UW Tacoma is committed to providing growth and development opportunities for our employees. Professional development is an essential part of an employee's job and benefits both the institution and the individual. While the responsibility for career and professional development rests with each staff member, UW Tacoma provides its employees with a variety of resources and assistance in reaching professional and career goals.
Online Modules and Webinars
UW Tacoma HR has developed online modules for employees and supervisors that deliver important information just when you need it, at a location that is convenient for you! A great learning opportunity that’s ready whenever you are.
UW Professional and Organizational Development also offers live webinars provided through partnership with People-OnTheGo.
All of us manage projects. This program extends the principles central to project management to everyday efforts to organize tasks, time, and resources to achieve desired results.
This module will take you through all five phases of project management:
- Initiation
- Planning
- Execution
- Monitoring
- Closing
It’s loaded with tools, templates, and terminology you can use to strengthen how you design, plan and deliver on your everyday projects, regardless of their size and scope.
An employee's first days and weeks on the job are a critical time to begin building a successful working relationship. This is your opportunity, as a manager, to set goals and expectations, train your new employees on job-specific tasks, and introduce them to others who will play a role in their professional life in your unit and throughout campus.
The onboarding module describes the value of a good onboarding process AND the cost of poor onboarding! We also provide tools and resources to help you craft and implement your own excellent onboarding process.
Stretch assignments provide opportunities to employees and supervisors alike. These assignments enable folks to go in new directions, cover work due to reorganization or vacant positions, try tasks that seem interesting, and generally add interest to the work day for all. The module on stretch assignments provides background, ideas about process, templates and examples.
UW Tacoma employees can and should take charge of their own professional development. The purpose of this course is to encourage employees and supervisors to take a serious, active and ongoing role in professional development. We will provide you with some philosophy, steps to take and tools for viewing the horizon of career management to start the journey into any individual’s professional development.
Management and Leadership Development
Capable leadership and skilled management matter greatly in our success as a campus. Here are a few gems to help you grow as a leader and manager.
Required Training
Most of these training sessions are required of all new staff employees. UW Tacoma offers these on campus on a periodic basis. Please see below for more details!
Cultivating Community at UW: Anti-Racism and DEI&B Training
This 2.5-hour online course is designed to educate our community on a range of topics relevant to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEI&B). This training is designed for staff, faculty, and other academic personnel and is a requirement of Senate Bill 5227 for employees hired after 6/30/22 at Washington's public institutions of higher education.
There are three primary goals for this training:
- Fostering inclusive and respectful work and learning environments
- Helping employees build understanding and capacity in DEIB & Anti-racism practices
- Identifying additional tools and resources for ongoing learning
Washington State Department of Labor and Industries requires ALL state employees to receive asbestos awareness training. This training can be quickly and conveniently completed online. The General Awareness Asbestos Training takes about 15-20 minutes.
Have your UWNetID, your supervisor’s name and email address ready so that a training record can be sent to your supervisor to verify your completion of the course. Supervisors will be notified when their employee completes this training and will follow-up as necessary to ensure that all employees in their units have satisfied this requirement.
The University of Washington is committed to a culture of integrity and ethical practices in line with the Ethics in Public Service Act, and to equipping employees with the needed information on state laws and their application at UW Tacoma.
This course teaches a principled approach to ethics in public service. Participants gain understanding of the Ethics in Public Service Act and what it covers, learn to comprehend basic standards for public service, and identify common rationalizations and intervention techniques. Training is presented by Richard Cordova, UW Executive Director of Audits, Internal Audit.
This training is required of all UW Tacoma staff employees and should be repeated at least once every five years.
PowerPoint from May 2nd, 2023, session:
Online Ethics Training is available through UW Internal Audit, or you may register for an in-person course "Ethics Law and the U" through UW Professional and Organizational Development on the Seattle campus.
