Certificate in Trauma-Informed Practices in Higher Education (C-TIP/HED)

Available:
Online Program

Next Cohort Start-Finish Dates:
May 22, 2023 through June 30, 2023

Cost:
$1,500

For More Information:
Contact Lauren Givens at lgivens@columbiasc.edu

Gain the knowledge and tools to help your trauma-experienced students. Join our 6-module online program designed for a range of professionals across college and university campuses.

To help higher education institutions understand the root causes and magnitude of the impact of trauma on college students, and more importantly, to develop strategies to enhance resilience for these students, Columbia College has developed a Certificate in Building Resilience through Trauma-Informed Practices.

Offered jointly by the Columbia College Institute for Building Resilience through Trauma-Informed Practices and the Master of Education (M.Ed.) in Higher Education Administration program, this online Professional Development program is designed for college and university professors in diverse disciplines and from community colleges to liberal arts colleges to R1 universities and administrators in:

Diversity/Equity/Inclusion,
ADA/Disabilities,
Multicultural Affairs,
Student Affairs,
Residence Life,
Personal/Career Counseling,
Student Success,
Academic Support,
Admissions,
and Athletics.

The synergy in discussions among faculty and administrators is one of the special benefits of the program.

Interested in pursuing your master's degree? Check out our M.Ed. in Trauma-Informed Education—a one-year, 100% online graduate degree.

Why Trauma-Informed Education?

Broad Impact of Trauma & Mental Health

There is not an area of human life that is untouched by trauma and mental health. Studies by the National Alliance on Mental Health (NAMI) and others confirm that the impact of trauma is a major cause of both mental illness and physical illness.

More than two-thirds of children experience trauma by age 16.

—SAMHSA

Mental health issues and trauma are undertreated and underdiagnosed among college students, and especially overrepresented in vulnerable populations. The LGBTQIA community, persons of color, and women, all carry an extra heavy burden of risk and occurrence of both mental health conditions and trauma.

Trauma & Mental Health are Intertwined

And of course, mental health and trauma are intertwined. We have more detailed research than ever before that trauma during a child's early years alters the development of the brain, leaving people from all of these groups with another risk of social impairment due to developmental lags.

Knowledge Gap at Colleges & Universities

For colleges and universities, the number of students enrolling with a history of trauma is increasing dramatically. Unfortunately, most colleges and universities are neither knowledgeable nor equipped to address the needs of students who have experienced trauma. The result is poor academic performance, social problems, and high attrition.

Expected Outcomes and Benefits

Participants in the C-BRTIP program will understand:

Long-term impacts of trauma on academic and personal development prior to college
Ramifications of trauma on student performance and retention in higher education
Legal and ethical implications of trauma-informed practices as they relate to social justice issues on campus and in society

Upon completion of the program, participants will be equipped to develop:

Strategies for building resilience through trauma-informed practices
Protocols for establishing a system of trauma-informed care within the campus culture
A specific strategy and implementation plan for building resilience through trauma-informed practices in the participant’s area of responsibility at their home institution

Leading the Way

The Certificate program is offered through our Institute for Building Resilience through Trauma-Informed Practices and our Higher Education Administration program. The Institute is our unique contribution to advancing social justice.

The Insitute will be a resource and advocate for the impact of trauma-informed practices on systemic racism, proactive and humane law enforcement, economic equity, criminal justice, educational opportunity, and the affirmation of human dignity and mutual respect.

Trauma-Informed Certificate Areas of Study

The Certificate in Building Resilience through Trauma-Informed Practices includes these six modules:

Understanding the long-term impact of trauma on academic and personal development prior to college

Addressing the ramifications of trauma on student performance and retention in higher education

Developing strategies for building resilience through trauma-informed practices

Mastery of trauma-informed practices in higher education

Understanding the legal and ethical implications of trauma-informed practices as they relate to social justice issues on campus and in society

Developing a trauma-informed campus culture

Structure

The Certificate in Building Resilience through Trauma-Informed Practices includes six sequential, self-paced modules, enabling professionals to apply trauma-informed practices to their specific area of responsibility. The modules will be offered in a master class format, with automated assessments and short written submissions. Each module will include six (6) hours of high value and relevant content including but not limited to reasonable written and other multi-media, as well as interviews with experts.

