SMU Program for the Protection of Minors On-Line Training Has Moved to a New Location

What’s New – What Does the Change Mean to You?

In mid-February 2016 the training portion of the SMU Program for the Protection of Minors transitioned out of SMU Blackboard and has been relocated to the LawRoom learning management system.  LawRoom houses SMU’s required training tutorials in a convenient online portal.

All new employees, including student workers, are required to complete the Protection of Minors training.

In addition, employees and volunteers working with minors in supplemental programming and camps are required to have completed the training within 2 years of the start of their program, therefore re-training is often a requirement of employment.

We are excited about the efficiency the transition provides for our employees.  Employees no longer have multiple platforms to access and manage when completing required training tutorials.  Employees will receive an email from the LawRoom announcing that the training has been assigned and is available to access.  They will also receive regular reminders until ALL assigned training has been completed.

What’s Different with Lawroom?

There are several process changes as a result of the relocation of the training that you should be aware of:

1.  Regular and temporary employees
   All regular and temporary employees (including post-doctoral fellows and student workers) will be automatically assigned the training once their information has been entered into my.SMU and they have passed their start date for employment.  This training assignment is explained under SMU Policy 9.31.
2.  Employees who need to re-train according to Texas State Law
   Those employees who are required by Senate Bill 1414 and SMU Policy 9.31 to retrain every two years will need to email HR at DevelopU@smu.edu to request re-assignment of the training tutorial.  Please allow up to 48 hours for the assignment of the training and to receive the announcement email.  Learn more about this requirement on the SMU Program for the Protection of Minors webpage.
3. Students asked to train for SMU coursework who are not employed by SMU
   Students who are asked to completed the training for coursework and who are not employed by the University will be enrolled in the training via the Dallas Children’s Advocacy Center’s online training on the DCAC website.  Several programs already have an assigned administrator who manages these enrollments.  If you don’t fall under one of these areas, send an email to DevelopU@smu.edu with an attached excel spreadsheet listing the student’s first name, last name, and email address. HR will then manually enroll these students and the DCAC system will send an email to each individual with instructions on how to access the training.
4. Training for non-SMU employees
   SMU will again provide the opportunity for non-SMU affiliated camp employees and volunteers to complete the training, at no cost, under the SMU site license with DCAC.  You should work with your SMU Program Coordinator to facilitate this process.

Those hosting camps, working at, or volunteering for a program involving minors must have completed the state training within 2 years of the start of the camp or program session.  Please review your training summary in my.SMU and email DevelopU@smu.edu if you need to retake the training to meet the state requirement.  HR will enroll you in the appropriate training platform and you will receive an email announcing that the training is assigned and ready for you to access.

SMU hosts an annual session for Program Coordinators (those who manage camps at SMU offered by others) and Camp Operators (SMU employees who host camps for minors). This year’s session is scheduled for March 22 from 3-4:30.  Learn more about the session and how to enroll. 

If you have questions about these new processes, please contact us at DevelopU@smu.edu.