Listener Certificate Levels just leveled up!
Listening to someone to offer support is why 7 Cups exists, and we offer a unique volunteer experience that allows us to listen on our schedule. Without dedicated volunteer listeners we would not exist! As such, we want to make sure those who volunteer in this capacity get recognized and have a way to authenticate their time spent volunteering. Which leads us to:
Listener Certifications got a makeover… again!
Weve added 6 more tiers. Why? We wanted the first few to be easier to achieve, and we wanted to curate the required trainings, badges, listening hours, etc to really reflect a Listener who is dedicated to growth and learning (not to mention time spent listening).
There are now 10 certification levels. Check out your current level here (click the certificate button to toggle over from the training page). For simplicity and professionalism they are named for their level, for example Level 1, Level 2, etc. These are not associated with the badges and levels of passing the active listener trainings. You must still fill those out if you would like to achieve those badges and credentials.
Please note you must be on a Listener acount to access the page 👆
⚡️The mix of cheers, training guides, badges, star ratings, and chat hours are how we guide a listener to continue growing. Learn more about cheers here, they are easy to get when you are working on becoming a great listener!
Fun Fact: At the time of this posting, no one has reached level 10 yet (but a few are close!)
We've opted to remove the four badges associated wtih passing the Active Listener trainings/tests: graduate, master, rocket, and scholar. Expect to see those poof soon.
When you achieve a level the downloadable certificate button will turn blue. The first and last name you used to make your account is what will show up on the certificate. You can update your name in my settings anytime.
What level are you?
@Jill7cups Thank you so much for creating this announcement! It's nice that there are 10 levels of certifications now, it makes sense to have it that way for listeners to achieve the things step by step.
Titles: However, I'd have to say that I liked the old titles of the previous certification system and found them more professional: Verified Listener, Intermediate Listener, Experienced Listener, etc.
Active Listening Tests: I also think that the Active Listening Course/Test Badges should still be included as I find these courses really beneficial and I haven't seen any listener complaining about it. If anything, I've heard that it has helped them to apply active listening to every situation and hone their skills to become a better listener. If these courses are no longer deemed vital, it'd be better if they could be updated or modified, at least, but not completely disregarded or removed. Also, AL4 badge is Rocket Listener not Rocket. I hope that clear things up.
Badges: By the looks of it, only the listener room badges: Light Chat, Tiny Chat, Small Chat, Big Chat, Chit chat are required---but what about the group support room badges that are earned when being active in the member rooms and offering support in a group setting, such as: Sparkler, Ray of Hope, Shining Light, Florence Nightingale? I think it'd make more sense to have the group support room badges since there are listeners who aren't active in the listener rooms but are active in group support rooms. Group support rooms have also helped the member-listener relationship improve in group support setting.
Settings: I just checked my My Settings now and I don't think we can update our registered name in the settings. I was always told that we have to email community@7cups.com or contact an admin to have it changed. I hope it'll be available in My Settings soon if this will be pushed through. That'll be very convenient.
Nevertheless, these are just my two cents. I know that you've tailored the new certification system to acknowledge the volunteering experience of listeners here onsite. I'm only working towards achieving the last certification level by having Knight of Smilehood and Reconnection Hero III and completing peer trainings to earn Peer Pro and achieve Active Listening Level 5 as well. Yay!
Thank you for this update!
@Erato Hey! I was reading through your comments and definitely agree with many of them, but would note that I wouldn't want to see group support badges become required for certain levels as many users are great and experienced listeners, but uncomfortable in group support settings. What I could see being interesting is if there was an option where you needed X, Y, OR Z badges to represented different ways of engaging across the site (e.g., group support, forums, or only 1-1 listening)
@Anomalia Heya anomalia! I've actually thought of the different tracks as well as it could be a great way to present the listener experiences in different area of 7cups. I understand what you meant and I totally agree with you. My intention was to not only acknowledge the group support but express that listener room badges shouldn't be the only badges that are included and for sure, it's much more important to pay attention to how the support is received by the member in terms of group support (forums, feed, etc.) if that makes sense? c:
@Erato Absolutely!
@Erato @jill7cups Is Rocket a different badge?
Listening .... One Step At A Time
@MistyMagic Definitely! It's awarded to only selected few people which I don't know how they're chosen and it's for supporting the community with enthusiasm.
@Erato that's what I thought, I re-read and see you were correcting Jill now. 
Listening .... One Step At A Time
@Jill7cups
I really think this makes things alot easier and simplifies the way certifications work which is awesome!!! Good idea to change this :)
hi!!!
@Jill7cups level 6-8 are unlocked for me . level 5 still needs peer pro then ill tech be levelm 8 once i get that badge so im currently level 4 :)
@CaringBrit I'm level 4 too.
How do I unlock a badge?
@Brilliantsmile94 nice! When on the certificate page if you hover over the badge you don't have it will tell you what you need to do. If you are level 4 I'm assuming you need Peer Pro to get to 5, you get Peer Pro when you complete all 12 peer trainings. If you don't see the peer trainings on your training page that means you haven't set up your lived experience yet in your profile settings. You need at least one lived experience selected (lived experience means you've personally experienced the topic in your life. For example- I have a kid so I have lived experience as a parent).
@Jill7cups cheers for answering that :)
@Jill7cups 7