Streamlining Employee Development: A Deep Dive into the University of Arizona's EDGE Learning Program
The University of Arizona has launched EDGE Learning, a modern, mobile-friendly system designed to streamline employee training and foster professional development. Replacing the previous UAccess Learning platform, EDGE Learning represents a significant step forward in how the university supports its employees' growth and engagement.
What is EDGE Learning?
EDGE Learning - an acronym for Employee Development, Growth, and Engagement - is the University of Arizona's new learning management system. It serves as a central hub for employees to access required training, explore professional development opportunities, and manage their career growth. The system went live on November 16, marking the culmination of over two years of collaborative effort from various university departments.
The Need for a Modern Learning Platform
The transition to EDGE Learning was driven by the need for a more user-friendly and efficient system. UAccess Learning, the previous platform, was outdated and lacked the features necessary to support the university's vision for employee development. EDGE Learning addresses these shortcomings by offering a modern, cloud-based interface accessible on various devices, including mobile phones. The user interface is constantly being updated.
Key Features and Benefits
EDGE Learning offers a range of features designed to enhance the learning experience for both employees and managers:
User-Friendly Interface: The system boasts an intuitive online interface, making it easy for users to navigate and find the training they need. Ginger Hunt, senior director of online learning and instruction design in the James E. Rogers College of Law, praised the system's ease of navigation, noting that it was "very easy."
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Mobile Accessibility: EDGE Learning is designed to be accessible on mobile devices, allowing employees to complete training on the go. Hunt confirmed that the system interacted seamlessly with her phone.
Streamlined Training Process: One of the primary goals of EDGE Learning is to simplify the process of completing required training. Greg Wessels, senior business analyst with UITS, aimed to "allow users to get into the system and take the training with as few confusing steps as possible."
Integration with University Systems: EDGE Learning integrates with UAIR's online data, making it easier for university units to provide information to regulatory agencies that require certification verification.
Enhanced Management Tools: Supervisors can use EDGE Learning to assign and recommend training to their employees, track their progress, and take a more active role in their professional development. Ashley Kurtz, learning and development manager with Human Resources, emphasized this benefit, stating that it allows managers to take a more active role in the professional development of their employees.
Professional Development Opportunities: Beyond compliance training, EDGE Learning offers a variety of professional development courses designed to help employees enhance their skills and advance their careers. Starting in the spring, EDGE Learning is expected to begin offering professional development courses designed specifically for supervisors or others looking to strengthen their leadership skills.
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Skill Development
EDGE Learning prioritizes skill development as essential for career and personal growth. It offers opportunities to develop technical, soft, and specialized skills crucial for workplace success. Transferable skills are emphasized to enhance competitiveness in the job market. Crucial Conversation training teaches skills for creating alignment and agreement by fostering open dialogue around high-stakes, emotional, or risky topics at all organizational levels, covering both hard and soft skills.
Career Development
Career growth is viewed as a continuous journey supported by EDGE Learning. Career Conversations, structured discussions between staff and supervisors, are held annually to support staff success and growth through reflection, problem-solving, and constructive feedback.
Putting EDGE Learning to the Test: User Feedback
Before its official launch, EDGE Learning underwent rigorous testing by 176 employees. The feedback from these testers was overwhelmingly positive, with users praising the system's ease of use and modern interface.
Ginger Hunt's experience was particularly noteworthy. She tested the system by searching for, scheduling, and completing training courses, as well as managing her certificates. Her conclusion was that the team had successfully addressed the most critical aspects of an online learning system: accessibility and engagement. Hunt believes her testing experience shows the team hit on the most important aspects of a successful online learning system. "The first piece is whether it's easy for learners to go in and access everything, and the second piece is whether the trainings are engaging enough that people are going to want to come back and take more,"
Management Benefits
EDGE Learning offers significant advantages for managers. Supervisors can assign and recommend training courses, track employee progress, and actively participate in their team's professional development. Kurtz says one of the biggest advantages of EDGE Learning is that it lets supervisors assign and recommend trainings and track the courses that employees are taking, allowing managers to take a more active role in professional development of their employees.
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Starting in the spring, Kurtz expects EDGE Learning to begin offering professional development courses designed specifically for supervisors or others looking to strengthen their leadership skills. "For example, we are thinking about a video series of management trainings," Kurtz says. "They would cover topics like, "How do you transition from being an employee to being a manager? What are the skill sets involved? What are the style choices in management? What practices can they put in place with their teams?'"
Professional Development Opportunities
EDGE Learning will offer professional development courses created in-house by the Office of Leadership and Organizational Development and through external online educational platforms with expert-developed courses.
Implementation and Training
To ensure a smooth transition to EDGE Learning, the university implemented a blackout period to transfer completion data from UAccess Learning. Employees were required to complete any in-progress training in UAccess Learning by November 6.
To support users in navigating the new system, Ashley Kurtz conducted live Zoom training sessions during the first two weeks of the launch. These sessions covered the basics of using the platform, as well as specific training for managers on how to track their employees' professional development. Implementation team members were also available to attend staff meetings and provide on-site support.
Accessing EDGE Learning
University employees can access EDGE Learning using their NetID credentials. All training courses are offered free of charge.
Compliance Recertification
All U of A faculty and staff must complete 3 assigned compliance recertification courses each academic year in EDGE Learning. A FERPA training must be completed once within each new academic year (July 1 - June 30). Please review the dates of the module in question prior to starting the training, as there may be trainings listed from multiple annual years. The U of A assigns the Title IX and Information Security Awareness Certification courses to you according to when you last completed them. Please check your EDGE Learning My Plan for your personal due dates and mark your calendar. UAGC Associate Faculty must be in an active teaching contract to complete assigned courses. When it is time for a compliance recertification - and when you are in an active teaching contract - please copy and paste the link below into your browser, and you will be taken to the training/certification.
The Future of Employee Development at the University of Arizona
EDGE Learning represents a significant investment in the professional development of University of Arizona employees. By providing a modern, accessible, and engaging learning platform, the university aims to empower its employees to grow their skills, advance their careers, and contribute to the institution's success.
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