• APPLY
• SCHEDULE A VISIT
• MySJC

• Home
• Academics
• Continuing Studies
• Human Resources Professional Certificate Program

Human Resources Professional Certificate Program

The Human Resource Association of Central Connecticut and Saint Joseph College: preparing you for the demanding role of Human Resources Generalist.  This dynamic certificate program offers six comprehensive, 18-hour courses, each a complete toolkit in leading-edge thought and HR best practices. Upon successful completion, students earn a certificate from Saint Joseph College and the HRACC. This professional development program enables the student or HR practitioner to:

• engage in action learning through case studies and current technologies on the campus of Saint Joseph College in West Hartford, CT
• establish human resource standards in ethics and culture, financial essentials, business acumen, and metrics
• learn to perform a meaningful and effective HR audit and how to make recommendations in an organization
• complete the full certificate program in one semester or one year

To position you for success in the HR field today, the context of each course includes:

• current legal implications and ethical issues
• diversity-related matters
• technology needs and audit mechanisms
• metrics and measuring effectiveness
• how to partner with business
• vendor management and outsourcing
• value proposition and "branding"
• interactive classroom activities, teamwork components, and case studies

Who should take the HR Professional Certificate Program?

• Small business owners and front-line managers
• Administrative assistants and payroll professionals
• Specialists interested in a generalist role
• Newly promoted HR professionals
• Recent college graduates and career changers (minimum requirement: high school diploma)

HR Professional Certificate Program Course descriptions:

Tuesdays, February 16 - March 23, 2010; 6:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.

Learn the most effective and efficient techniques in attracting successful employees to your organization.  Explore various sources for recruitment - from the Internet to outplacement agencies - and use mock interviews to examine the process of ensuring the candidate who is the "best fit" for the position.  Compliance with employment laws, an integral part of evaluating the entire recruitment and selection process, is included. 

Wednesdays, February 17 - March 24, 2010; 6:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.

Learn the keys to effective training and development efforts. Understand the value of aligning training strategy to organizational mission, vision, and goals. Explore adult learning principles and focus on the overall training process, including needs analysis, design and development principles, delivery methods and evaluation techniques. Students will also have an opportunity to design and deliver their own training program.

Tuesdays, March 30 - May 4, 2010; 6:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.

An overview of total cash compensation issues including theory, strategy, and practice.  Topics include pay  structures, base pay, variable pay management, and pay mix for employees and executives.  Laws relevant to compensation, such as FLSA and the communication of compensation philosophy, strategy, implementation, and evaluating program effectiveness will be discussed.  Sales Compensation and International Compensation are included. 

 Wednesdays, March 31 - May 5, 2010; 6:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.

Focus on the legal aspects within HR Management including discrimination laws, Family and Medical Leave Acts, drugs and alcohol in the workplace, COBRA and ERISA, and positive labor relations laws. Students may have an opportunity for experience-based information: handling an unemployment compensation case at the fact finding and appeal levels, preparing a CCHRO case, managing a worker's compensation termination case, responding to a DOL wage audit, and responding to an attorney's request for a personnel file.

Thursdays, February 18 - March 25, 2010; 6:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. 

Review federal and state laws regulating benefit plans and discover the impact of benefit plans on recruitment and retention. Learn how to conduct a benefit needs analysis and understand mandated and voluntary benefit plans. Discuss effective methods of communicating total compensation/total rewards, maximizing vendor and broker relationships, outsourcing opportunities, the technology required in benefit administration, and conduct a checklist audit of your benefit administration function. 

Friday, May 7, 2010; 6:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. and
Saturdays, May 8 and 15, 2010; 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

The capstone course where students apply newly learned skills towards the creation of an HR Audit. Through teamwork exercises and hands-on experience, students build an effective HR tool that they can bring into their own professional practice in an intense, yet fun and practical exercise. Open only to those who have completed the first five courses or former graduates of the HR Management Certificate Program.

The HR Professional Certificate Program is offered in the early fall and spring. Students can complete their certificate in one semester or more leisurely within ten months, or more.

         Participants that complete all six courses in the HR Professional Certificate Program                                earn 10 Continuing Education Units (CEUs)

To register:  www.sjc.edu/continuingstudies.  A service fee applies to all online payments.

Commuting students need a permit for campus parking.  Please bring your car registration to the first night of class.  A representative from the college will be there to issue you a parking sticker which is through August 2010.  The parking fee is included in your tuition.