Critical Training Program Questions & Answers

The Promoting Equal Opportunity & Inclusion and Preventing Sexual Misconduct trainings have been archived while replacement training is under development. Replacement trainings will be launched in December 2024 - stay tuned for announcements!

This Questions and Answers page contains frequently asked questions (FAQs) concerning the Critical Training Program. 

Sections in this FAQ include:

  

Learn More About the Critical Training Program

Access My Critical Training in Bridge

(use the Employee Bridge Login button)

Upcoming Updates:

  • In early 2025 (TBD):
    • Promoting Equal Opportunity & Inclusion and Preventing Sexual Misconduct trainings will be re-launched.
    • Content will be refreshed in the Protected Leaves training.
    • Minor updates are planned for the Mandatory Reporting of Child Abuse training.

Recent Updates:

  • On September 5, 2024:
    • Content was refreshed in the Information Security Training.
  • On August 29, 2024:
    • Two Critical Trainings, Promoting Equal Opportunity & Inclusion and Preventing Sexual Misconduct, will be archived while replacement training is developed. 
      • Replacement training is expected to be added back into the Critical Training Program in December 2024. The new trainings will be communicated to OSU employees via email sent from the Office of Equal Opportunity & Access.
  • On December 27, 2023:
    • Minor revisions were made to the Mandatory Reporting of Child Abuse Training.
  • On December 18, 2023:
    • Updates were made to the Equal Opportunity & Access Training.
      • The Preventing Sexual Harassment module has been re-introduced as a stand-alone training with an annual recertification requirement in response to the new House Bill 3456.
      • The original training has been renamed Promoting Inclusion & Access. It continues to include the two original modules (Discrimination & Prohibited Behaviors and Inclusion & Access.) There are no changes to the recertification requirement for this training (every 2 years).
      • This update was communicated to OSU employees via email sent from the Office of Equal Opportunity & Access on December 7, 2023.
  • On September 1, 2023:
    • User enhancements were made to the Mandatory Reporting of Child Abuse Training, the Ethics Training, and the Protected Leave Training.
    • Content was refreshed in the Ethics Training.
    • Minor revisions to content and user enhancements were made to the Equal Opportunity & Access Training.

View Previous Updates to the Critical Training Program

Critical Training Program Overview 

All faculty, staff, graduate assistants, student employees and volunteers acting on behalf of OSU are responsible to contribute to OSU vision, mission and values, and to conduct themselves ethically, with the highest integrity, and in compliance with all applicable laws, regulations, and policies. 

OSU is committed to providing tools and resources to ensure that we fulfill our commitments. One such resource is the OSU Critical Training Program. The OSU Critical Training Program prepares people to fulfill these commitments through training on topics of import. Given the importance of the topics covered, the training is mandatory.

Current required training topics include Ethics, Mandatory Reporting of Child Abuse, Protected Leaves (FMLA & OFLA), Information Security, Preventing Sexual Harassment, and Promoting Inclusion & Access. 

Required - Academic faculty, professional faculty, classified staff, represented temporary employees, academic wage employees, student employees*, graduate assistants*, postdoc scholars, clinical fellows, emeritus employees with a post-retirement appointment. Volunteers will be included in the future.

*Graduate assistants and student employees do not have to take the Protected Leaves training.

Not Required - Courtesy appointments, graduate fellows, postdoc fellows, emeritus who do not have a post-employment appointment and students who are not also OSU employees or volunteers. This is subject to change.

This currently is not an option in Bridge.

Please reach out to [email protected] with your request.

Critical Training is delivered as eLearning. eLearning increases access by allowing learners to self-pace their training and to take the training in any location. We currently use a platform called Bridge to deliver the training. Access Introduction to Bridge to learn how to use Bridge.

For technical help with Bridge, or discrepancies in training records, contact Academic Technologies at [email protected]

For accommodation requests or questions related to program compliance, contact the UHR Compliance Team at [email protected]

For all other questions regarding the Critical Training Program, contact the Critical Training Program staff at [email protected].
 