The Family Educational Rights & Privacy Act (FERPA), enacted in 1974, is a federal law designed to safeguard the privacy of student records. If you have access to student records, you should take the UW FERPA training for staff. The online module takes approximately 15-20 minutes to complete, and provides you with recommendations for common FERPA-related issues that occur at the University.
Additional information regarding FERPA is provided by the Office of the Registrar.
The monthly UW Tacoma New Staff Orientation is highly recommended for new regular staff and will cover important information specific to UW Tacoma. If you would like to attend the orientation, please contact UWTHR.
New employees in benefits-eligible positions should also register for the required UW Orientation - Welcome Day held virtually. This event includes a general UW orientation and the Benefits Orientation. It is strongly suggested that they complete the Benefits Orientation as soon as possible, as there are strict deadlines associated with new employee enrollment. Union employees are also required to attend the union presentation included as part of the Welcome Day program.
Online Security Awareness Training is designed to inform you of the steps you can take to protect yourself, and our organization from malicious cyber activity.
Access Online Security Awareness Training
If you have questions about the training, please send an e-mail to tachelp@uw.edu or call the Information Technology helpdesk at (253)692-HELP.
The University of Washington does not tolerate child abuse. Suspected perpetrators of child abuse, including University employees, volunteers or students, may be removed from the premises and may be subject to arrest and criminal prosecution. Employees, volunteers or students who engage in child abuse in the workplace, or who use University facilities, property or resources to engage in child abuse are subject to disciplinary action, including dismissal from employment, engagement or from educational programs.
In June of 2012, Washington State’s Abuse of Children Law was amended to include all higher education employees as mandated reporters of suspected child abuse or neglect. Under Executive Order No. 56: Reporting Suspected Child Abuse, all University employees and volunteers who have reasonable cause to believe that a child has suffered abuse or neglect must immediately report the suspected abuse or neglect to law enforcement or the Department of Social and Health Services.
UW Tacoma employees who work with minors or others who have contact with them in the course of their work should complete the Online Training for Reporting Suspected Child Abuse or Neglect.
The mission of the SafeCampus program is to foster a safe and secure UW campus community. UW faculty, staff and students share the responsibility of carrying out this mission.
It is impossible to predict who will commit violence or when it will occur, but it is possible to identify situations which might lead to violence. Early identification and intervention with appropriate resources or referrals to services that can assist with coping strategies, reducing stress and/or resolving problematic situations helps reduce the risk of violence occurring. Learn the warning signs of violence and how to respond in these free training sessions. Sessions are open to faculty, staff and students.
This training is required of all UW Tacoma staff and should be repeated at least once every 2 years.
Register for a virtual session.
The SafeCampus website provides several training options related to violence prevention and response. The site will request your UW NetID.
This program series was developed and is facilitated by UW Professional and Organizational Development. The workshops are designed for various levels of managers, with different experience levels.
All new supervisors and any experienced supervisor new to UW should attend. Review program details and register for a session.
The University of Washington Tacoma is committed to fostering environments where you feel valued and supported and have the opportunity to learn and grow. As a UW employee, you also have an important role to play in ensuring a respectful environment for your coworkers and for students.
UW's Title IX training, Husky Prevention and Response, is required of all staff, faculty, other academic personnel, and student employees and must be completed within the first 30 days of employment. The strategies offered are meant to create and support positive UW climates and endeavor to stop sex- and gender-based violence and harassment before they happen. This training requirement will be audited by campus leadership to ensure compliance.
UW Professional and Organizational Development
A variety of courses and certifications are available through UW Seattle's Professional and Organizational Development unit. Employees are encouraged to discuss development opportunities and interests with supervisors. Release time may be granted for training that is related to an employee's job responsibilities.
UW Tacoma Professional Development Center
Established in 2003, the mission of the Professional Development Center is to offer continuing professional development opportunities to individuals and organizations through accessible and innovative educational experiences. Our vision is to create innovative and responsive learning experiences for our students to excel in the real world.