Dear UVM Faculty and Staff,

We understand there has been some confusion about a message you received from Everfi (automated-message@everfi-foundry.net) on September 6 notifying you of an online course, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging for Students with the subject line “Online Course Assigned to You by the University of Vermont.” You may also have received a reminder this morning to complete the course. We are writing to assure you that Everfi is a trusted UVM partner providing education and training on a host of topics critical to community and personal health, including AlcoholEDU and other programs for our incoming students.

To provide some context, in 2020, our students requested the implementation of bias training for all students, faculty and staff. Since that time and in collaboration with our students, we have explored focused training opportunities for diversity and inclusion, particularly those addressing bias. These efforts included the review of an online bias training module by the Diversity and Inclusive Excellence Co-Curricular Working Group, the Provost’s Integrated Leadership Team and a group of student leaders. Together, these groups recommended the implementation of Everfi’s, Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging for Students module.

Completion of this course is expected for all faculty and staff as part of our commitment to Our Common Ground values. It was decided that faculty and staff would complete the same training module as students so they are aware of the content students are learning and can use this information as appropriate in any relevant classroom or co-curricular discussions.

We’re thrilled to see that in the 48 hours since receiving notice of this course, more than 800 students and 150 faculty and staff have already completed the training. Feedback has been positive; one staff member noted his appreciation for the focus on intersectionality, given his intersecting identities as a racial minority and a Christian.

We encourage you to set aside 45 minutes for this thought-provoking course, knowing that once you log in you can stop and pick up at any point. You can access the training through the link provided in Everfi’s September 6 e-mail or by logging into Everfi’s learning platform. If you need technical assistance with the course, contact EVERFI’s tech support using “Help” within the course or by visiting support.everfi.com.

Our collective participation will establish a baseline from which we can further our commitment to diversity and inclusive excellence. We hope you’ll make time for this important training and that we can report back that we have full community engagement by September 30.

Thank you,

Patricia A. Prelock, Provost and Senior Vice President
Amer F. Ahmed, Vice Provost for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion