Certificate in Mediation - Courses

This certificate consists of 15 semester units of coursework. Certificates in the PACS program may be completed independently or may constitute a portion of the master's degree program.

*This class may be waived if student has previous experience in mediation.

CRI 704: Conflict Management and Peacemaking in Schools (3 units)

• This course will familiarize students with the structure, dynamics, role and challenge of conflict in schools. Special emphasis will be given to developing strategies and structures to promote cooperative and constructive resolution of conflict.

PACS 700: Basic Institute in Conflict Management And Mediation (1-3 units)

• This course is an introduction to conflict management and mediation. Topics include basic theory and methodologies, as well as the opportunity to develop skills in such areas as listening and mediation through role playing. Offered as a one week intensive institute or as an eight night course.

PACS 710: Introduction to Alternative Dispute Resolution (1 unit)

• This course is a review of the continuum of dispute resolution practices from negotiation to litigation. Evaluative and coercive practices will be compared to facilitating and cooperative methods. This course provides an overview of the complete range of dispute resolution options.

PACS 736: Institute in School Peer Mediation Program Development (1- 3 units)

• This course provides basic conflict management and mediation instruction, skill development strategies and practice, student training program plan and materials, and implementation and/or ongoing program strategies. This course is designed for teachers and administrators.

PACS 737: Institute in Victim Offender Reconciliation Program (VORP) Development (2 units)

• This course provides an introduction to vision, mission, VORP peacemaking model and process, case management, volunteer training and management, restitution follow-up management, and organizational development and funding strategies. Instruction based on the Church Based VORP—Organizing/Program Manual. This course includes a step-by-step plan for moving from idea to first case.

PACS 739: Institute in Establishing a Mediation Practice (1 unit)

• Participants in this course work individually with the instructor to develop a complete business plan for their practice or organization.

PACS 746: Restorative Justice (3 units)

• Participants in this course examine assumptions about crime and justice. Retributive and restorative paradigms of justice are compared and contrasted. Historical and theological perspectives are studied. The roles of offender, victim, church, state and community are examined. Programs and crime prevention/intervention strategies are evaluated to discern retributive/restorative positioning and outcome effectiveness.

PACS 748: Discipline That Restores (3 units)

• Participants examine punitive and restorative paradigms for discipline in classrooms, schools and families. Participants identify and analyze the thought and behavior changes required as a discipline system changes its paradigm. Special attention is given to working with difficult situations. Changes in roles and expectations of students, parents, teachers and administrators are clarified. A range of implementation strategies are studied.

PACS 750: International Conflict and Peacemaking (3 units)

• This course is an exploration of regional and international conflicts, including conflicts between cultural, religious and ethnic groups. Attention is given to the analysis of these conflicts, as well as alternative approaches to the management and resolution of these conflicts.

PACS 752: Church Conflict Management and Leadership (3 units)

• This course will focus on the special complexity of conflict in churches and the options for responding constructively. Special attention will be given to the role of structures and leadership in managing and resolving conflict. Reading will include a wide survey of approaches and models that have been developed for churches. Primary attention will be directed to comparing and contrasting options with biblical material.

PACS 756: Introductory Practicum in Mediation (1 unit)

• This practicum includes intensive training and a supervised practical experience in mediating actual conflicts. The practical component may be arranged through the Victim Offender Reconciliation Program (VORP), other approved mediation program or the student may arrange to mediate a conflict situation approved by the instructor.

PACS 758: Advanced Mediation (3 units)

• This course includes a careful analysis of the role of a mediator, the options regarding a mediation process and each phase of mediation process in actual cases with a range of complexity and intensity. Theoretical perspectives and models are compared and contrasted with actual case histories to understand the opportunities, options, ethics and limitations of mediation in a variety of settings: serious victim/offender cases, public policy, racial and other discrimination, business and construction cases, various group settings, etc.

PACS 760: Mediation and the Law (3 units)

• Mediation has been used to settle differences for as long as people have been disputing. The modern legal system affects the practice of mediation in many ways and is in turn affected by mediation. This course studies these effects and prepares a mediator to function both inside and outside the legal system. Statutory and case law will be reviewed. Students individually select and focus on a substantive law area.

PACS 762: Family Mediation (3 units)

• Marriage is a complex relationship with legal, spiritual, sociological and psychological dynamics. People can work through intense conflicts and emerge more committed to each other, or go their separate ways. This course covers all aspects of mediation within family relationships, it includes divorce mediation and the legal ramifications of property division and child custody, as well as processes designed to preserve family relationships.

PACS 764: Internship in Peacemaking (1-6 units)

• Field instruction and practice is an integral part of the overall educational program. The internship will include a combination of observation and leadership experiences in real conflict situations. Observations will preferably cover a range of types of conflicts, whereas the leadership experiences will most likely be in the area of specialty. Journals and seminars will provide occasions for questions, reflections and integration.

PACS 766: Mediator Certification Course (1 unit)

• This course completes the supervised mediation experience (observation or mock), evaluated solo mediation leadership and other requirements for state certification in California. As of this writing, legislation has not been passed. The course will not be offered until California legislation passes.