Recertification

Recertification is a process in which Bridge will automatically re-assign Critical Training modules to any university employee (including student employees) after a specified period that they completed the training.

Affected employees will be required to recertify applicable Critical Training modules within 60 days of training re-assignment notification from Bridge.

The purpose of recertification is to expose employees to revised, refreshed, and updated Critical Training content deemed critical to the success of the employee and the university.

All trainings within the Critical Training Program begin with the title, “OSU Critical Training” (e.g., OSU Critical Training: Ethics Program). 

The five Critical Trainings employees must recertify on a regular basis include:

  • Ethics in the Workplace
  • Mandatory Reporting of Child Abuse
  • Preventing Sexual Misconduct
  • Promoting Inclusion & Access
  • Information Security

Employees are not required to recertify the Protected Leave training.

To ensure compliance with University, state and federal guidelines and to keep updated information top of mind, OSU requires employees to recertify the following Critical Trainings:

  • Annual Recertification trainings (automatically assigned every year):
    • Information Security
    • Mandatory Reporting of Child Abuse
    • Preventing Sexual Misconduct
  • Biannual Recertification trainings (automatically assigned every two years):
    • Ethics in the Workplace
    • Promoting Inclusion & Access
    • Equal Opportunity & Access Topics (set of three modules, including Preventing Sexual Misconduct, Discrimination and Prohibited Behavior, and Inclusion & Access)

Note: Employees are not required to recertify the Protected Leave training.

Your recertification windows are tied to the dates that you completed each training; Bridge will notify employees via email when it is time to recertify any of these Critical Trainings.

When it comes time to recertify a Critical Training module, you will receive an email from Bridge informing you that you have been reassigned the training. The email will instruct you to log in to Bridge to complete the training within 60 days. To access the Critical Trainings, log in as an "Employee."

Trainings that are ready for recertification will be designated as “Required” in your My Learning page in Bridge. All other trainings will be designated as “Completed.”

Each Critical Training module varies in length, and the time it takes to complete the training will vary on a number of factors (e.g., the person’s proficiency with computers, in English, and with reading; the person’s access to a computer and the internet; the environment in which they take the training; and the person’s preexisting knowledge of the topic). Each training page in Bridge indicates approximately how long it will take to complete.
 

Bridge will NOT track reviewed modules, and Bridge will NOT grant recertification credit to those who review the modules before they receive a recertification notice from Bridge. However, you are free to review the trainings at any time for no credit.

We have made several improvements to the Critical Training modules for an enhanced learning experience:

  • Accessibility improvements:
    • Audio narration
    • Captions
    • Transcripts
    • Spanish translations
    • Downloadable resource documents
  • Clear learning objectives for each module
  • Module content has been streamlined to accomplish the learning objectives
  • Knowledge checks have been added to facilitate learning
  • Utilization of quality standards for design and delivery
  • Consistent presentation style across all modules

The following message was sent to OSU employees via Inform-listservs on January 10, 2022 on behalf of Cathy Hasenpflug, Associate Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer

Greetings OSU Employees,

As community members, Oregon State University employees are committed to acting with the highest levels of integrity, while engaging in ethical conduct and being in compliance with all applicable laws, regulations, and policies.

The OSU Critical Training Program provides required online employee training that prepares members of the OSU community to fulfill these commitments by completing short eLearning courses essential for all OSU employees.

Completion of these Critical Trainings is required of employees at hire and at regular cycles of “recertification.” Our first Critical Training recertification process is scheduled to launch on Jan. 31, 2022. 

What do I need to do?

If you completed your Critical Trainings over two years ago:

  • You will receive a series of system notifications at the end of January assigning you to re-take the following trainings:
    • Ethics in the Workplace
    • Mandatory Reporting of Child Abuse
    • Information Security
    • Equal Opportunity & Access topics (3 topics)
  • The notifications will come from the “Bridge” system. (Please note it is not possible to access or complete updated Critical Trainings prior to system notification.)
  • You will have 60 days from your notification dates to complete each assigned Critical Training.
  • Please plan for it to take approximately 20 minutes to complete each course/topic, with the full set of Critical Trainings requiring approximately 2 hours in total.

