George Mason University OCPE Programs

This course will also discuss the issues concerning children. The topics covered include how divorce affects kids, negotiating parenting plans, and working with children and teens in mediation. Mediation skills specific to divorce mediation and an overview of non-divorce cases such as lesbian and gay relationship dissolutions, pre-nuptials, teen parent issues, and grandparents in mediation, conclude this course.

Workplace Mediation
The high costs of workplace conflict are driving companies and regulatory agencies such as the EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) to use mediation and other conflict resolution practices in the workplace. As a result, workplace mediation is an emerging specialty within the field. This course begins with an overview of workplace conflict, the costs involved for companies, tips on how to handle difficult workplace behavior and a summary of informal and formal arbitration practices. The actual process of planning workplace mediation and moving through the mediation from start to finish is also covered. Students are then asked to participate in a telephone role-play mediation with two other students to practice the skills learned. The more common workplace mediation issues of civil rights, sexual harassment, and disability disputes will be presented. Special issues such as power and emotions along with cross-cultural and multi-party cases will also be covered. This course concludes with a presentation of the emerging concepts of appreciative inquiry and its application to workplace disputes.

Health and Eldercare Mediation
People are now living longer than ever due to advances in medicine, heightened attention to diet, and desire to maintain an active lifestyle. Consequently, more people are availing themselves to medical services, and that care may provide a source of conflict. As a result, healthcare mediation is increasingly necessary in lieu of litigation. This course begins with an overview of the growth of dispute resolution in the healthcare field. Students will identify the most common healthcare disputes, the steps of the facilitative mediation process, how it applies to healthcare settings and the essential communication skills for conflict resolution. Special issues such as elder mediation, end of life issues, medical errors and the use of apology, and cultural issues in healthcare conflict will be covered as well. The course discusses interdisciplinary collaboration with physicians, nurses, administrators, attorneys and others involved in healthcare disputes. The course concludes with common ethical dilemmas and standards of practice.

Construction and Real Estate Mediation ( This elective will be available Fall 2007)
Another emerging specialty in the field of mediation is Construction and Real Estate dispute resolution. The high costs of litigation in both real estate and construction are driving companies and consumers to use alternatives such as mediation and other conflict resolution practices to resolve disputes. This course begins with an overview of common construction disputes and the costs involved for companies and consumers. An overview of common real estate disputes and outcomes is also discussed. The course covers the emerging concept of DART (Dispute Resolution Avoidance and Resolution Techniques) which are being used across the continent to manage conflict and resolve disputes. The process of construction mediation is discussed in stages including prevention and the model of partnering, negotiation, use of neutrals, non-binding and binding dispute resolution and litigation alternatives. Students will learn to develop conflict management plans and apply these techniques to case studies. Students are also asked to participate in telephone role-play mediation with two other students.

Arbitration
Arbitration is a more skilled application of dispute resolution where a third party renders an award to disputing parties. This class covers the history of arbitration, the most common applications, the discovery process, and pre-arbitration planning. Which includes interviews and documentation. Students will learn about the actual hearing process, how to conduct fair and impartial presentations of evidence, and how to work with attorneys present in the process. The course concludes with lectures on analysis of evidence, rendering of the award, and the actual writing of an arbitration agreement. Case studies will be used extensively to illustrate concepts central to arbitration.

Advanced Mediation Practice
Mediators must not only understand the substantive processes of their work, but the theories that inform their interventions and approaches to each unique case. This course covers the reflective practice as a means to develop from a student to an artist. This includes the process of creating formulas based on theoretical perspectives and a thorough conflict analysis of each case. The practice of mediation is ultimately focused on the interactions between the disputants and between the disputants and the mediator. This course covers more advanced skill sets of reflective listening and assertion communication as well as key elements and interventions of the interactive processes in mediation. Students learn more advanced skill sets to deal with difficult clients. This course concludes with case study applications based on the knowledge learned in the course.