Module contents will be in storyboard format, an interactive format.

There will be one assessment per module, graded with comments by the co-professors, embedded into the final storyboard of each module.

The participant would need to score 80% to move to the next module and would have unlimited retake opportunities.

The goal is understanding the content, rather than mastering test-taking.

By applying the theory of andragogy, activities, tests and assessments should be authentic, practical, and experiential, which are preferred by adult learners. The final project in the 6th module will be to create a strategic plan for building resilience through trauma-informed practices at the participant’s home institution and in the person’s area of responsibility. This capstone experience will include mentoring and guidance from the co-professor with over 30 years’ experience in strategic planning in higher education.

Because of I-BRTIP’s interdisciplinary approach, the modules will include ways that faculty and participants can work together to model trauma-informed pedagogy within the program itself by offering choice and flexibility, prioritizing transparency in communication, providing clear instructions, respecting boundaries, and integrating each participant’s home institution into the final project. The modules are described below.

Modules

Module 1: Understanding the long-term impact of trauma on academic and personal development prior to college

This module will expose participants to the field of trauma through a comprehensive study of the impact of trauma on students prior to enrolling in college including defining trauma, historical background of trauma, types of trauma, and how trauma affects children, families, schools, and society. We will also explore the impact of societal and technological trends, including but not be limited to experiences with gaming, texting, and instant access to worldwide exposure and resources. Finally, the module will look at the impact of trauma on brain development and functioning.

Module 2: Addressing the ramifications of trauma on student performance and retention in higher education

This module will examine the impact of trauma on the likelihood of becoming a college-bound student, how trauma contributes to the barriers that students face in their pathway to higher education, and how colleges and universities can help to remove these barriers. We will examine how trauma from societal issues like inequity, poverty, and systemic racism have impacted both traditional and adult students entering college. Because COVID-19 has dramatically changed K-12 and higher education, a study of its short- and potential long-term impact, especially disproportionately affected communities due to social determinants of health will be explored. Finally, understanding the impact of trauma will be applied to designing more comprehensive and supportive admissions and financial aid processes and orientation and first-year experience programs to improve retention.

Module 3: Developing strategies for building resilience through trauma-informed practices

This module will apply the concepts explored in Module 2 have on campus life programs and the needs of today’s learning communities. Strategies for strengthening social emotional learning and adapting to living on a college campus will be identified. We will focus on mental wellbeing and its connection to physical and social health, including strategies for improving teaching and learning for students from traumatic backgrounds. Participants will learn about the interconnection of social safety, emotional wellbeing and academic achievement. Strategies that foster flourishing and building resilience via campus and community life programs, as well as academic advising and counseling services, will be examined.

Module 4: Mastery of trauma-informed practices in higher education

This module will explore how trauma intersects with conditions such as depression and anxiety, with special attention on the differential impact of these factors on BIPOC and other communities including LGBTQIA+, foster care youth, veterans, and refugees. Strategies to recognize and address trauma will be examined at the campus, classroom, and individual student levels. The module will integrate these insights and strategies into specific functions of colleges and universities including admissions, financial aid, student activities, residential life, academic advising, personal and career counseling, athletics, and student success.

Module 5: Understanding the legal and ethical implications of trauma-informed practices as they relate to social justice issues on campus and in society

This module will explore the legal issues related to trauma, as well as risk management applied to trauma and trauma-informed practices. Participants will examine ethical issues related to the disproportionate impact of trauma on BIPOC and LGBTQIA communities and women, the relationship between social justice and trauma-informed practices, and the impact of trauma-informed practices on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). Finally, we will address the concerns about secondary and vicarious trauma on faculty and administrators.

Module 6: Developing a trauma-informed campus culture

This final module will focus on strategies and techniques for designing and implementing a culture of resilience and flourishing through Trauma-Informed Practices within specific functions on campus (admissions, financial aid, student success, advising, counseling, athletics, multicultural affairs, DEI, and ADA/Disabilities). Principles of change management will aid the participants in developing strategies and techniques for implementing a campus-wide culture marked by resilience and flourishing in a post-COVID higher education world. Participants will create a strategic plan for implementing trauma-informed practices into their specific college or university and in their area of responsibility.

Trauma-Informed Practices Certificate

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