Partnering with Wellness Services, the Dean of Students Office, and the Educational Access Center, eCampus has developed this microcredential to help faculty who teach online courses to more intentionally and effectively support student mental health and well-being. This microcredential will help you to identify resources available to you and your students, structure opportunities to support both yours and your students’ well-being, and identify red flags and respond appropriately. By the time you complete this microcredential, you’ll be able to:
- Describe common mental health and well-being concerns in online teaching
- Incorporate supportive mental health and well-being activities and resources into your course design and teaching
- Practice well-being behaviors within your teaching.
- Identify appropriate mental health and well-being support and referral services for students on campus
Overview of Microcredential Requirements
The Teaching Writing Intensive Online Courses Microcredential requires the completion of the following:
- Supporting Student Mental Health and Well-Being in Online Learning Environments Seminar
- Here for you: Suicide Prevention Training Webinar
- Supporting Students with Mental Health Conditions in Online Courses Webinar
- One of the following electives:
- Structuring Opportunities for Student Well-being in Your Online Course
- Self-Care: Good for You and Good for Your Online Students
- Microcredential Final Reflection
Supporting Student Mental Health and Well-Being in Online Learning Environments Seminar (Offered in Fall and Spring)
In this asynchronous seminar, you’ll gain a clear understanding of the link between student mental health and academic success, actionable steps for integrating campus resources into your online courses, tools, and techniques to create a structured well-being support plan, and guidance on adapting assignments for various student needs. There are no live sessions, but there are due dates throughout the week for discussion posts, a virtual scavenger hunt, customized syllabus statements, well-being-focused activities, and assignment modification plans.
The time commitment for this 1-week asynchronous seminar is approximately 5 hours. The seminar will be facilitated by the Dean of Students and Wellness Services staff. Successful completion of this seminar is required for this microcredential.
Participants who complete the seminar will receive 2 credits towards eCampus Online Teaching or Online Course Design certificates as well as 2 credits for the microcredential.
Here for you: Suicide Prevention Training Webinar (Offered in Fall)
This 90 minutes skills training will equip participants with the knowledge and skills to effectively intervene when they are concerned for a student. This training will dive into current data around suicide, language considerations, and risk and protective factors. Participants will be trained on a model of noticing warning signs, asking directly about suicide, and referring students to appropriate resources. Activities and role play opportunities will be interwoven to provide participants the opportunities to practice new skills. This training does not require any prior mental health experience. It focuses on helping participants understand that their role is to screen and connect students to resources, rather than providing counseling.
Participants who attend the live 1-hour Zoom session will receive 1 credit towards eCampus Online Teaching or Online Course Design certificates as well as 1 credit for the microcredential.
Supporting Students with Mental Health Conditions in Online Courses (Offered in Spring)
Not sure how to handle a situation when the student seems to be struggling with their mental health? Instructors play an important role in supporting students’ academic success while helping them access resources. This session will provide information on the ways mental health impacts a student’s behavior in the learning environment (even virtually!). Attendees will learn to identify behavior impacting learning, tips for prevention, and ways to navigate ongoing needs.Â
Participants who attend the live 1-hour Zoom session will receive 1 credit towards eCampus Online Teaching or Online Course Design certificates as well as 1 credit for the microcredential.
Structuring Opportunities for Student Well-being in Your Online Course (Offered in Fall)
If you are looking to elevate student well-being in your online learning environment, join us for this online seminar. Explore effective strategies and practical techniques for integrating opportunities for self-care seamlessly into your online courses, creating a supportive environment and well-rounded academic experience.
Participants who attend the live 1-hour Zoom session will receive 1 credit towards eCampus Online Teaching or Online Course Design certificates as well as 1 credit for the microcredential.
Self-Care: Good for You and Good for Your Online Students (Offered in Spring)
Ready to boost your well-being and productivity in your teaching? Join our webinar to learn the art of integrating self-care into your daily routine and its profound impact on your overall happiness. Uncover the pillars of self-care and craft your personalized toolkit for lasting success as an online instructor.Â
Participants who attend the live 1-hour Zoom session will receive 1 credit towards eCampus Online Teaching or Online Course Design certificates as well as 1 credit for the microcredential.
Microcredential Final Reflection
Submitted after completing all other required and elective activities for the microcredential, this activity takes about one-hour to complete. Faculty are asked to reflect upon what they have learned through their participation in the microcredential activities, what they have already applied, and what they hope to do next to further explore and learn about this topic to improve their online teaching.
Participants will receive credit for the microcredential only for this activity.
Enrolling, Tracking, and Completing Microcredentials
To enroll in this microcredential, go to the eCampus group page in CampusGroups (be sure to log in) and locate the Join Sub-Groups area at the bottom-right corner of the page. Click the relevant checkbox for this microcredential to enroll in it. You can then view the requirements for the microcredential (as described above) by clicking on Home, then My Activity, then My Checklists.Â
You can enroll in currently scheduled offerings for this microcredential, as described above, on our eCampus Faculty Development Event page in CampusGroups. Go to the Event Page, locate the required offerings, and click register. Make sure you are logged in to CampusGroups to see all events.
If a required course for the microcredential is not listed, that means it has already been offered this semester. You can contact onlinefacultydevelopment@boisestate.edu to learn when the next offering will be.
After you complete a seminar or elective activities for a microcredential, your progress will be reflected in CampusGroups. You can view your progress by clicking on the Home button in CampusGroups, and then in the main menu selecting My Activity, then My Checklists.
Updates to the progress can take up to one week to be reflected after completing an activity. If you have a question about your progress, please reach out to onlinefacultydevelopment@boisestate.edu.
Once you complete the final activity for a microcredential, you will be notified by the eCampus Faculty Development team. You will then receive a badge recognizing that you completed the certificate which you can save to your computer and upload to LinkedIn. Your achievement of the microcredential will be announced in an upcoming eCampus Update Newsletter. Prior to announcing it in the newsletter, you will be offered the opportunity to opt-out of the announcement.
In addition to your achievement being recognized with a badge and the announcement in the eCampus Update newsletter, your completion of the seminar and elective activities will also be reported to Faculty 180, where appropriate, a tool at Boise State for faculty to collect, organize, and display their research, teaching and service data for the purposes of annual reviews, promotion and tenure.
Once you complete the Teaching Writing Intensive Courses Microcredential, you are encouraged to pursue other microcredentials and certificates.
Learn more about eCampus Online Teaching and Online Course Design Certificates and microcredentials.