Course FAQ
Purchasing Courses
How do I know what course is best for me?
If you are reviewing the courses and uncertain which one might be best for you please contact info@animaleadership.com and we can send you information sheets for each course. If after you review that information, you still are uncertain, we would be happy to discuss your needs with you.
I want to send a group from my organization? Am I able to do that?
You can arrange for a bulk purchase of seats. If you have 30 or more participants we do offer in-house training for all our courses. Please contact info@animaleadership.com to learn more.
I registered for a course but cannot attend. Can I attend the course the next time it is offered?
When you register for a course you are automatically placed into the course the first time it will be offered after you register. If you register for the Inclusive Leadership Certificate you will be enrolled in the courses the first time they occur after you register.
If you register but cannot attend the course when it is offered next, please reach out to us immediately and we will shift you to the next available cohort. As an example: You register for Authentic Facilitation in November 2023 and realize you cannot attend. You can reach out to us and let us know so we move your registration to November 2024.
We cannot move you to another course offering with less than 30 days notice.
I have purchased a course and haven’t heard or received anything from anybody. What should I do?
An automated email and a receipt should be sent to you (the purchaser) immediately following registration. If someone purchased the course on your behalf you may want to check with them to see if they received any information.
We also reach out to course participants about four weeks ahead of the course, a week and the day before as additional reminders. Please feel free to contact us at info@animaleadership.com if you registered and did not receive anything from us.
What is your refund policy?
Our refund policy is to offer a 50% credit for another course with 30 days or more notice. Unfortunately we cannot issue refunds or credits if you let us know in less than 30 days.
I just purchased a course and made an error. Can I cancel my order?
We can offer immediate refunds for a course if you let us know within 24 hours of your purchase. If you made your purchase on a weekend or holiday we will refund on the next business day.
I accidentally registered for the wrong course? What should I do?
Please let us know immediately within a 24 hour window. We can cancel your order so you can register for the correct course.
What should I do after I register?
After you register you should immediately log in and ensure you can see your course on your dashboard. Some courses require preparatory work so you will want to ensure you can view the different modules.
Courses that have preparatory work involving short videos and handouts are: Authentic Facilitation, Authentic Management, Brave Conversations and Deep Diversity.
Courses that do not have preparatory work are: Decoding Race for White Leaders and Deep Diversity Self-Directed.
I have a limited budget. Can I get a discount?
Each course has 10% of spots reserved for sliding scale payments. If you have income constraints but would like to register please reach out to us at info@animeladership.com with any information that would be helpful such as what you would be able to contribute as a payment.
Where can I see the course policies?
Our course policies are listed here.
Bulk Purchases and Management
How does bulk purchasing work?
If you want to purchase a course for your colleagues you can easily manage this on our website. This allows you to invite and manage the participants. If you have been invoiced you can select “payment as previously arranged” and we will approve the order.
Select the course as you normally would if you are purchasing for yourself. Then select the number of seats. Once your purchase is processed and payment is received you can invite participants who will receive a notification to register. Should you need to remove or add a participant this can be done through the dashboard.
More instructions for bulk purchasing and inviting participants are available at https://animaleadership.com/bulk-purchase-instructions/.
Course preparation, live sessions and breakout groups
What can I expect to find on the course dashboard?
When you log into the course dashboard you will find a list of the courses in which you are currently registered. If you click on the course, you will see different modules. Some courses such as Decoding Race do not have different modules and just one course page.
The course dashboard should be your go-to online space before, during and after the course for required videos and resources. We also place the Zoom link for the course on the dashboard.
During the course, if you have to miss a session, you will find the PDF presentation handout, and the video recording of that session on the module page on the dashboard.. We do delete these recordings prior to running the next course.
What if I cannot attend some of the sessions?
To be eligible for the certificate you must attend at least three of the four sessions. You can still participate in the course if you must miss some sessions, but we really recommend attending as much of the learning occurs through discussion and exercises–you will also not be eligible for the certificate. For non-certificate courses we still recommend you attend the webinars. There is no preparatory work or resource videos for non-certificate courses and all of the learning takes place in the webinar itself so by not attending you will miss a lot of content.
What are the breakout groups?
These are small groups to allow course participants to discuss, learn, and reflect on concepts and scenarios with each other. There will be a guiding question or exercise to work through. Groups usually have 4-5 participants with one person taking on the role of note-taker and another person reporting back to the larger group.
What happens if I cannot participate in a group?
Occasionally a participant may not be able to attend a group. Please let us know ahead of time (before the webinar or just at the start) if you will not be able to join. Leaving the webinar just prior to the groups breaking out can create issues with group numbers if enough people do it. If you are not feeling well or have another commitment we can leave you in the main room or place you in a group room by yourself.
What happens if I am going to be late or have to leave early?
