TITLE: Training Development Procedures

NUMBER: TRA150

EFFECTIVE: 1 MAY 2016

REVIEWED:

PURPOSE: To provide support and direction to IPS agency subject matter experts who develop training learning events for IPS customers. The IPS advocates the use of a systematic, educationally sound, and proven process for learning event development. Such a systematic process and its supporting documentation provide the following benefits to IPS and its customers:

• High quality skill‐based training that enables customers to enhance their job performance
• Institutional knowledge is preserved throughout IPS agencies
• Creates consistency in high quality training methods across IPS agencies
• Supports approval from subject matter licensing/certification boards

Each learning event will be developed according to IPS Training and Development Procedures. The following IPS policies are explained in this document.

1. IPS Learning Event Development Policy
2. CEU Approval
3. Training Idea Exchange Committee
4. How to calculate CEUs
5. Needs Assessment
6. Instructional Personnel
7. Learning Event Development Process
8. Record Keeping

PROCEDURES:

1. IPS Learning Event Development Policy
   1. All learning events (including classes, seminars and training sessions, lectures, practices, discussion groups and round tables) developed by IPS agencies will be developed and documented according to the IPS Learning Event Development Process. Exceptions include ONE‐TIME ONLY learning events and presentations. Examples of exceptions include onetime in‐plant training by CIS, MTAS “hot topics” and CTAS “spot lights”, or any learning event where the content does not stay consistent with each offering.
   2. Each IPS Agency is responsible for developing learning events that comply with the policies and procedures outlined in this document. The learning event developer should compile the following materials for each course:
      • Learning Outcomes
      • Instructor Credentials
      • Learning event Agenda and Lesson Plan
      • Participant Materials
      • Learning outcome evaluation assessment instruments
      • Program evaluation assessment instrument(s)
      • Promotional materials
2. CEU Approval
   1. If an agency is going to offer CEUs for a training event, it is the responsibility of the agency to ensure the required materials are submitted to Professional and Personal Development programs in a timely manner before the training event. Courses requiring CEU approval must adhere to the CEU Criteria for the University of Tennessee. The criteria is available on the IPS CEU Approval website (PPD CEU approval packet) and the criteria is reflected in the IPS Training Development Policies and Procedures. All learning events needing CEU approval should be uploaded to the CEU Approval Website by the responsible person in each agency. The Approval Form for Continuing Education Units (CEU) must be completed and uploaded along with course materials for each course requiring CEU approval. The Approval Form is available on the CEU Approval Website (Interactive CEU Approval Form). CEU approval must be obtained before a course is offered. https://utworks.tennessee.edu/ips/CEU/default.aspx
   2. Uploading a Learning event
      1. To upload a learning event, click on “Add new item.”
      2. Under Program Description, complete the following information:
         • Program or Learning event
         • Target Audience
         • Location of Program
         • Dates Offered/Training Dates or click the box for Various Dates
         • Class Hours
         • CEUs Offered
      3. Under Course Materials, select the boxes beside the materials that you are going to upload. Click the box to attach a file. Select the Browse button to find a file and then select the Attach button. Continue attaching files until all the learning event materials have been uploaded. To obtain CEU approval, a completed CEU approval form, an agenda and lesson plan, learning outcomes, instructor vitae, assessment instruments, learning evaluation, and promotional brochure must be uploaded.
      4. Under Sponsorship, select your agency. Also complete Telephone number, Date, and Comments if applicable. (Responsible Person will default to whoever is uploading the learning event.)
      5. Click on Save at the top of the form. Your course will be saved in the appropriate Agency file as well as under “My Courses” on the Home page. The status of your course will be No Approval Required.
      6. If you want your course approved for CEUs, click on the name of the course. Click on edit Item and scroll down the form to CEU Approvals and select the Submit for CEU Approval box.
      7. Select the Save button to move the learning event into the Approval queue. The course status will be updated to Approval Requested.
   3. Approving a Learning Event. When a learning event has been uploaded, e‐mails will be sent to UT Professional & Personal Development programs. For Professional & Personal Development programs to review a learning event—
      1. Go to the CEU Approval Website and click on the learning event under Professional & Personal Development Programs Approval Needed.
      2. Review the learning event materials to verify all required elements are present and meet Professional & Personal Development program standards.
      3. If the learning event meets all the Professional & Personal Development program standards click Edit Item at the top of the form and select the Approve box under CEU Approval. Then click on the Save box.