FEATURES

This nationally recognized online certificate program Mediation and Dispute Resolution is offered in partnership with Gatlin Education Services and the Institute for Advanced Dispute ResolutionT. Mediation is a formal process of negotiation which uses a neutral third-party who has limited or no authoritative decision-making power, to facilitate communication between the people involved in the conflict or dispute. The mediator establishes the ground rules for the process, recognizes the needs and wants of each party and plays a pivotal role assisting the disputants to focus on the real issues. Through the use of specific skills, the mediator is able to settle disagreements among conflicted parties, even in cases where deep rooted tensions have not responded to initial attempts of negotiation. As a result of the mediation process, an outcome is reached that is mutually accepted and owned by both sides of the parties.

With the evolution of this new career, states and courts are increasingly demanding that mediators be trained.

TOPIC HIGHLIGHTS

CORE Mediation (required)
1. Mediation and the Dynamics of Conflict
2. Your Personal Style of Conflict
3. Negotiation and Designing the Mediation
4. Communication Skills for Mediation
5. Beginning the Mediation
6. Mediator Neutrality and Issues of Power and Culture
7. Hidden Interests and Impasses
8. Final Bargaining and Agreement

Students will select TWO of the following courses:

Workplace Mediation
1. Mediation and ADR (Alternative Dispute Resolution)
2. Entry into Workplace Mediation
3. Overview of Workplace Mediation Process
4. Workplace Mediation Skill Sets
5. Law, Gender, and Workplace Mediation
6. Mediation and Workplace Discrimination
7. Cross Cultural and Multi-Party Cases
8. Culture, Ethics and Mentorship

Healthcare and Eldercare Mediation
1. Opportunities of Conflict in Healthcare
2. Essential Communication Skills for Conflict Resolution
3. Unraveling Healthcare Disputes
4. Pre-Mediation Planning
5. The Mediation Process Applied to Patient or Family Disputes
6. The Bioethics Mediation Process
7. Mediator Process Applied to Healthcare Staff Disputes
8. Interdisciplinary Collaboration, Ethics, and Standards of Practice

Divorce and Child Custody Mediation
1. Mediation and ADR
2. Family Dynamics and Conflict
3. The Family Mediation Process
4. Mediating Parenting Plans
5. Asset Division, Negotiation, Impasses, and Power
6. Working with Children in Mediation
7. Special Issues
8. The Legal Process and Standards of Practice

Arbitration
1. Arbitration and ADR
2. Legal and Ethical Issues of Arbitration
3. Communication, Culture, and Personal Bias
4. Pre-Hearing Procedures
5. The Arbitration Hearing Process
6. Directing the Arbitration Process
7. Closing the Arbitration Process
8. Closing the Arbitration Hearing
9. Arbitration Awards and Enforcement

Advanced Mediation Process
1. The Making of a Mediator
2. The Process of Formulation
3. Reflective Practice
4. Elements of the Interactive Process
5. Directing the Interactive Process
6. Critical Moments in Interaction
7. Case Study Practicum

Construction and Real Estate Mediation
This elective will be available Fall 2007

CERTIFICATE REQUIREMENTS

A 70% or better must be achieved in order to receive a Certificate of Completion.

COURSE OBJECTIVES

. Understand the principles and theory of conflict resolution
. Evaluate their current strengths and challenges in resolving conflict
. Identify the principles of interest based negotiation and apply to case studies
. Articulate and apply advanced communication skills such as reframing and nonviolent communication
. Articulate significance of neutrality and impartiality in mediation
. Examine and apply the facilitative process of mediation
. Identify the impacts of cultural, gender, and ethnic differences upon conflict resolution
. Articulate and apply ethical standards for practice
. Identify and apply the specific knowledge necessary for advanced mediation practice in specialties such as Workplace Mediation, Health and Eldercare Mediation, Construction and Real Estate Mediation, Divorce and Child Custody Mediation, and Arbitration

PDF BROCHURE

Please click here to download the PDF brochure for the Gatlin online courses offered by OCPE.

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WHO SHOULD ATTEND

There are no specific educational prerequisites for the Mediation and Dispute Resolution Program. Students should have basic computer skills, be comfortable navigating the Internet, and have e-mailing capabilities.

The audience is anyone interested in developing the professional skills necessary to resolve conflicts at work, home or in their community.

