Company: Workplace Answers, Austin, TX
Company Description: Founded in 1997 on the idea that employees are any organization's most valuable resource, Workplace Answers is a risk management and HR compliance leader. Workplace Answers' holistic compliance training solution enables diverse organizations to promote fair and equitable workplaces, while protecting their bottom line. We have 31 employees have deployed hundreds of thousands of trainings globally.
Nomination Category: New Product & Service Categories - Education
Nomination Sub Category: New Product or Service of the Year - Education - Virtual Learning Solution

Nomination Title: Workplace Answers' Student Empower Solution

Tell the story about this nominated product or service (up to 650 words). Describe its function, features, benefits, and performance to date:

National research indicates that somewhere between 20% and 25% of female students are sexually assaulted during their time in college. This is unacceptable, which is why federal laws now mandate that higher education institutions train students, faculty and staff on sexual violence prevention and related topics.

We designed a virtual violence prevention training program that not only meets but exceeds these laws: the Student Empower Solution, a suite of fourteen online courses for students, faculty, staff, investigators and parents. Our cloud-based solution is delivered 100% online, and is available to Learners anytime, anywhere. Virtual delivery is a huge benefit for clients, because it avoids the old problem of having to coordinate and manage trainings and cram lecture halls with thousands of students and employees. Instead, it allows for instantaneous deployment of the courses to all Learners through a simple online platform, and lets Learners train at their own speed. Client administrators can track Learners’ training completions electronically. Administrators can also view crucial analytics to help understand their return on investment (ROI) (e.g., comparing student knowledge levels before and after course completion, and survey results which display anonymous student-submitted data regarding sexual assault, alcohol and drug trends among students).

We focus on an innovative, media-rich delivery, which supports our evidence-based instructional design. Our Student Empower Solution includes professionally-produced video, custom animated stories, social media tie-ins and games that help Learners test what they’ve learned. With our suite of fourteen online courses, clients can customize their curriculum so that it best fits their needs based on the resulting analytics.

All courses in the Student Empower Solution are also mobile-friendly, giving Learners optimum flexibility in the virtual world. Courses automatically bookmark, so Learners can start training on their laptop in a dorm, and continue seamlessly on their tablet later between classes. Because these topics are sensitive in nature, being virtual and mobile-compatible also allows students to engage with the training in the location where they are most comfortable, which is especially helpful to survivors of sexual violence who might be triggered by the content.

All of this functionality is bolstered by the evidence-based instructional design methodology used in the Student Empower Solution. In all of these courses, we dedicate special attention to bystander intervention, which teaches Learners how to step in (when it is safe to do so) if someone is in need of help.

To test the success of our virtual solution, we conducted two focus groups. The first focus group’s outcome used self-reported measures to gauge the success of learning outcomes. The second was empirical, with a pre-test and a post-test administered electronically. Following the primary sexual violence prevention course for first-year students, Learners in the first focus group reported significant improvement in (1) awareness of sexual violence issues, (2) knowledge about how to respond and (3) impact on behavior. Remarkably, 100% of students showed some form of agreement that the course improved their awareness of intimate partner violence, stalking and the lasting effects of sexual violence on survivors. Additionally, 62% strongly agreed they would now intervene in a sexual violence situation as a result of taking the course.

To help confirm the accuracy of the self-reported learning, our second focus group was given an empirical assessment: a pre-test and a post-test to measure the increase in knowledge among the core violence prevention topics. On the pre-test, students scored a troubling average of 63% before the training (essentially a “D” average). But they improved their understanding of sexual violence issues and prevention techniques extensively during the course, exiting the identical final test with an average score of 94% (an “A” average).

With these results in mind, we are confident that our virtual Student Empower Solution is changing the culture around sexual violence on college campuses across the nation.

In bullet-list form, briefly summarize up to ten (10) of the chief features and benefits of the nominated product or service:

• All virtual Student Empower Solution courses are mobile-friendly, meaning Learners can grab their iPad and learn anytime, anywhere.

• The Student Empower Solution meets and exceeds the legal requirements of Title IX, VAWA, and the Clery Act.

• Tracking, completion reports, test results and survey responses are available electronically.

• Virtual delivery avoids revictimizing survivors of sexual violence by allowing them to take their training when and where they feel most comfortable.

• The evidence-based Student Empower Solution features bystander intervention techniques and engage Learners with professionally-acted videos, age-appropriate animations, interactive elements and games.

• An empirical focus group revealed that the average test score went from a “D” average before the course to an “A” average after the course.

• A survey revealed that 100% of students felt the course improved their awareness of intimate partner violence, stalking and the lasting effects of sexual violence on survivors.

• Each virtual course also contains resources and contacts.