General Professional Development
The Professional Development Center's curriculum focuses on the professional development needs of staff and faculty of CWRU. These courses and learning opportunities are intended to provide guidance and structure to individual contributors and supervisors to foster personal and professional growth by intentionally contributing to a high-performance culture at CWRU. There are also on-demand training opportunities with our external partners: Academic Impressions, LinkedIn Learning, and AllOne Health.
Click for more information about up and coming live trainings and how to register.
You will register through CampusGroups by signing in with your NetworkID. You can search for HR Professional Development Center on CampusGroups to find our current training offerings. Our Training Page provides a schedule and links to register as well.
Most training workshopes are held virtually. In person sessions will be clearly marked within the registration platform. Some training sessions are geared towards supervisors (as some are a part of the supervisor certificate) but the topics are often valuable and applicable to any employee on campus. Each training is set to be approachable to beginners of the topic while offering something new or refreshing for those of more advanced competency levels. There will also be opportunities to engage with the content and fellow participants in each training session.
Start by attending a session that counts towards the certificate. Live training sessions count unless otherwise noted on our training calendar. After participating in the training session you will then be required to complete the survey and assessment. These links will be sent in an email after the training and you will need to obtain a passing score on each assessment to gain credit toward the Emplouee Supervision Certificate. Visit The Employee Supervision Certificate portion of our website to review all requirements.
It is important for participants to track their own participation, assessment submission, and passing scores to ensure they are on track to complete the certificate on time and to avoid processing delays. To monitor your personal progress, please make use of this provided template.
The Professional Development Center Training & Development Manager will release assessment scores once they have been reviewed. Employees who have completed the required ten (10) training workshops and passed all ten (10) assessments will receive a certificate of completion from the Training & Development Manager via email.
Once you have completed all of the requirements for the certificate, you can expect to receive your certificate via email after the first full business week of the following month. As an example, if you receive notification of passing your final assessment on August 9, you will receive your certificate via email after the first full business week of September. After that period, if you believe you have completed the requirements and have not received your certificate please reach out to askhr@case.edu for assistance.
Most training sessions that are produced and facilitated by the PDC will be offered again, often in a future semester. Sign up for the PDC Newsletter to be the first to hear when new training workshop dates and times become available.
After registering in CampusGroups, you will be prompted to add the training session to your virtual calendar. Once you add the training to your calendar, the Zoom link will automatically populate in the calendar event.
If you pre-registered, the zoom link will also be sent the morning of the training session via email.
Staff Mediation
Yes. Find the most up to date in formation on the Staff Mediation Services webpage.
A confidential, semi-structured process in which participants, with the help of a mediator, collaborate in good faith to resolve work-related disputes by sharing perspectives, identifying issues, considering possible solutions, and reaching a mutually agreeable solution.
Mediation is:
- A way to structure difficult conversations.
- A place for parties in conflict to reach a mutually agreeable compromise and/or solution.
Mediation is not:
- Arbitration. In arbitration, the parties in conflict agree to present their case to an impartial third party, or arbitrator, who makes a final, binding decision. In mediation, actions and agreements are reached by the parties in conflict with the mediator acting as a facilitator to the discussion.
- Therapy or counseling. The mediator is not a licensed therapist or counselor, but is instead simply facilitating the conversation between parties in conflict.
- A guarantee. It is possible participants might quit the mediation, make agreements they have no intention of following through on, or might not reach an agreement at all.
Staff mediation services are available to all CWRU staff members. Faculty members should reach out to the Faculty Conciliation and Mediation Program.
The mediator is a neutral third party who facilitates conversations between participants to help them hear and understand each other, identify underling issues, and reach a mutually agreeable solution to those issues. The mediator does not take sides, offer solutions, investigate the situation, or impose a resolution.
A staff member who is experiencing conflict contacts the mediator and asks for a mediation consultation. The mediator will meet privately with the requesting party to determine the nature of the conflict and explore possible options for resolving it. If mediation is desired and appropriate, the mediator will contact the other party to determine their interest in mediation. If both parties agree to mediation, the mediator will explain the process, address any questions or concerns, and coordinate the meeting.
- Personal or professional disputes among staff members
- Issues of respect and coordination
- Communication, performance, and/or management issues
If you are unsure if your issue is appropriate for mediation, the mediator will be happy to discuss it with you by phone or in person.
- Policy issues
- Current or pending legal actions
- Discrimination charges or lawsuits
- Administrative charges or lawsuits alleging harassment or retaliation on a protected basis
- When there is a threat of violence, to self or others
- Concerns relating to serious violations of rights or regulations
If you are unsure if your issue is appropriate for mediation, the mediator will be happy to discuss it with you by phone or in person.
- Mediation aims to give people a safe setting in which to engage in honest, respectful communication which helps resolve most misunderstandings.
- Mediation is interests-based and encourages participants to work together to best solve the problem being discussed. Since participants, not the mediator or anyone else, decide how to best solve the problem, they are more likely to follow the agreed upon solution.
- Even if no agreement is reached, participants usually leave having a clearer understanding of the issues and of each other.
No. Mediation is a voluntary process and must be entered into willingly by all participants. You may make employees aware that this is a service available to them, but may not require them to participate in it.
Under Ohio law, the content of a mediation is confidential, with some exceptions. Only the names of the individuals involved, meeting dates, and whether a resolution was reached will be disclosed to administrative departments with legitimate business needs. Additionally, a copy of the Mediation Agreement will be kept by the mediator for their records, but will be kept confidential.
The grievance process is only available to those with a Positive Corrective Action (PCA). For complete information regarding the grievance process as it relates to PCA's, visit the Staff HR Grievance Procedure. Content from a PCA or subsequent grievance process is not appropriate for mediation.
Grievances may only be pursued regarding a Positive Corrective Action (PCA) plan set forth by Employee Relations. Grievances must be filed within a particular time frame and are only related to PCAs. Performance issues identified in a PCA are not appropriate for mediation. For more information regarding the grievance process please see the Positive Corrective Action Policy.
Contact AskHR@case.edu for more information about mediation processes.