If you completed your Critical Trainings within the last two years:

  • No action is required at this time, and you will not receive a system notification on Jan. 31.
  • You will receive future system notifications when it is time for you to re-take each Critical Training.

Whenever you are assigned to re-take your Critical Trainings, I encourage you to prioritize doing so as an essential activity.

Additional information on the university’s Critical Training Program, including the recertification process, can be found on the Critical Training Program Questions & Answers webpage. Please contact the Critical Training Program staff at [email protected] with additional questions.

For Employees (including Student Employees)

Employees will receive an e-mail from Bridge informing them that they have been enrolled in a Critical Training. Employees will have 60 days to complete the training, from the date they received the first notification.

Employees have 60 consecutive days from the day Bridge assigns them the training, regardless of FTE or planned time off. The employee is expected to complete the training within these 60 days while they are serving in an active employment capacity. After 60 days, if they have not completed their assigned trainings, the trainings will be flagged as 'overdue.'

If the employee is not performing work during the 60 day assignment window (for example, they are on extended leave or they are not performing work during the summer academic break period), their supervisor can reach out to HR Compliance to discuss a plan for an extended timeline, so the employee can complete the training as soon as they return to work.
 

Bridge will assign the training to any eligible employee who is serving in an active employment capacity. 

Questions related to the Critical Training Program compliance policy can be directed to HR Compliance: [email protected].
 

Student employees have 60 consecutive days from the day Bridge assigns them the training, regardless of their employment timeline or scheduled hours. 

Their supervisor is expected to coordinate a plan for the student employee to complete all assigned trainings within the 60 days during normal working hours, and while the student is serving in an active employment capacity.

Questions related to the Critical Training Program compliance policy can be directed to HR Compliance: [email protected].
 

Once a person passes the 60-day deadline, the person will receive weekly overdue notifications from Bridge. 

In addition to the weekly system notification, HR Compliance will notify the employee of their Critical Training obligations, and will work with the individual and their supervisor to address situations of non-compliance with Critical Training assignments. 

In situations of continued non-compliance, the employee will be subject to progressive discipline, up to and including, termination.

Once an employee has successfully completed the training, the weekly notifications will stop.

Questions related to the Critical Training Program compliance policy can be directed to HR Compliance: [email protected].
 

The training should be completed during the regular workday. Supervisors should work with employees to make sure they have time during work hours, a space appropriate for learning and a computer to complete the training.

Each Critical Training module varies in length, and the time it takes to complete the training will vary on a number of factors (e.g., the person’s proficiency with computers, in English, and with reading; the person’s access to a computer and the internet; the environment in which they take the training; and the person’s preexisting knowledge of the topic). Each training page in Bridge indicates approximately how long it will take to complete.

The employee is expected to complete assigned trainings within their normal work hours.

The employee can work with their supervisor to coordinate a plan for the employee to complete all assigned trainings while the employee is serving in an active employment capacity.

If a supervisor develops a plan with their employee(s) to complete the training outside of normal work hours, they will need to address the compensation issue. Supervisors seeking to address a compensation issue should refer to Employee and Labor Relations (UHR).

Questions related to the Critical Training Program compliance policy can be directed to HR Compliance: [email protected].

Bridge assigns Critical Trainings to people, not jobs. Therefore, the person will be addressed by Bridge only once, despite the number of jobs they may hold. 

The “My Learning” dashboard in Bridge will list all the trainings for which the person is responsible. 
•    Trainings that are actively assigned to the employee (i.e., due within 60 days or overdue) will be listed as “REQUIRED.” 
•    Trainings that are not due at this time will be listed as “COMPLETED.”
 

Bridge emails new employees their first training notification within the first two weeks of hire. If a new employee has not received a notification from Bridge within this timeframe, they (or their supervisor) should email [email protected]

Training enrollment notifications will come from noreply @ bridgeapp . com. 
•    This is an email originating outside of OSU, so it may be automatically filtered into your Junk or Spam folder. Check these folders to make sure it’s not there.
 

