Classes & Workshops

Note: All listings on this page reflect Pacific Time. Unless noted otherwise, classes are held virtually via Zoom.

Taking Applications Now

Mindfulness Meditation to Reduce Stress, Anxiety and Burnout at Work
Seven-week cohort, Sept. 26 through Nov. 7 | Fridays, 9:30 to 10:15 a.m. (PT)

UC Peer Connections

A UC peer-to-peer networking program that aims to enhance employee connection and belonging within UCOP and across the system through meaningful relationships.

Class Spotlight

NEW: UCOP Practical Productivity: Wed., Sept. 10, 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. (PT) Participants will be introduced to a buffet of time management tools and practices that will help you identify and address your biggest barriers to a balanced and productive work life.

Delivery Skills for Connecting With Your Audience Wed., Sept. 24, 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. (PT) Public speaking and giving formal and informal presentations can be uncomfortable and daunting for many people. This session will focus on identifying anxieties about presenting and how to prepare for them, explore different presentation styles and techniques to engage with your audience, and tips and tricks to making your next presentation a success!

STEP Deadlines & Resources for the 2025/20206 Performance year

STEP learning resources | Watch the short STEP overview video | Contact your STEP team | FAQs for quick answers

Check-In 1: Complete by August 29, 2025 | Check-In 2: Complete by December 5, 2025

Upcoming Classes and Workshops

Featured

Project Management for Non-Project Managers

online: Wednesday, September 3, 9am - 12pm

This workshop is designed for business professionals who want to enhance their project management skills and better manage projects of all kinds. While traditional project management concepts are covered, this session is focused on bringing innovative insights and practical techniques to revolutionize managing projects of all sizes.

GROW Plus: Accountability Conversation for Managers

online: Thursday, September 4, 9:30am - 12pm

GROW Plus: Accountability Conversations for Managers is the second part in the required live training series on manager and employee performance conversations. This training answers the question: What do I do when my coaching is not improving performance? In this virtual, live, and highly interactive workshop, we will cover: providing productive critical feedback, managing emotions, creating efficient documentation, and holding effective accountability conversations. Managers will also practice having role Accountability Conversations using the UCOP GROW Plus framework.

This training is part of the STEP training plan developed by the STEP workgroup made up of people from all divisions. The previous STEP trainings are all prerequisites to this training.

Project Management 1- Session 2

online: Thursday, September 4, 8:30am - 12:30am

This engaging three-part series offers a practical and scalable approach to managing projects from initiation through completion. Facilitated by Raj Kapur, a trusted advisor to UCOP, UC Davis, UCSF, UC Davis Health, and other UC organizations, participants will learn to apply the Project Process Architecture (PPA)™, a proven and adaptable project management methodology.

Throughout the program, participants use a comprehensive methodology toolkit that serves as both a learning guide and an on-the-job resource. The sessions focus on real-world application, hands-on exercises, and collaborative learning to ensure concepts are immediately transferable to the workplace.

Participants will gain tools and strategies to:

Plan, execute, and lead projects with clarity and confidence
Navigate each phase of the project lifecycle
Build strong teams, manage upward, and enhance professional presence

Attendance at all three sessions is required. All sessions run from 8:30am – 12:30pm.

Thursday, August 28
Thursday September 4
Thursday, September 11

People Leader Forum: Steady Leadership in Turbulent Times: Psychological Tools for Navigating Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity (VUCA)

Online: Friday, September 5, 1pm- 2 pm

The People Leader Forum is a monthly opportunity for people managers to connect with one another to develop leadership skills, build community, share best practices, swap strategies for navigating current challenges and learn to better support themselves and their teams.

Sept 5: Steady Leadership in Turbulent Times: Psychological Tools for Navigating Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity (VUCA) In today’s fast-changing world, leaders are constantly faced with unpredictability, high-stakes decisions, and pressure to maintain stability. How do you stay steady when the ground beneath you keeps shifting? Join Dr. Ana Dolatabadi from the Faculty and Staff Assistance Program (FSAP) for this one-hour training designed specifically for leaders navigating uncertainty. You’ll gain practical, psychology-based strategies to: – Focus on what you can control—and let go of what you can’t – Cultivate stability for yourself and your team during times of change – Reduce stress when facing unknowns – Avoid common leadership pitfalls in volatile environments – Learn from real-world examples of leaders who have successfully weathered difficult times This is a chance to reframe your mindset, build resilience, and lead with confidence no matter what comes your way.

Oct 3: Building Effective Teams

Nov 7: Managing Newer Professionals

Dec 5: Team Wellness

Register for People Leader Forum: Steady Leadership in Turbulent Times: Psychological Tools for Navigating Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity (VUCA)

UCOP Practical Productivity

Online: Wednesday, September 10, 10 am- 12 pm

Time management can feel daunting. Competing priorities, unruly calendars, and tight time budget can leave you feeling like you’ve spent all day running on a treadmill with little to show for your efforts. Join us in this two-hour class as we strategically tackle the four phases in the time management cycle: prioritize, organize, execute, track. You’ll be introduced to a buffet of time management tools and practices that will help you identify and address your biggest barriers to a balanced and productive work life.

UCOP Safety: Active Attacker Training

online: Thursday, September 11, 11 am- 12 pm

Melissa Collins, Program Manager for Security, Risk and Resilience, will facilitate this live virtual class in which participants will learn skills and strategies to respond if exposed to active attacker situations. The course will review real-life incidents and discuss options in the event of potential similar encounters. Melissa joined UCOP after serving 20 years with the UC San Diego Police Department, retiring as a lieutenant, and is a safety expert.

