student Council, whose 2020 agreement with university administrators calls for a required diversity and inclusion training for all employees.

While no online program can take the place of the deep learning that is accomplished through discussion-based and other more interactive approaches, this program will establish a common vocabulary around foundational diversity and inclusion concepts.

Faculty and Staff: Personal Skills for a Diverse Campus includes three online modules that will take a total of approximately three hours to complete, including comprehension checks and culminating quizzes:

• Engagement with Diversity: Focuses on how faculty and staff define and engage with diversity; examines how diversity resistance, reactions to difference, and assumptions can interfere with student engagement; and provides practical strategies to support faculty and staff as they learn to engage comfortably with diversity.
• Communication for Inclusion: Concentrates on the importance of considering impact, not intent, when engaging with identity terminology and self-identification. Microaggressions are defined and explored, with a focus on strategies for recipients, senders, and bystanders who want to mitigate the harm that microaggressions cause, including a discussion on microaffirmations.
• The Influence of Unconscious Bias: Explores unconscious bias and strategies faculty and staff can use to counteract its effects. Participants in this course will unpack myths surrounding ability, lifestyle, experience, and classroom behavior, as well as the unique challenges facing LGBTQ faculty and students and what research says about providing support that fosters academic success and good mental health.

The required program will be rolled out to the campus community in phases. The College of Nursing, the Diederich College of Communication, University Advancement, University Relations and the Department of Human Resources have agreed to be early adopters of the program, with the expectation that employees in these units will complete the three modules over the months of September, October and November 2021. All other units will follow in spring and summer 2022. Any new employees and returning employees who have not completed the program will be automatically enrolled in subsequent semesters. 

There are three modules will which take approximately 30 minutes (Engagement with Diversity), 60 minutes (Communication for Inclusion), and 60 minutes (The Influence of Unconscious Bias) to complete. Progress will not be saved until the conclusion of each section so we recommend that users devote enough time to complete each module of the course in one sitting.  

Each module contains several quizzes, as well as a short culminating assessment. If a participant scores below an 80% they are re-directed back to the assessment and given unlimited opportunities to re-take it.

​Important: The scores are not shared with HR, supervisors or others. These assessments are designed for employees to self-check for comprehension. 

The deans/VPs of each college or division will only receive notification that the employees within their respective units completed the training.

In fall 2020, the Office of Institutional Diversity and Inclusion and the Department of Human Resources solicited volunteers from the University Committee on Equity and Inclusion and Employee Resource Group chairs to review the program. Of those who vetted the full content, 95% recommended that this program be required for Marquette employees as it provided important foundational knowledge about two common issues that affect campus climate: implicit bias and microaggressions. The test group also provided rich feedback, which was forwarded to Vector Solutions and resulted in several important updates to the program in spring 2021.  

In a spirit of growth and openness!

It is recommended that individuals schedule time on their calendars to participate in each module, and that offices and departments set aside time for group discussion afterward. There are also facilitator guides available for deeper conversation around select topics as well as facilitated discussions for modules 2 and 3 available upon request – contact Jacki Black at jacqueline.black@marquette.edu for more information.  

Most technical difficulties can be resolved by restarting your browser, clearing your cache, or trying a different web browser. If you try these and are still having difficulty, please contact the dedicated support team at Vector Solutions: support.education@vectorsolutions.com.

In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the spoken phrases and narration is provided as text on the screen or through closed captioning making the content accessible for those with visual or hearing impairments. The program also has an interactive transcript that can be accessed by clicking the icon on the bottom right corner of the video player.

If additional accommodations are necessary, please reach out to humanresources@marquette.edu.

This program is being offered as a first step and only one of a growing number of opportunities for group and self-guided work around cultivating critical understandings of issues related to diversity and inclusion at Marquette. See the Diversity and Inclusion Educational Resources page for more information.

Yes. All employees, regardless of previous experience with diversity and inclusion content, are required to participate. Varied opportunities to learn about these issues provide different insights, and the more that we engage with these ideas and keep diversity and inclusion front of mind, the better poised we are to foster inclusive working and learning environments. Ultimately, the purpose is to ensure that every Marquette employee has some common experience and language around the topics explored in the program. 

Jacki Black, director for Hispanic initiatives and diversity and inclusion educational programming, is the campus program administrator. She can be reached at jacqueline.black@marquette.edu.

To provide feedback on the program, participants can also use the messaging function within the online platform.