Access your Critical Training in Bridge to see which trainings you need to complete. Use your OSU credentials to log in. 

You will find all Critical Trainings for which you are responsible on the front page dashboard, i.e., “My Learning.” 

Trainings that are actively assigned to you (i.e., due within 60 days or overdue) will be listed under “Required,” while trainings that are not due at this time will be listed under “Completed.”

All trainings within the Critical Training Program begin with the title, “OSU Critical Training” (e.g., OSU Critical Training: Ethics Program).
 

You can check whether you have completed the required Critical Trainings by doing the following:

  1. Go to https://training.oregonstate.edu/
  2. Select “Employee Bridge Login” (not student bridge login)
  3. Log in with your ONID credentials
  4. From the “My Learning” page (it should be the one that appears once you log in), select “Grid” on the top right (under “Export Transcript”) and toggle to “List.”

•    Any Critical Training listed under “REQUIRED” is a training that is actively assigned to you (i.e., due within 60 days or overdue). 
    Select and complete all the Critical Trainings from the REQUIRED list to meet your training requirements.
•    Any Critical Training listed under “COMPLETED” is a training that is not actively assigned to you (i.e., you have met this requirement, and no further action is required at this time). 
    You may review trainings in the COMPLETED list, however you will not receive recertification credit until they are reassigned to you (at this point, they will appear in the “REQUIRED” list).

All trainings within the Critical Training Program begin with the title, “OSU Critical Training” (e.g., OSU Critical Training: Ethics Program).
 

 

1.    Go to https://training.oregonstate.edu/
2.    Select “Employee Bridge Login” (not student bridge login)
3.    Log in with your ONID credentials
4.    From the “My Learning” page (it should be the one that appears once you log in), select “Grid” on the top right (under “Export Transcript”) and toggle to “List.”
•    Any Critical Training listed under “REQUIRED” is a training that is actively assigned to you (i.e., due within 60 days or overdue). 
    Select and complete all the Critical Trainings from the REQUIRED list to meet your training requirements (they will then move to the “COMPLETED” list on your “My Learning” page).

All trainings within the Critical Training Program begin with the title, “OSU Critical Training” (e.g., OSU Critical Training: Ethics Program). 
 

For Supervisors

Bridge emails new employees their first training notification within the first two weeks of hire. If a new employee has not received a notification from Bridge within this timeframe, they (or their supervisor) should email [email protected]

Training enrollment notifications will come from noreply @ bridgeapp . com. 
•    This is an email originating outside of OSU, so it may be automatically filtered into your Junk or Spam folder. Check these folders to make sure it’s not there.
 

Supervisors must notify the Office of University Human Resources (UHR) of any change in employment status so that employee records can be updated in Banner. Bridge works on Banner data, so when Banner is out-of-date, Bridge will act on the out-of-date Banner information.

•    To update employment status (including FTE changes, appointment extensions, employee leave, resignations, terminations and job changes), supervisors can submit a ticket through the Employee Service Portal, or directly contact any of the teams below (please have ready the employee’s name, ONID and ID number):
    To request updates to the employment status of undergraduate student positions, contact the UHR Undergraduate Student Employment Center at student.employment @oregonstate.edu. 
    To request updates to the employment status of graduate student (or graduate assistantship) positions, contact the UHR Graduate Student Employment Center at [email protected]
    To request updates to the employment status of all other employee positions, contact UHR Support Services at [email protected]
 

Bridge will assign the training to any eligible employee who is serving in an active employment capacity. Bridge will assign a 60-day window to complete the trainings, regardless of FTE or planned time off. 

The employee is expected to complete the training within these 60 days while they are serving in an active employment capacity. After 60 days, if they have not completed their assigned trainings, the trainings will be flagged as 'overdue.'

If the employee is not performing work during the 60 day assignment window (for example, they are on extended leave or they are not performing work during the summer academic break period), their supervisor can reach out to HR Compliance to discuss a plan for an extended timeline, so the employee can complete the training as soon as they return to work.
 

