Thank you for your interest in UDVC's Core Advocacy Training (CAT)!

This online, self-paced Core Adocacy Training (CAT) course is split across 80 modules and is designed to take 40 hours to complete. This course is NOT currently approved for Continuining Education Units (CEUs), but we are working on getting accreditation soon! 

We recommend advocates to take our live training whenever possible. The live training will focuses on hands-on practical skills and fundamentals, while the self-paced course below will feature more advanced, theoretical topics. And unlike a self-paced course, live trainings are designed to be highly interactive!

But if you choose to proceed, here are 5 points to keep in mind.

1. Don't forget to register

It's important to "register" first even though the content can be accessed without it. That way, we can issue your certificate afterwards!

The button to register is located at the top of the page, in the navigation bar. If you've already registered and logged in, you'll instead see a profile circle with your name in the top right.

2. Pace yourself

This course averages about a 33% completion rate. Only about 1 in 3 students who sign up for this course will actually finish!

We want all our trainees to succeed, including you. So we recommend that you take 1–2 months to complete this course. If you want to spread content out over periods longer than this, or you want to try to cramming it in faster, you're welcome to do so. Just know it may likely result in burnout and not finishing!

Some self-pacing schedules:

If you study...	You'll finish the course in...	And will work best if you...
20 hours/week	2 weeks	have a lot of time on your hands and can stay focused for long hours
10 hours/week	1 month	are good at setting a schedule and sticking to it
5 hours/week	2 months	want the most flexibility between working on weekdays/weekends
2 hours/week	5 months	can give only a few hours every week, but don't mind long-term commitments

3. Remember, this course is a "work in progress"

Thanks for helping out with these initial "trial" versions of this course. The feedback form can be found here. Please plan to fill it out regularly (every ten modules or so). This course is very new, so feel free to reach out to the instructor at any time with your suggestions, complaints, or feedback. We won't be offended!

4. Don't mix-and-match with the live CAT

You are welcome to take both the livestream and self-paced Core Advocacy Trainings (CATs). The two formats feature very different topics and presenters, so you won't find a lot of repeated content. You're also welcome to take modules in this self-paced course on a topic-by-topic basis.

However, if you are working towards a earn a 40-hour certificate, please do NOT use this self-paced course to "make up" missed live sessions or try to "mix-and-match" the live and self-paced courses. Due to how different they are, please treat the self-paced and livestream 40-hour certificates as distinct and separate. If you are taking the livestream course and need to make up missed sessions, please follow the designated "makeup" instructions provided in your Participant Guide.

5. No longer interested, but still need a certificate?

Check out UDVC's upcoming live 40-hour trainings at udvc.org/core-advocacy-training/.