Inclusive Excellence Training Frequently Asked Questions

The continuous development and cultivation of an equitable and engaging working/learning environment is a priority for the Gillings School of Global Public Health. To this end, employees are encouraged to complete eight (8) IE hours per each academic year. Additionally, IE hours are a mandatory requisite of the faculty and staff annual reviews. This is to ensure that employees are kept abreast of the latest research, literature, and pedagogy surrounding diversity, equity and inclusion.

Inclusive Excellence training is also an important strategic focus area for the Gillings School along with equitable research and advocacy. Read more about this focus area, including rationale, in our Inclusive Excellence Action Plan (IEAP).

The time span to complete the eight (8) IE training hours coincides with the employee’s annual performance review period.

A broad range of both on- and off-campus Inclusive Excellence (IE) trainings will meet this expectation. Examples of eligible trainings include: the Gillings School’s annual Minority Health Conference (scheduled for February 25-26, 2021, which would fulfill 7 hours of the annual IE training expectation); lectures in the Dean’s Inclusive Excellence Speaker Series; Racial Equity Institute (REI)-sponsored trainings; Haven training; Safe Zone training; UNC’s annual ThinkPosium; and programming offered on campus as part of Martin Luther King Day. These are only a few examples; you can find more options here and via external sources.

 Yes. All managers are asked to support employees engaging in IE professional development for at least 8 work hours annually.

Starting in Fall 2022, Inclusive Excellence will launch a training tracking tool that will simplify recording IE hours for each employee. Faculty and staff can log into the training tool to look up approved training opportunities, submit training opportunities for review by Inclusive Excellence, and document attended events.

Yes, employees are encouraged to complete a minimum of eight (8) IE training hours per academic year. Employees are encouraged to complete more than eight (8) hours, but additional hours cannot be applied to the following academic year.

We ask you to make every effort to complete the training by the end of the reporting cycle. There will be multiple opportunities to engage in IE programming throughout the year. Many of these programs are archived to allow flexibility for viewing. In the event that you cannot complete the professional development by the end of the fiscal year or your annual review, you may submit a brief plan for how you will complete that professional development by September of a given year.

• Date(s)
• Title
• Sponsor
• Length of training
• Online or residential
• What was the inclusive excellence content you learned and how do you anticipate applying it?

That’s correct. Teaching assistants (TAs) will also be encouraged to record their Inclusive Excellence hours on the IE training tracking tool. We are all part of the Gillings community and need to commit to strengthening our ability to support inclusion. Inclusive Excellence training hours are proportional to working hours. As TA appointments are generally semester-long, they will be encouraged to complete four (4) hours within a given semester.

All full-time faculty with Gillings appointments are expected to complete eight hours of training regardless of other institutional affiliations. We believe this training will be beneficial in your work as a faculty member no matter where your primary affiliation resides.

All paid adjunct faculty members are expected to complete a number of training hours equal to the amount of credit hours they teach. For example, if you are paid to teach a 3-credit hour course, 3 training hours would be expected in the designated timeframe for that academic year.

Part-time employees are expected to complete training hours proportional to their working hours. For example, a staff member who works half-time or 20 hours a week will be expected to do 4 training hours instead of 8.

No. We believe it is important for faculty and staff to further their learning by participating in training. Although participation in a working group can be great for learning about equity and inclusive excellence, and we appreciate the contributions made by people on such task forces, it is not an equivalent substitute to hearing from a subject matter expert and/or engaging in dialogue facilitated by a subject matter expert.

You may use book reading to count towards a total of one hour of your 8-hour training, regardless of the number of books read or the time it took to read them. Articles do not count toward training. Suggested books are available on the Inclusive Excellence website. If you have another book not listed that you think should count toward your training hours, contact Inclusive Excellence at sph_inclusive_excellence@unc.edu. Up to one hour of multimedia can be applied toward your training, regardless of the different types of multimedia used (e.g., a book and a documentary together can only count toward one hour total).

You may use book reading to count towards a total of one hour of your eight-hour (8) training, regardless of the number of books read or the time it took to read them. Articles do not count toward your training. Suggested books are available on the Inclusive Excellence website. If you have another book not listed that you think should count toward your training hours, contact Inclusive Excellence at sph_inclusive_excellence@unc.edu. Up to one hour of multimedia can be applied toward your 8-hour training, regardless of the different types of multimedia used (e.g., a book and a documentary together can only count toward one hour total).

Classes do not count toward your inclusive excellence training.

We do not have planned REI sessions at this time. However, faculty and staff are welcome to independently seek opportunities to fund and participate in REI sessions. If new sessions become available through Gillings, we will be sure to advertise them using the appropriate channels.