Understanding Civil Rights (UCR) is a required online course about the University of Washington’s civil rights policies and practices for all students. The course explores civil rights at the University with a focus on protections based on race, color, or national origin (including shared ancestry and ethnicity).
This course reflects the University’s ongoing commitment to creating a respectful, safe, and welcoming environment for all members of our community. The content applies to all UW campus locations.
After completing the UCR course, students will be able to:
- Identify ways to support inclusive and nondiscriminatory learning and living environments at the UW.
- Recognize discrimination and harassment as prohibited conduct under UW policies, and understand when such conduct may contribute to a hostile environment.
- Describe available support and resources, including how the Civil Rights Compliance Office responds to reports.
- Understand when reporting is encouraged and how to make a Civil Rights & Title IX Report.
Student course completion expectations
All matriculated undergraduate, graduate and professional students are required to complete the course.
| Current Spring 2026 Student Timeline | Key Dates |
|---|---|
| Course assignment in Canvas | March 30, 2026 |
| Completion deadline | May 31, 2026 |
| New and Returning Student Timeline | Key Dates |
|---|---|
| Completion deadline | Before end of first quarter at the UW |
The following students are not required to complete the course:
- Non-matriculated students, including high school students, most certificate program participants, and those enrolled in non-degree offerings.
Course FAQs
The course is best completed on a desktop or laptop rather than a mobile device.
Students can access the course from their Canvas dashboard.
- Go to UW Canvas and log in using your UW NetID and password. (If you just created your UW NetID and can’t log in to Canvas yet, please wait 24 hours before trying again.)
- Once you are logged into UW Canvas, look for the Understanding Civil Rights 2025-2026 course card on your Dashboard and click it to open the course.
- If you don’t see the course card on your Dashboard, click Courses in the purple menu bar on the left of your screen. Find the course under Published Courses and click the title to open it.
- When you open the course, you will be taken to a different Canvas version for UW student training. This version looks a bit different—it has a gray menu bar instead of purple.
After completing the course, close the Student Training Canvas tab and return to UW Canvas to access your other UW courses.
Most individuals can complete the course in approximately 30 minutes. The course platform will save your progress and allow you to complete the course in multiple sessions.
To have your completion recorded in Canvas, you must complete both components of the course:
- Understanding Civil Rights interactive media lesson
- Verification Quiz in Canvas (3 questions)
To progress within Canvas from the interactive course to the 3-question Verification Quiz, you will need a passcode. The passcode is provided at the end of the interactive course.
Be sure to write down the passcode before you close the interactive course.
If you have already completed and exited the course but did not save the passcode, you can reopen the course and navigate to the final section to view it again.
If you have recently experienced discrimination, harassment, or sexual misconduct, or have supported someone who has, and are concerned this course could be emotionally challenging to complete at this time, you may complete an alternative version. The alternative version is the same length but with some adjusted scenario content.
To access the alternative version:
- Enter the Understanding Civil Rights 2025-26 course from your Canvas dashboard
- Select ‘Begin the course’ from the course homepage
- The link to the Alternative Course is available on the page titled ‘Civil Rights Course – Start Here.’
If you cannot locate or access the alternative course or have questions about it, please contact civilrightsed@uw.edu for support and additional information.
All information you provide through these activities is private. Only your course completion status and Verification Quiz will be connected with your identifiable data. This information is available only to individuals with a UW-related business need to access it.
Answers collected in the in-course evaluation survey through Qualtrics are confidential. Your answers will not be connected to you individually, and no identifying information will be associated with your responses. All data will be reviewed and reported in aggregate form only. The data will be used to assess the effectiveness of this course and inform future updates and courses.
UW Privacy Notice
University of Washington
Compliance Services
Notification for Collection and Use of Personal Data
You are notified that by completing the online Understanding Civil Rights course, the University of Washington (UW) is collecting certain data about you. Data is collected and stored in Canvas LMS, the University’s learning management system.
The University may also use this data to comply with its legal obligations. Data records will be maintained for at least their minimum required retention according to the applicable UW Records Retention Schedule(s): 12 years after completion of the training course.
Records will be accessed by those who have a legitimate UW-related business need to access them.
For additional information, to request access to or a copy of your personal data, or to request certain data be removed, you may contact civilrightsed@uw.edu.
If your data protection-related questions or concerns are not addressed after contacting the organization area to which you provided data, you may also contact the UW’s data protection office at uwprivacy@uw.edu.
If you have feedback, questions about course content, or experience technical issues (such as trouble accessing lessons, quizzes, or passcodes), please contact civilrightsed@uw.edu.
This email is monitored Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and most inquiries receive a response within three business days.
Completion expectation FAQs
The UW is committed to cultivating an environment where everyone is welcome, supported, and empowered to thrive. UCR helps individuals at the UW better understand their rights, resources, and options, as well as how they can effectively support others who may have experienced discrimination or harassment.
UCR was also developed in part to fulfill compliance obligations under a resolution agreement between the UW and the U.S. Department of Education. Under that agreement, the UW must provide regular anti-discrimination training for students and employees.
Current spring 2026 students assigned the UCR course must complete it by May 31, 2026.
New and returning students who have not previously taken the course must complete it before the end of their first quarter at the UW.
To have your completion recorded in Canvas, you must complete both components of the course:
- Understanding Civil Rights interactive media lesson
- Verification quiz in Canvas (3 questions)
After you finish the interactive media lesson and submit the Verification Quiz, you can check that your completion was recorded by going to the Start Here page in the UCR student course in Canvas. Then click Check Your Course Credit.
While the University currently requires students to take the foundational civil rights course only once, students will be required to take a refresher course in future years.
Yes, this course is specific to the University of Washington and contains information every UW student needs. This course may build on the information you have learned in other classes or training.
Graduate student employees must complete both the UCR course for students and the UCR course for employees. The employee and student courses have unique information relevant to those respective roles. Completing the civil rights employee course does not replace the civil rights student course requirement for graduate students.
Other types of student employees are not required to complete the employee course.