Advanced Data Analysis - 2 Sessions

Online: Wednesday, September 17, 9 am- 12 pm

Excel Data Analysis Advanced: This is a two session class:

Wednesdays Sept 17 AND Sept 24

In this two-part class, participants will learn:

Essential Excel Skills
Work with multiple worksheets and workbooks.
Share and protect workbooks.
Automate workbook functionality: Introduction to Macros and VBA
Dynamic arrays: FILTER, SORTBY, UNIQUE and other functions
Auditing Tools
Forecast data: Trends, Analyze Data tool, and Forecast Sheet & Create sparklines
Map data

Prerequisite- Intro to Data Analysis (offered August)

Box Fundamentals

online: Wednesday, September 17, 11 am- 12 pm

This course will give you an overview of Box, the cloud-based service that provides secure file storage and file sharing.

How to use Box
How to collaborate with UCOP and non-UCOP people
Commenting directly on files, folder permissions, shared links, and many other tips that will help you when using Box.

Administrators from IT will be on hand to answer your questions and review the best features of Box. More info on Box can always be accessed on our webpage.

Delivery Skills

online: Wednesday, September 24, 9 am - 12 pm

For many, public speaking and giving formal and informal presentations can be uncomfortable and daunting. Luckily, delivery skills ca be practiced and improved on with each presentation. This session will focus on identifying anxieties about presenting and how to prepare for them, explore different presentation styles and techniques to engage with your audience, and tips and tricks to making your next presentation a success! This session will be interactive and participants are asked to bring a recent presentation, outline, or presentation idea to practice

UCOP Creating Accessible Documents 2: PDFs

oline: Wednesday, September 24, 1 pm- 2:30 pm

This course focuses on Adobe Acrobat and advanced PDF accessibility remediation techniques. You will learn how to edit or enhance accessibility within a PDF file and check PDFs with a screen reader.

UCOP Wellbeing: 6: Vulnerability and Resilience – The Story We Tell

Online: Friday, September 26, 12:10 - 12:55pm

Take a mindful pause in your day and join us for this virtual monthly series for individual and collective wellbeing. There will be space for reflection, discussion, and real-life application. Bring

Sep 26: Vulnerability and Resilience – The Story We Tell

Imagine you’re feeling inadequate after a critical comment from your supervisor. Instead of going down the rabbit hole with this narrative, you can transform negative self-talk to constructive reflections by reframing the story.

Additional Topics

Oct 24: Strategies and Practices to Managing Stress
Nov 21: Thriving in a VUCA World – Embracing Positive Perspectives

Excel Power Pivot -2 Session Course

Online: Wednesday, October 1, 9 am - 12 pm

Advance your Excel skills with learning Power Pivot. In this class you will: Become familiar with the PowerPivot application and import data. Manipulate data in a PowerPivot worksheet. Create reports using PowerPivot data. Use DAX functions in PowerPivot. Distribute PowerPivot Data.

Attendance at both sessions is required. Both Sessions run from 9 am- 12 pm.

Wednesday Oct 1
Wednesday Oct 8

Change Essentials: 3 session course

online: Thursday, October 2, 10 am- 12 pm

Change Essentials is based on the best-selling book, Our Iceberg Is Melting: Changing and Succeeding Under Any Conditions, by Dr. John Kotter and Holger Rathgeber. Dr. Kotter’s research revealed eight key steps and four critical leadership principles that, when applied effectively, help to ensure successful change. This three-part workshop will provide you with a foundational level of knowledge and skill to help you identify strategies to apply those steps and principles to a current or anticipated change within a department, or as part of a broader organizational change initiative.

Attendance is required for all three sessions. All sessions run from 10 am- 12 pm.

Thursday Oct 2
Thursday Oct 9
Thursday Oct 16

Box Advanced

online: Wednesday, October 8, 1-2 pm

Want to know how to securely store sensitive data in Box? Interested in how to get data into Box via email or URL? Sign up for this advanced Box class and we will cover a wide range of topics including setting up alerts to monitor folders and using Box groups to manage department collaborations.

Difficult Conversations

online: Tuesday, October 14, 10 am- 12 pm

Ever had a disagreement with someone where the conversation didn’t go quite the way you wanted it to? As conflict is inevitable, join us in exploring strategies for navigating difficult conversations in both your personal and professional life. In this highly interactive course, you will learn Core Principles to successfully navigate disagreements and apply them through practice role-playing. By the end of the workshop, you’ll feel more confident in approaching difficult conversations with anyone in your life.

Additional Classes

GROWing Your Check In Conversations for Managers

online: Tuesday, September 23, 10 am -12 pm Register for GROWing Your Check In Conversations for Managers on Tuesday, September 23

GROWing your Check-in Conversations for Managers is a required two-hour virtual live workshop that provides managers with an opportunity to practice using the GROW model in STEP check-ins. Instructors will share tips and strategies for providing clear, thoughtful and constructive feedback to employees. Specifically, this training offers best practices on effective feedback and coaching conversations, and provides managers time for sharing and an opportunity to practice having Check-in conversations using the GROW coaching model.
This is part one of a two part required series on Check-in conversations for managers/supervisors.

Using the UC Learning Center

Registration: Log in to the UC Learning Center using your UCOP login and password. In the Search box on the left, enter the name of the class you want. Select the session you want, then select the Register box and Submit.

Cancellation: You can cancel your registration through the UC Learning Center. We ask that you cancel 48 hours before the scheduled class time so that others may sign up, or contact the Learning & Development Team.

If you require any assistance or accommodation with finding, registering or attending a class please email the Learning & Development Team.