Student employees have 60 consecutive days from the day Bridge assigns them the training, regardless of their employment timeline or scheduled hours. 

Their supervisor is expected to coordinate a plan for the student employee to complete all assigned trainings within the 60 days during normal working hours, and while the student is serving in an active employment capacity.

Questions related to the Critical Training Program compliance policy can be directed to HR Compliance: [email protected].
 

If you are a supervisor of non-student employees, you can view the HRS1578 Employee Critical Training Report in CORE.

If you are a supervisor of student employees, you can view the STU0517 Student Employee Critical Training Report in CORE.

As a supervisor you also have access to the Bridge Analytics page, on which provides up-to-date information on training completion status for your employees (including student employees). Refer to the following question and answer if you are unable to see an employee's data on the Bridge Analytics page.

  • There are several reasons why a supervisor cannot view an employee’s data:
    •    The employee has more than one supervisor.
        Bridge holds information for just one supervisor for each employee. So, the supervisor that is designated in Banner as the ‘primary’ is the person who can see information for an employee. To find out who the ‘primary’ supervisor is, contact [email protected]
        If someone is in a lead position over this person, but they are not the supervisor of record, that person will not be able to see the employee’s data (and they may not have access to Bridge Analytics).
    •    The employee has an inactive status in Banner.
        When employees are in the ‘inactive’ status in Banner, their data will not appear in Bridge or reports related to the Critical Training Program.
    •    The employee’s data is out of date in Banner.
        Bridge draws its data from Banner, so if Banner is out-of-date, Bridge will report inaccurate information.  This includes supervisor assignments.

    To update employment status (including FTE changes, appointment extensions, employee leave, resignations, terminations and job changes), supervisors can submit a ticket through the Employee Service Portal, or directly contact any of the teams below (please have ready the employee’s name, ONID and ID number):
    •    To request updates to the employment status of undergraduate student positions, contact the UHR Undergraduate Student Employment Center at student.employment @oregonstate.edu. 
    •    To request updates to the employment status of graduate student (or graduate assistantship) positions, contact the UHR Graduate Student Employment Center at [email protected]
    •    To request updates to the employment status of all other employee positions, contact UHR Support Services at [email protected]. 
     

Make sure that the employee’s status in Banner is up-to-date and that you are the Primary Supervisor in Banner. 

To check or update employment status (including FTE changes, appointment extensions, employee leave, resignations, terminations and job changes), supervisors can submit a ticket through the Employee Service Portal, or directly contact any of the teams below (please have ready the employee’s name, ONID and ID number):
•    To check (or request updates to) the employment status of undergraduate student positions, contact the UHR Undergraduate Student Employment Center at student.employment @oregonstate.edu. 
•    To check (or request updates to) the employment status of graduate student (or graduate assistantship) positions, contact the UHR Graduate Student Employment Center at [email protected]
•    To check (or request updates to) the employment status of all other employee positions, contact UHR Support Services at [email protected]

If the data still isn’t showing up in Bridge, contact Academic Technologies at [email protected] for assistance.
 

The person’s status probably hasn’t been changed in Banner. Contact your Service Center to make appropriate changes.

To ensure compliance with University, state and federal guidelines and to keep updated information top of mind, OSU requires employees to recertify the following Critical Trainings:

  • Annually (every year from date of completion):
    • Information Security
    • Preventing Sexual Misconduct
    • Mandatory Reporting of Child Abuse
  • Biannually (every two years from date of completion):
    • Ethics in the Workplace
    • Inclusion & Access
    • Discrimination and Prohibited Behavior

Employees are not required to recertify the Protected Leave training.

Leadership of units experiencing barriers to accessing the online training modules are encouraged to contact [email protected] for assistance.

Supervisors of employees that are unable to complete the training, due to technical or other barriers, are encouraged to contact [email protected] for assistance.

The Bridge platform is the primary modality for completing the Critical Trainings.

Leadership of units experiencing barriers to accessing the online training modules are encouraged to contact [email protected] for assistance.

Supervisors of employees that are unable to complete the training, due to technical or other barriers, are encouraged to contact [email protected] for assistance.

