ALPs is a student organization that offers workshops that utilize adventure based activities (teambuilding initiatives, high and low ropes courses) to help participants learn more about themselves and one another. All workshops are interactive and experiential and are suitable for all ages, abilities, and groups. We offer four different types of workshops and all are tailored to meet the needs and goals of the group:

Teambuilding (ground) workshop--Usually 1-4 hours in length. The goals for this workshop can include community building, leadership, trust, and communication to name a few. The workshops consist of activities that happen "on the ground" and consist of teambuilding initiatives, problem solving activities, energizers, and get to know you activities. This workshop can facilitated anywhere--on campus, off campus, inside, or outside. As of January 13, 2021, our teambuilding workshops are offered only online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. These virtual teambuilding workshops are the only workshops we are currently offering. We will return to normal programming once it is approved by the University to do so.

Roving workshop--Usually 2-4 hours in length. The goals of these workshops are similar to those of our teambuilding (ground) workshops. The longer the workshop, the better! This workshop takes the components of the teambuilding (ground) workshop and combines it with the adventure of traveling from place to place on campus (or wherever your group is located). The group is given a riddle/clue that they need to decipher in order to determine the next stop on the journey. At each stop, the group will do a teambuilding activity and, once completed, move on to the next stop.

Low ropes course workshop--Usually 4 hours in length. This workshop delves more deeply into trust and increases the level of challenge. All of the elements (obstacles) are from knee height to 12 feet off of the ground and require groups to work together, take care of one another, and trust each other to complete the task. Groups focus on community building, trust, communication, and leadership in this workshop.

High Ropes course workshop--Usually 8 hours in length. The high ropes course consists of elements (obstacles) constructed on 40 foot telephone poles and requires the participant to wear a harness and be clipped into a rope safety system. The ropes course is more individualistic and allows participants the opportunity for work through their fear and learn more about themselves--their strengths, how to work through challenging situations, and how to utilize their resources--while being supported by their group. Goals for this day can include leadership development, trust, communication, and community building.

This workshop series is free for UW-Madison students. This service is also open to non-UW Madison units but there is a cost. Please contact us for more information.

ALPs is a student organization that provides team-building--both virtual and in-person and high and low ropes course workshops for groups. As of Fall 2020, we are only offering virtual team building workshops since we cannot do in-person workshops or ropes courses due to the COVID 19 pandemic.

The description below is an accurate depiction of what we have to offer, facilitators just won't learn technical ropes course skills at this time.

Each Fall, ALPs hires up to 15 students to become facilitators in the organization. They learn how to facilitate team building workshops (currently only virtual workshops) and post the COVID 19 pandemic, the technical skills necessary to operate and facilitate high and low ropes courses. Students will develop their leadership communication, presentation, and teambuilding skills as a result of being a facilitator. In addition to the role of a facilitator, we offer other leadership positions that can further develop a student's leadership ability.

Lead Challenge Course Instructor--facilitators who have put in extra time and effort to expand their knowledge in the technical aspects of the low and high ropes course. They are responsible for set up and take down the course, managing the risk of the participants, managing their peers and making sure they are doing things correctly, and are the go-to expert when a ropes course workshop is occurring.

Student Directors--they oversee and manage the program, which is basically like running a small non-profit or business. They run staff meetings, interact professionally with clients, schedule and staff workshops, develop and manage a $170,000 budget, present this budget for approval to a group of their peers, and any other tasks that are necessary to keep the organization running smoothly. They are essentially the "face" of the organization.

Staff Training Coordinator--this is a facilitator who has taken on the role of planning all of our staff training--which totals 40 hours of training a year. They organize the training agenda, recruit and direct trainers, organize logistics including food and transportation, contact outside trainers for special training events, reviews our ropes course staff manual, and reviews all incidents that have occurred in our workshops.

Trainers--these are facilitators who are skilled in the art of facilitation and/or ropes course technical knowledge and are tasked with training all of our staff, from new staff to our veteran staff. They develop lesson plans, lead training, and are the front lines of developing our staff.

Committee Chairs--We have 5 committees that manage key pieces of our organization. The chairs are responsible for organizing their committee into roles to accomplish decided upon goals, run meetings, be a part of a leadership council for the organization, and keep our staff motivated and engaged.

Hiring Committee--these are facilitators who volunteer to hire for all of our positions, which includes hiring all of our new staff--wading through 40 plus applications and conducting interviews. It is a great human resources development opportunity!

Campus Supervisors Network (CSN) is a Community of Practice, formed out of the need for more communication and discussion between managers in the various divisions and units of our vast organization. CSN strives to support our campus managers and supervisors in a welcome and safe environment, where ideas can be shared and connections can be made with other people at the university in similar roles facing similar challenges. Our goal is to create a better network for you to learn how to be more effective in your position of leadership and help you excel by removing barriers. We also facilitate classes on featured subjects for managers to be better prepared in their roles. Connecting you with the best resources and people within our network allows you to develop your skills as a leader and ultimately succeed. The Campus Supervisors Network website is your one-stop shop for promoting leadership and personnel management at the UW-Madison. https://campussupervisorsnetwork.wisc.edu

These self-guided modules are interactive and designed to allow you to explore core tenets of equitable community engagement, such as cultural humility, relationship building, and power and privilege. These modules are open to any UW-Madison individual and instructors can import these modules into their Canvas courses as supplemental assignments.

The Morgridge Center offers a variety of workshops aimed at supporting students, staff, and faculty who want to engage in community-oriented projects and events. We offer core trainings on concepts like cultural humility, equitable relationships, and asset-based community development. You can also request trainings and we'll work with you to best tailor the content to your audience.