EDI Certificate

EDI Certificate

The Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Certificate Program is a free, non-credit certificate option at UW-Superior that is open to all students, staff, and faculty. Certificate sessions are led by staff from the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Department and select campus partners. Participation in this program provides direct experience in working with and communicating across differences while engaging in both personal and professional development. There are three key takeaways from the program:   

• Gaining terminology and knowledge of diverse identities and communities
• Understanding how to support and engage people in their own lived experience
• Having the opportunity to participate in personal reflection and delve deeper into various topics as they relate to equity, diversity, and inclusion

None of the certificate sessions have prerequisites, so you may take any session at any point in time. You can also attend sessions for personal knowledge or development without completing a certificate. If you want to earn a certificate, we offer both a Basic Certificate and an Advanced Certificate as outlined in the following section.

Completing the EDI Advanced Certificate:

For the final requirement of the Advanced EDI Certificate, you may choose whether to take four (4) additional elective sessions or complete six (6) service hours related to equity and diversity initiatives.

Elective Sessions

Sessions that count toward the Advanced EDI Certificate elective requirements will be noted as an “elective session” in the Campus News posts and in each session’s description on the campus calendar. Elective sessions offered will vary from semester to semester. Here are some examples of sessions that have been offered for electives as a part of the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Advanced Certificate:

You can find current elective sessions being offered through the Campus Calendar or the certificate-related posts in our UWS Campus News posts on the campus SharePoint. Any four electives that have not already been taken to satisfy the two mandatory elective sessions will count toward the option of additional electives requirement for earning the EDI Advanced Certificate.

Service-hours

If you choose to do the six service-hours instead of taking additional electives, you can do this work through your involvement at UWS (such as committee work, special projects, session facilitation, etc.), by volunteer work in the local community, or service in a regional or national capacity. You must submit a brief reflection of the service work to edi@uwsuper.edu to fulfill this requirement. This reflection does not need to be longer than a page at most, and should include:

• A description of the project or service you did for your six (6) service-hours
• Reflections on how the certificate sessions impacted or supported the service hours you completed
• The impact/experience you personally took away from these service-hours (in other words, what the service meant to you)
• Your thoughts on how you will continue engaging in EDI work as you move forward – either what you plan to do or how you are thinking you’ll stay engaged in this type of work

If you have questions about completing the Advanced EDI Certificate or are interested in doing the service-hours and wish to talk about potential projects, please contact T Leeper (tleeper@uwsuper.edu) for additional information or support.

Tracking and Awarding of Certificates

The Markwood Center for Learning, Innovation, and Collaboration (CLIC) in the Jim Dan Hill Library will be tracking all progress toward earning the Basic and Advanced EDI Certificates. If you have any questions regarding sessions or need assistance in tracking progress, please contact the CLIC at clic@uwsuper.edu for assistance.

All certificates will be awarded at the end of the academic semester during which they were completed. If you have finished either certificate offering, you will receive an email invitation to attend and be recognized at our end of semester EDI Ceremony. A physical copy of the certificate(s) will be awarded at this ceremony, and a digital copy can be emailed upon request by contacting edi@uwsuper.edu. If you do not attend the EDI Ceremony, you will need to send an email to EDI and schedule a time to pick up your certificate(s). If you are an off-campus, distance-learning student who cannot attend the ceremony or stop by campus, please email EDI with your current mailing address if you wish to receive a physical copy of your certificate.