The employee will receive an e-mail from Bridge informing them that they have been enrolled in a Critical Training. They will have 60 days from the date of notification to complete the training.

Supervisors should work to ensure all faculty and staff complete the online training during the workday*

Supervisors and managers can find and track due dates and completion status of their employees using the Critical Training CORE Reports. Click here for downloadable instructions for accessing these reports.

*If a supervisor develops a plan with their employee(s) to complete the training outside of normal work hours, they will need to address the compensation issue. Supervisors seeking to address a compensation issue should refer to Employee and Labor Relations (UHR).

Technical Troubleshooting

  1. Log in to Bridge with your onid credentials
    • Verify that the trainings are listed as “Completed” (trainings listed as “Completed” are not due at this time).
    • If there are incomplete trainings, you will see them above the “Completed” trainings, in a list titled “Required.” Continue to step 2…
  2. Click on an incomplete training to resume the training.
  3. In the training, use the navigation pane on the left of the training (the table of contents) to pick up where Bridge thinks you left off. You should find check-marks next to all of the chapters of the training that you’ve completed so far.
  4. To complete the training, select and re-watch the chapter you left off on, and scroll down in the training to find the button that allows you to move on to the next chapter within the training. Continue in this fashion until you reach the conclusion chapter.
  5. After the conclusion video plays, make sure you scroll down after the conclusion video and click the button that tells Bridge you watched it. From there, it should say that you can now close the window and click the “back to my learning” to return to your dashboard. When you return to the “My Learning” (homepage) in Bridge, the training should now appear in the “Completed” list.

Expires - Employees are required to recertify several of the Critical Trainings on a regular basis. When a training "expires," it will automatically be reassigned to the employee for recertification. Trainings are set up to 'expire' either one or two years after the employee completes the training (with the exception of the Protected Leave Training - see below). You are more than welcome to review "completed" trainings, however please note that Bridge will NOT track that review, and will NOT update your training completion date.

Expired - Two years after a person completes the FMLA OFLA and Protected Leave Training, Bridge changes the status to the term "expired." The term "expired" simply means that two years have passed since you completed the training. You are more than welcome to review "expired" trainings, however please note that Bridge will NOT track that review, and will NOT update your training completion date.

For technical questions related to Bridge, please contact [email protected]

On occasion, the Critical Trainings are updated to account for minor revisions or content refreshments - sometimes this means we remove entire modules that are no longer relevant.

If you see a grayed-out module within the Information Security Training or Equal Opportunity & Access Training  (e.g., IT Security: Step 1 of 10: You Are the Shield or EOA Module 1: EOA Training Introduction), it means that this module has been archived, and you no longer have access to view it.

In the "grid view" of your MyLearning dashboard, these trainings may appear as < 100% complete. To view the correct completion status of these trainings, change the view to "list view" in your MyLearning dashboard (located as a drop-down button on the top right of the webpage).

Previous Updates to the Critical Training Program

  • On May 20, 2022 the Mandatory Reporting of Child Abuse Training was updated with minor revisions.
  • On April 16, 2022 the Equal Opportunity & Access Training was updated with minor revisions.
  • On April 9, 2022 the Ethics Training was updated with minor revisions.
  • On January 11, 2022 the Equal Opportunity & Access Training content was updated.
    • If you see a grayed-out module, it means it has been archived, and you no longer have access to it. Bridge may indicate that you are 60% complete with the training. Change the view to 'list view' to view the correct completion status of this module.

  • On December 28, 2021 content updates were made to the Mandatory Reporting TrainingEthics Training and the Protected Leave Training.
  • On July 19, 2021 the Information Security Training content was updated.
    • If you see a grayed-out module, it means it has been archived, and you no longer have access to it. Bridge may indicate that you are 55% complete with the training. Change the view to 'list view' to view the correct completion status of this module.

Access your Critical Training (use the Employee Bridge Login button).

If you encounter technical issues, please contact [email protected].

For additional questions related to the Critical Training Program, please contact the Critical Training Program staff in University Human Resources.