INSTRUCTORS

Christine Coates
Christine Coates is an experienced attorney mediator in Boulder, Colorado whose solo practice emphasizes alternative dispute resolution. Christine holds a BA in psychology and sociology and a MEd in adult counseling. In 1983, when Christine made a career change into her law practice, she brought a rich and varied background in management and education with her. She has been training mediators for over 15 years and is a popular and frequent national speaker and trainer in family law, alternative dispute resolution, and professionalism.

She has been past president of the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts (AFCC), an international interdisciplinary organization. Christie served on the American Bar Association's (ABA) Task Force on Standards of Practice for Divorce Mediation and served on the steering committee for an inter-organizational effort that finalized these Standards. She chairs the AFCC Task Force on Parenting Coordination which is developing standards for Parenting Coordinators. She has also co-chaired the ABA's Dispute Resolution Section's ADR and Family Functions Committee and the Family Law Section's Mediation Committee.

Christie has been an adjunct professor of domestic relations and mediation at the University of Colorado Law School and of family alternative dispute resolution at the University of Denver. Trained in arbitration by the American Arbitration Association, she has an active arbitration practice and has expanded the process of mediation-arbitration to its use in post-dissolution families, training nationally on the use of mediation -arbitration and parenting coordination in family conflict. She is co-author of Working with High-Conflict Families of Divorce: A Guide for Practitioners (Jason Aronson Publishers, 2001) and Learning from Divorce (Jossey-Bass, 2003).

Robin Amadei
Robin has been the director and practicing mediator at the Common Ground Mediation Center for the past 14 years. She has mediated on employment, commercial real estate, environmental, and family cases.

Robin is an experienced organizational team-builder, facilitator, trainer and coach. She is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Denver, University College, the Department of Applied Communication and for the USDA. She is one of four mediators on contract with the Colorado Department of Education as a special education mediator and facilitator. She is a past mediator for the EEOC, a training coach for CDR Associates, and a certified administrator for the Meyers Briggs Training. She is a frequent speaker at national and local conferences, chambers of commerce and professional organizations on various alternative dispute resolution topics.

Robin is an active member of the Colorado Council of Mediators and Mediation Organizations (CCMO) and a founding member and former President (1995-1997) of CCMO-Boulder. Robin is also a member of the Colorado Bar Association, the Membership Chair for the Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee, former co-chair of the Boulder Bar Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee, Boulder Real Estate Law Committee, Family Law Committee, and member of the Colorado and Boulder Women's Bar Association. She is an Advanced Practitioner member of the Association for Conflict Resolution and has published numerous articles on mediation.

Claire Riley
Claire Riley is a registered nurse with an advanced degree in psychiatric nursing and completed her mediation training in 1990 at CDR Associates. For over 14 years, Claire has been an active patient representative and hospital mediator at Boulder Community Hospital (BCH). In her role at BCH, she has been part of the movement to create a mediation option for patients who have grievances with their care.

Claire was also involved with the creation of a mediation process for hospital staff who find themselves in conflict with one another. To date, the BCH mediation process has celebrated ten years of excellence in conflict resolution. Claire is also a veteran member of the Clinical Ethics Committee which reviews and consults on ethical dilemma cases.

Earlier in her career, Claire served as Director of the Behavioral Health Unit at BCH and as the Nursing Director at the Boulder County Hospice. Claire has volunteered as a CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) and has sat on the Board of Directors at the Boulder College of Massage Therapy.

Claire is currently a Trustee at the Fraser Meadows Retirement Community. She lives in Boulder with her husband, artist John Matlack. They enjoy cooking, hiking, and reading. However, their pride and joy is their three year old granddaughter, Jordan. She provides contemplative balance when she is around, which is a reminder that there is nothing but the present.

Patrick Halter
Patrick has been a professional arbitrator for over 30 years. Upon graduating from the University of Indiana, he was accepted into a federal government internship program. His placement was a small agency in Washington, D.C., that handled mediation, fact-finding, and arbitration of disputes between federal employees and agencies. At the same time that occurred, ADR was being promoted in the local court system and Patrick was a mediator and mentor in the District of Columbia Superior Court handling civil disputes. He then served six years as Executive Director and Chief Administrative Law Judge for a state labor and employee relations board. During this time Patrick had opportunities through ADR-forums to arbitrate employment and commercial disputes as a solo arbitrator and as an arbitrator on panels with three or five arbitrators.