      4. If the learning event appears to be missing an element(s), document what is missing in the Comments section. The system will send an e‐mail to the Responsible Person detailing the problem(s) with the submission.
      5. When the Responsible Person has updated the materials, an e‐mail will be sent by the Responsible Person to Professional & Personal Development programs asking them to review the learning event again.
      6. When Professional & Personal Development programs Approval is confirmed, an email is sent to the Responsible Person letting him/her know the learning event has been approved for CEUs.
      7. Once Professional & Personal Development programs has issued the final approval, the course status will be updated to Approval Complete.
   4. CEU Cards The day of the learning event the facilitator or instructor should pass out the CEU Registration Form at the end of the program. Each person that wants the University to keep up with his or her transcript should fill out one CEU Registration Form per program. The CEU Registration Form is available in the Shared Documents folder of the CEU Sharepoint site. The facilitator should complete the program information at the top (Title, Location, Dates and No. CEU’s Earned), print the form and make as many copies will be needed for the course. Make sure the following information is completed on each card:
      1. Last four digits of Social Security Number
      2. Participant’s Name
      3. Participant’s Address
      4. Home Phone
      5. Business Phone If the entire class wants CEUs, it is acceptable to submit a class roll. Make sure to include the last four digits of the social security numbers on the class roll. The facilitator will scan all completed cards and upload them to the CEU Sharepoint site. To do this, click on CEUs Awarded on the left sidebar. Then click on Add new item. Follow the Instructions for selecting a course, attaching the CEU registration forms, and requesting the CEUs. An e‐mail will be sent to Professional and Personal Development that there are CEU Registration Forms to process. After the forms are processed, a transcript will be sent by Professional and Personal Development to the participant. Once a month, Professional and Personal Development will prepare a transfer voucher for each agency for the cost of processing the CEU registration forms ($15/form). Individual cards and checks from participants will not be accepted. Transcripts can be obtained from UT Professional & Personal Development (313 Conference Center Building Knoxville, TN 37996‐4137)
3. Training Idea Exchange Committee – The Training Idea Exchange Committee oversees the training outreach efforts of the Institute for Public Service. The committee consists of people with curriculum development or training responsibilities. Tasks include─
   • Oversee development of learning events for each agency
   • Plan and participate in professional development for IPS personnel; topics include curriculum development and presentation skills
4. How to calculate CEUs – A designated individual in each agency should be responsible for administering the CEU system. A decision to award CEUs must be made prior to a program starting, not afterwards. Calculations of contact hours are completed as follows: One (1) CEU is equal to I0 contact hours. Contact hours can be determined as follows:
   1. Classroom or meeting session time with direct participation between the learner and instructor or discussion leader is converted directly to contact hours.
   2. Activities that use methods such as supervised independent study, directed reading or project based assignments may be awarded CEUs. Contact hours should be determined after field‐testing has shown the average amount of time (in hours) required to complete the learning activity.
   3. Field trips (minus travel and other administrative time) and other experiential course activities may be awarded CEUs but usually on a basis of at least two experiential hours for each contact hour of instruction.
   4. Time for study, business meetings, assigned reading and other related activities outside the meeting or classroom schedule are NOT included.
   5. Time devoted to a luncheon or dinner presentation integral to the CE experience may be included.
   6. In the case of alternative delivery system programs, such as self‐study, correspondence, computer assisted, video conferencing, etc., the provider of the CE activity has the responsibility for applying the program and administrative criteria in good faith to all delivery methods to determine eligibility for awarding CEUs.
   7. Programs that require less than 10 contact hours should be scrutinized carefully before deciding to award fractional CEUs. Often these are not long enough, extensive, adequately planned or designed to build a measurable competency that can be considered a significant CE experience. The following are not included in calculating contact hours:
      • Time for study, reading, or other related activities outside meeting schedule
      • Meeting time devoted to business or committee activities
      • Meeting time devoted to announcements, refreshment breaks, luncheons, receptions, dinners, and so forth. NOTE: time devoted to a luncheon or dinner presentation integral to the CE experience may be included.
5. Needs Assessment – IPS Agencies are responsible for learning event planning which includes identification of training needs through surveys, learning event evaluations, advisory committees, and client requests. When training needs are identified, the agency should develop learning outcomes based on the needs.
