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The Certified Family Life Educator (CFLE) listserv has long been one NCFR’s most active online platforms. CFLEs have always been quick to share their knowledge and expertise and to support each other. But an e-mail listserv can be a clunky way to share information and resources or to communicate across a large group. So, I am excited to announce the CFLE online discussion group as a brand-new benefit of your certification.

Why a Discussion Group?

The CFLE online discussion group will make it easier to find Family Life Education resources, to ask a question of fellow CFLEs, and to promote relevant trainings and conferences. In general, it will facilitate your enthusiasm for connecting and collaborating with your CFLE colleagues.

In December, all current CFLEs received an e-mail announcing the new CFLE discussion group, which has replaced the former CFLE listserv. All CFLEs are added automatically to the discussion group and can post at any time.

A few key upgrades you’ll find:

• Use e-mail OR log in online. You’ll still be able to create discussion threads and reply to others from your e-mail, but you’ll also be able to log in to a web platform to see group activity and read and post from a web browser.
• See the people you’re talking to. Each discussion group member will be able to create a profile (including picture) that will be connected to their posts. There’s also a directory that shows who’s in the group, and you can even send private messages to other individuals.
• Browse and search past discussions and resources. Log in online, go to your group, and search by keyword or browse through all past discussions in one place—no more going back through your entire e-mail inbox!

BONUS: The discussion group has a library that stores the attachments from your discussion posts and any other resources that group participants would like to post directly to the library.

How to Post

There are two ways you can participate in this discussion group:

1. Log in at groups.ncfr.org. Logging in to the web platform will show you the CFLE group; allow you to search the library of documents and resources that group members post; and, of course, create and respond to discussions in this group.
   Your username is likely your preferred e-mail address on file with NCFR and is the same username and password you use to log in at my.ncfr.org.
2. Post directly from your e-mail. In discussion group e-mails, click “Post New Message” at the top of the e-mail to create a new discussion. You’ll also see links in the e-mail that allow you to respond to existing discussion threads.

Notifications of Posts in This Group

All CFLEs initially were signed up to receive group messages via e-mail as a daily digest (one e-mail per day with that day’s posts) for the CFLE group.

If you prefer, you can change this frequency to real time to stay on top of all new discussions and replies as they’re posted. Either select “My Subscriptions” in the e-mail footer of any discussion group e-mail, or log in at groups.ncfr.org and update your group notifications by going to “Profile” (arrow in the upper-right corner), then “My Account,” then “Community Notifications.” The link to “Group Notifications” will let you change your e-mail notification settings.

If you are not interested in participating in the CFLE discussion group, you can unsubscribe through the link in the e-mail footer below. You will still have access to the group by logging in at groups.ncfr.org, even if you unsubscribe from e-mails.

Terms and Conditions

The first time you log in to NCFR’s discussion groups platform, you will be asked to agree to our terms and conditions. Please read these carefully! Note that the group terms and conditions still include specific rules for using discussion groups to recruit research participants.

NEW—sharing job openings: There is a change from our previous e-mail listserv terms and conditions about sharing job openings. You now have the ability to share your job posting with your discussion groups after you have purchased a job posting in NCFR’s Jobs Center at ncfr.org/jobs-center. Submit your job opening to NCFR first, and upon confirmation, you can share your announcement with any of your discussion groups!

When your job opening is included in NCFR’s Jobs Center (posted on NCFR’s main website), we’ll also announce your job opening in our weekly e-mail newsletter, Zippy News, which we send to more than 13,000 subscribers interested in the family field.

Help/FAQs

The Help/FAQs tab at the top right of the discussion groups homepage (at groups.ncfr.org) contains thorough answers to many questions you might have while first exploring this group.

If you find you still have additional questions, please know that I am here for you and am always willing to help. You might also consider posting your question in the discussion group and other members can answer with their tips.

Welcome, again, to the new discussion group! We hope it becomes a great place for you to meet your colleagues, make professional connections, share ideas, and get answers to your most pressing questions. I’m looking forward to connecting with and learning from you all!