Volunteer Registration and Management (VRM)

Volunteer opportunities at the University of Calgary are managed by the respective sponsoring areas. To apply, you must first contact the department, faculty or program of interest who will then advise you of their available opportunities and application process.

^{Rev. Oct 20, 2023}

All potential volunteers are required to apply through a web-based registration system, called Better Impact.  As application forms are department-specific, your sponsor will direct you to their online form. If you are interested in more than one department, you must apply to each separately.

^{Rev. Oct 20, 2023}

Under the Alberta Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) legislation, volunteers are considered workers so are to be provided with equivalent health and safety protection, as do our employees. ALL first time applicants, to any University of Calgary department, will be directed to complete a short online training about their rights and responsibilities for complying with health and safety regulations.

Once the Volunteer OHS Orientation is successfully completed, you will not be asked to do it again, unless there are substantial content changes. This training will follow you throughout all UCalgary departments to which you apply.

To receive alerts on your cellphone in case of an emergency on campus, please download the UCSafety app on the App Store or get it on Google Play. 

More information is available at ucalgary.ca/safetyapp.

^{Rev. Mar 14, 2024}

Along with the health and safety training requirements, you will be asked to accept our liability waiver, acknowledging that volunteers are covered by Alberta Workers Compensation, and have opportunity to review our Privacy Policy. If you wish, you may use the links below to review these documents in advance, but both are included on the online application form.

To be be approved for a volunteer assignment you are required, at minimum, to:

• be age 18 years old or older;
• have Canadian Citizenship or Permanent Resident Status in Canada; OR,
  • are a current international student enrolled full time at the University of Calgary and hold a study permit;
• review the Privacy Policy;
• agree to the Liability Waiver;
• complete the Volunteer OHS Orientation.

Along with these items, the recruiting department may advise you of additional eligibility requirements specific to their volunteer positions. 

Once approved to volunteer, your department will provide you with next steps.

^{Rev. Oct 20, 2023}

Before starting a volunteer assignment, the sponsoring department will present you with a role-specific Hazard Assessment. You will have opportunity to review the identified hazards and proposed hazard controls before accepting the assignment. If you have any concerns, please discuss them with your Volunteer Coordinator before signing the hazard assessment.

Along with signing the hazard assessment, you will be given an onsite orientation. Your volunteer coordinator will provide you with these and advise you of any additional safety requirements or next steps.

^{Rev. Oct 20, 2023}

We are also required to track your volunteer hours. Each department will have their own process for recording these in the Better Impact.

Generally, upon completion of an assignment, you will record the number of hours you volunteered. With our online registration and management system, this can be as easy as logging into the volunteer portal and updating the assignment in question. However, please follow your volunteer coordinator's instructions for recording hours.

^{Rev. Oct 20, 2023}

Once registered on the web-based Better Impact registration system, you may access your profile at myImpactPage.com.

Learn more here about using the myImpactPage.com portal.

^{Rev. Oct 20, 2023}