   1. Needs assessment information can be collected from a variety of sources, including:
      • Targeted organizations and professional associations
      • Customers
      • Subject matter experts
      • Learners
      • Previous instructors
      • Existing organization data
   2. Examples of data collection methods include:
      • Interviews
      • Job Analysis
      • Observation
      • Focus groups
      • Survey
      • Previous learning event evaluation data
      • Examination of existing organization data
      • Direct request from funding agency
6. Instructional Personnel
   1. Each learning event will have one or more qualified instructors. Instructor credentials will be submitted as part of the learning event’s CEU approval documentation. Criteria for instructor selection includes—
      • Effective interpersonal and listening skills
      • Skilled in using a variety of learning activities to deliver course content
      • Subject matter expertise and willingness to teach
      • Uses constructive criticism to improve facilitation skills
   2. Program planners will have experience planning or facilitating training and knowledge of instructional methods.
   3. As the public service arm of the University of Tennessee, IPS adheres to the hiring policies of the University which includes being in compliance with the requirements of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. The University of Tennessee affirmatively states that it does not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, or disability in its education program and activities, and this policy extends to employment by the University.
   4. Staff/instructors that develop learning event material for IPS do so while being compensated by IPS. As such, the material belongs to IPS. When using consultant or contract instructors, they are provided with IPS curriculum. In cases where consultants develop or use their own learning event materials, the materials must meet or exceed the criteria established by IPS. Consultants give permission for IPS to retain a copy of their materials.
   5. Employees of the University of Tennessee are required to identify any conflicts of interest by filing an Outside Interests Disclosure Statement (UT Policy F10125).
   6. In regard to mediated learning event materials developed by any University employee, IPS follows the UT Policy on Patents, Copyrights, and Licensing to the Distribution of Mediated Course Materials.
7. Learning Event Development Process
   1. Each learning event will include learning outcome statements that are identified during the needs assessment process. The learning outcome statements are verbal action statements that explain what the learners will achieve at the learning event.
   2. Content and instructional methods will be documented by a learning event agenda and lesson plan. The learning event agenda includes the learning event schedule, times, a list of activities and the learning outcomes they fulfill, and materials/equipment needed.
   3. The lesson plan includes a full description of each activity, including the learning outcome that the activity fulfills and detailed directions for the instructor on what questions/comments to expect, how to set up activities, how to accommodate different learning styles, media to be used, etc.
   4. The formats for agendas and lesson plans can vary with the type of learning event and the learning event developer’s judgment, so long as they include the items listed in 7.2 and 7.3.
   5. Learning event participant materials may include such items as:
      • Power Point slides
      • Manuals
      • Handbooks
      • Textbooks
      • Handouts
   6. Each learning event must be evaluated at Level 2 (attainment of learning outcomes). The Level 2 assessment(s) will measure attainment of the learning event’s stated learning outcomes by the learners. Lesson plans should explain how and where each learning outcome is being assessed. There should be a clear correlation between the learning outcomes and the assessment process.
   7. Each learning event will be evaluated at Level 1 (learner reactions). Evaluation results should be compiled and analyzed for the purpose of identifying improvement opportunities. It is the responsibility of the training department of each agency to review the compiled evaluation results and, when applicable, use the results to update and improve the learning event. It is also the responsibility of each agency to provide instructors with the compiled evaluation results.
   8. Promotional materials must follow UT procedures for printing promotional materials. Promotional materials should include a learning event description, learning event location, starting and ending time, pre‐requisites, and learning outcomes. This information can be provided in a learning event brochure, on the agency website, or through a learning event confirmation.
8. Record Keeping

Each agency is responsible for determining satisfactory completion requirements for each learning event. Through the IPS learning management system, Solution Point, learners can register for learning events, take online learning events, and print their transcript. Learner’s records are updated upon completion of a learning event. Transcripts show which learning events have been successfully completed the completion date and the credits for the learning events. Solution Point utilizes passwords to provide privacy and security of learner’s records.

RESOURCES:

UT FI0120 – Records Management

CONTACT:

Mary Ann Moon maryann.moon@tennessee.edu