In June 2022, U-M enacted an official policy about digital accessibility. The policy covers digital formats such as websites, documents and software programs. Digital accessibility applied consistently avoids potential barriers for individuals with disabilities. This introductory course will provide an overview of:

• What digital accessibility is

• Why digital accessibility is important

• How everyone at the university plays a part in making digital content accessible

In our work, it is essential to understand how to access support before encountering a problem. The Shared Services Center (SSC) provides a broad range of transactional support in collaboration with university business partners for all three campuses and Michigan Medicine. This awareness level course introduces the variety of services provided by the U-M Shared Services Center, and how you can expect to interact with, or direct others to interact with, the SSC.

Leaders play an important role in helping to prevent workplace issues and wrongdoing. This course gives leaders tools and strategies to create a more welcoming and respectful work environment. Interactive discussions, case studies and role-playing exercises will enhance learning. Leaders will be more prepared to:

Are you looking to engage employees and strengthen communication within your team? Conversation clubs are a versatile tool to host team conversations on topics of interest. They are easy to implement. Conversation clubs give teams a chance to:

• Talk about workplace topics that aren’t always explicitly discussed
• Allow team members to lead the discussion in a low pressure environment

Join this microlearning session to discover ways you might be able to use it in your unit!

Managers who understand organizational culture and climate can work to create an environment that is supportive, inclusive and values employees. This can lead to increased employee satisfaction, improved morale and higher levels of employee engagement. This foundational course provides managers with the tools and knowledge to lead a successful culture change journey within their team.

You will learn to:

• Determine the impact of supervisors on workplace culture and climate

• Implement positive changes to cultivate a supportive work environment

Transitioning from a member of a team to a leadership role is both exciting and challenging, and even more so if you are promoted from within a team. This session will focus on practical strategies to create greater self-awareness and build upon your strengths to become your best leader self. It is part of the Leadership Development Curriculum.

Whether you are currently in a formal leadership position or aspire to hold such a position, this course lays the groundwork. Designed to assist faculty and staff in developing the essential leadership skills necessary to lead a team of individuals at U-M, the content will be helpful whether you are in a formal leadership position or not. It is part of the Leadership Development Curriculum.

This foundational course will guide learners through the first step in embarking on a culture change journey. First, the course establishes a shared language for understanding and talking about what culture is, what climate is, and how the two are interrelated. Next, the course explores methods to affect climate and wraps up with a model for culture change. The model will help learners to consider principles and steps to create culture change that sticks. 

You will learn to:

• Define culture, climate and how they are interrelated

In this microlearning session, a tried-and-true approach for having difficult conversations will be used. We will demonstrate how to begin challenging conversations and move the conversation forward in a collaborative way. You will learn, try and apply this approach to real life scenarios.