Michael Caplan, JD, LLM
Michael is a partner in M. Caplan Co., he combines his knowledge of the legal system with his mediation, facilitation, and training skills. His ability to articulate complicated concepts in a straightforward manner and to assist people with discussing difficult subjects in a productive and collaborative problem solving way helps them make decisions which meet their needs.

Michael is on the executive board of the Boulder Healthy Communities Initiative. He is a member of the ADR section of the Boulder County Bar Association, the International Association of Facilitators, the Society for Professionals in Dispute Resolution, the Colorado Council of Mediators and Mediator Organizations and is a certified NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) Practitioner.

Michael has taught at University of Denver, University of North Carolina (Ashville) and Massey University in New Zealand. He is a faculty member at Naropa University, where he teaches courses in communication, conflict resolution, collaborative decision making and facilitation.

Sat Tara Kaur Khalsa, MS, LPC
Sat Tara is a licensed psychotherapist, divorce mediator and consultant. She is also a court-appointed special child advocate and a board member of the Boulder Interdisciplinary Committee on Child Custody Issues. Sat Tara has extensive experience in custody evaluations and investigations in the context of child abuse, neglect, and sexual abuse. She is a certified NLP practitioner and trained in Eriksonian Hypnotherapy.

Sat Tara graduated from Smith College and has been in the mental health field for approximately 30 years. She has training in Collaborative Family Law and is a member of the Rocky Mountain Collaborative Law Professionals. Her extensive volunteer work includes running a residential holistic psychotherapeutic center, and organizing a woman's project, which resulted in action by the World Health Organization. She was as a program coordinator and acting president of Women Caring for Women. She also served as a steering committee member and presenter of the Interface Council of Boulder. She worked at the Boulder Shelter for the Homeless, and performed community service in France.

Sat Tara is a certified instructor of Kundalini Yoga and has taught yoga and spiritual development classes extensively for 31 years. Sat Tara developed the Personal Wellness Program and helped develop an Aikido-based model of handling high-conflict encounters.

PC REQUIREMENTS

Student must have access to a computer with internet access and a browser (Explorer and Safari are best.) They must also have software for the creation of word documents that are then submitted to the instructor through the online campus (Microsoft Word is recommended).

FAQ

1. How do I register for a Gatlin online course?

Gatlin does not offer courses directly to the public. It offers courses through George Mason University and other colleges and universities. Please contact our office at 703-993-2113 or click here for more information or to register for a course.

2. How much do Gatlin online courses cost?

To view the prices for all Gatlin courses that are offered by George Mason University, please click here.

3. Why do I have to take Gatlin courses through a participating school?

That is the only way Gatlin Education Services offers its courses. They do not deal directly with the public.

4. Do I have to travel to register for or to attend a Gatlin online course?

All Gatlin courses are delivered entirely online, so you do not have to go to a class or travel to a school. Please contact our office at 703-993-2113 or click here for more information or to register for a course.

5. How long does it take to complete a Gatlin course?

All of our Gatlin courses are asynchronous. You can start and finish the course at your own pace. Most courses are designed to be completed within 180 days. You may request an extension if you think you will need more time to complete a course. Please contact us at 703-993-2113 or click here if you have any questions or if you would like to register for a course.

6. Do I have to buy additional materials?

Please refer to the green Included Materials box located on the upper right hand side of this page. If materials are included in this course, they will be shipped by Gatlin to you via UPS ground service after you have registered for a course.

7. Can I get financial aid for Gatlin courses?

George Mason University offers financial assistance through the Sallie Mae Training Loan Program for qualifying students. Call 703-993-2113 for more information. GES also provides a loan opportunity for students (www.collegeloanapplication.com).

8. What happens when I complete the course?

If you obtain a final passing grade of 70% or greater in a course, we will award you a George Mason University certificate of completion.

9. Who will be my instructor?

Each student is paired up with a George Mason University, OCPE, Gatlin facilitator for one-on-one interaction. The facilitator will be available (by e-mail or by telephone) to answer any questions you may have and to provide feedback on your performance. All of our facilitators are successful working professionals in the fields in which they teach.

10. What are the system requirements in order to take an online course?

Please see the "PC requirements" section listed for individual courses.

11. When can I start the course?

You can register for a course at any time.

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