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Inclusive Student Support in the Virtual Environment

In this session, we will reflect on our own identities and discuss how and why identity matters when establishing supportive connections with students, particularly in the present moment. We will explore what it means to be equity-minded and review strategies for identity-conscious student support, including increasing representation in online spaces. Tues July 7 (recording)
Nearly one in four people in the U.S. lives with a disability, emphasizing the need for sites to become accessible for users with impairments or disabilities. This session with ATI Coordinator Rahim Baker will walk through simple and important design and content creation factors that provide for a more inclusive web experience. Focusing on such aspects as intuitively structuring your web content, providing meaningful links and alternative text to images, the need for captioning or providing transcripts for multimedia content, and more. Most notably, this session will address how these elements assist individuals with disabilities in perceiving, understanding, navigating, and interacting with the Web. Thurs. July 16th (recording); Tues. August 4th, (recording[flipped - please watch the two videos, Part I and Part II, prior to the synchronous session]
A growing body of research indicates that students’ sense of belonging is tied to a number of outcomes, including retention and well-being. However, creating that sense of belonging can require intentional and proactive intervention. Now more than ever in this time of physical isolation, we will need to create community virtually. In this session with Diversity Officer for Student Engagement Jessica Chang, we will explore modes of check ins on Zoom or virtual engagement acts that can add to creating areas of connection acknowledging holistic care. Please note that the zoom portion of this training will be largely interactive and dialogue-based to share ideas with one another. Monday, July 20 (recording), Monday Aug 10 (recording) [flipped: please watch the video, Maintaining Emotion Connection While Social Distancing, prior to the synchronous session]
Microaggressions are the "...brief and commonplace daily verbal, behavioral, or environmental indignities, whether intentional or unintentional, that communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative racial slights and insults toward people of color (Sue et al, 2007).” In this session, we will review examples of microaggressions in virtual environments and discuss (and practice!) how to respond when they occur. Participants should already be familiar with the concepts of implicit bias and microaggressions, and their impact. Fri July 24, (recording); Thur Aug 6, (recording)
Intrusive, proactive, and culturally-affirming support is essential in meeting the needs of all students--particularly as the university has shifted from in-person to remote learning.  In this session the presenter will propose equity-minded advising and support practices that must be employed by staff to ensure student success. Fri July 31 (recording)

Also check out Counseling and Psychological Services’ I CAN HELP program!

The I CAN HELP training aims to provide faculty and staff practical tools for suicide prevention, supporting students in distress, and connecting them with resources. The interactive training combines theory and practice to effectively build participants' skills. Contact [email protected] for more information and to sign up!