We organize the discussion groups during the first 30 minutes of the session. If participants arrive late or depart early it can create challenges to creating effective groups. If you are going to be late or you do not plan to be participating in groups, please let us know ahead of time. If you arrive late we cannot guarantee that you will be added to a group.
I would like to be in a group that shares my identity and experiences. Is that possible?
For some of our courses we create groups for BIPOC identifying people. These groups are meant for BIPOC identifying participants and not white participants who are curious or supportive of BIPOC experiences. We can also create LGBTQ2S+ groups and for those with disabilities if enough people are interested. Requests must be made prior to the course start.
I would like people in my organization to be in the same group? Can this be done?
While we can try to accommodate some group requests (e.g., requesting that employees not be in a group with their supervisor) we cannot ensure that people from the same organization are in the same group. In large live online group settings this can be challenging to manage in addition to other group requests. We also encourage course participants to meet people from other organizations.
If you wish for people from your organization to work together on scenarios or concepts, we encourage you to organize this between the webinars. You could also purchase a harvesting session. A virtual in-house harvesting session can be scheduled and facilitated after the course has finished. Harvesting sessions are an important follow-up to help consolidate individuals’ learnings and plan next steps for implementation. This includes
- Reviewing the elements covered in the course
- Reflecting the themes that came up through the training
- Discussing application at individual, team and organizational levels
Is there anything I have to prepare to be ready for the course?
The Inclusive Leadership Certificate Courses (Deep Diversity, Authentic Facilitation, Authentic Management and Brave Conversation) all have pre-work which means watching the available videos and looking over the handouts. This will help you become familiar with some of the content in the live webinars. For Deep Diversity courses, we highly recommend you purchase the book Deep Diversity: A Compassionate, Scientific Approach to Achieving Racial Justice.
The other courses do not have pre-work unless otherwise specified.
Are the live webinars recorded?
Yes, we do record the sessions for future reference. The video will be available on the course dashboard on that particular module page. Since the sessions are in Zoom, if Zoom recording fails the recording will not be available for that particular session.
Can I download the video or the chat?
While we recognize there may be useful information in the chat and session video we do not allow downloads of this nature. This helps protect the privacy of individuals participating in the course who may not wish to have their thoughts and observations shared outside of the course context. Discussing equity, diversity and inclusion can be sensitive for some people who may wish to not have their words shared beyond the scope of the learning environment.
What is expected of me in terms of participation?
We prioritize creating inclusive and welcoming learning environments by expecting all participants to show up prepared (having accessed pre-course learning materials), with cameras on (unless inaccessible), to listen to other viewpoints, to ask questions and to actively engage in the learning process throughout the course. At Anima, we aim to facilitate an experience of inclusion as much as develop inclusive leadership skills.
What happens if another participant is disrespectful?
We encourage participants to be open to the extent they are comfortable doing so in the interest of building a comfortable learning environment (rather than a politically correct one). Our courses are also a space where we encourage making mistakes as we know this is the only way learning occurs. Prioritizing learning means that sometimes toes (or identities) may be inadvertently stepped on. Please extend compassion and before deciding if someone is being disrespectful, ascertain whether they are aware or unaware of their behaviour. If they are unaware, we encourage you to share with them directly as often the richest learning occurs participant to participant. Of course, participants are always welcome to approach course leaders at any point for support.. us know
Completing courses and certificates
Do I get a certificate for completing courses?
If you complete a course which is part of the Inclusive Leadership Certificate (i.e. Authentic Facilitation, Authentic Management, Brave Conversations, or the Deep Diversity Institute) you will receive a course badge. Upon completion of all four certificate courses you will be issued a printable Inclusive Leadership Certificate.
For non-certificate courses we plan to eventually have automated letters of completion.
I completed a course which is no longer visible in my dashboard. Why is that?
You will have 90 days to access the material for the course following the last webinar. For Deep Diversity Self-Directed you will have access to the course for 90 days from the date of your purchae. After that the course will be removed from your dashboard, but it will still be on your account as completed. If you finish a course which is part of the Inclusive Leadership Certificate (i.e. Authentic Facilitation, Authentic Management, Brave Conversations, or Deep Diversity) you will receive a course badge which will be visible under the “badges” tab of your account.
Troubleshooting
I cannot access my dashboard. What should I do?
Please complete the technical support form if you need assistance: https://animaleadership.com/course-technical-support/
The video does not seem to load. What should I do?
The video sometimes takes a few minutes to load depending on your internet connection. Wait a few minutes to see if the video loads. You might want to try a different browser or device.
Please complete the technical support form if you need assistance: https://animaleadership.com/course-technical-support/
The quiz or other course components is/are not available to me. What should I do?
Please complete the technical support form if you need assistance: https://animaleadership.com/course-technical-support/