Safety Training Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

General

If you need assistance or have questions regarding required safety training or the Safety Training Self-assessment, contact your department SOS Representative or email safety@uci.edu. If you have problems accessing or utilizing the UC Learning Center, email UCLearningCenter@uci.edu.

Required Safety Training

Training requirements and recommendations are based on California Occupational Safety & Health Administration (Cal/OSHA) standards. Cal/OSHA determines what types of training employees need, and EHS offers those to you as a service.

UCI requires safety training to meet federal, state and local regulatory requirements. Because this is the case, we require employees to complete our version of the safety training we require. As a result, the only training we recognize from another institution is Laboratory Safety Fundamentals if it was taken at a UC campus.

The Storm Water Pollution Prevention: General Awareness training is recommended and not required. As part of UCI’s Storm Water permit, the State Water Resources Control Board requires the University to implement an education and outreach program. The Storm Water Pollution Prevention: General Awareness course is a one-time, 3-minute microlearning video that provides general awareness about storm water pollution, impacts of urban runoff, and pollution prevention practices.

Safety Training Self-assessment (STSA)

The Safety Training Self-Assessment only identifies required and recommended training offered through EHS. HIPAA, short for the Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act, is not an EHS training. Your supervisor can assist you in determining if this is a required training for you.
The STSA provides a simplified method of determining the federal, state, and locally mandated safety training you are required to take. The STSA takes two minutes to complete and results are viewable by you and your supervisor. To access it, visit the UC Learning Center and click the “Safety Training Self-Assessment – Campus Only” tile.

UCLC home screen highlight STSA button

The STSA is required for all UCI employees and volunteers, with the exception of UCI Health employees, and College of Health Sciences clinical department employees and volunteers who do not perform basic science research involving animals, biohazardous materials, and hazardous chemicals.
Once you complete the STSA, the system will take a short amount of time to update with your required trainings. Once this is completed, you can access the training courses in several places in UC Learning Center. Either click the "Assigned Training" tile, or visit the “Timeline” by clicking the icon with three lines in the top right corner of any UC Learning Center screen. There will be a blue “Start” button next to each training activity.

UCLC Home page Assigned Training button

If you have an administrative or clerical positions, you might feel that none of the available categories describe your work while filling out the STSA. In this case, there is no need to check any boxes. You can simply click “Submit” on that page to proceed. Please note that you will still be assigned the UCI Safety Fundamentals course in this scenario, as it is required for all UCI employees

If you’re having trouble completing the STSA, please be sure that you have pop-ups enabled in your browser. When you click “Final Submission” on the STSA, a pop-up will ask you to confirm your submission by clicking “OK.” If this does not happen, your STSA will not be completed.

STSA submission - Click OK

If you continue to have trouble with the STSA, please contact EH&S at 949-824-6200 or safety@uci.edu for assistance.

If you accidentally selected something that results in an irrelevant training for your job, you can retake the Safety Training Self-Assessment to update your assigned courses. When you uncheck the boxes in question, the trainings associated with them will disappear from your assigned trainings.
You can choose to take the STSA as often as you need, based on changing job functions or positions. However, the STSA will be assigned to the campus annually and everyone is required to complete it at that time. Please note that you will not be reassigned training activities that you have already completed no matter what categories you select in the STSA, unless those training activities require certification.