Advance your HR knowledge and effectiveness

If you're new to human resources or need to strengthen your employee management skills, the SHRM^® Essentials of Human Resource Management Certificate Program is for you. Knowledge of the essentials can improve valuable on-the-job effectiveness, protect your small business from needless litigation, and help advance your career. The course will arm you with practical skills you can immediately apply to your own situation.

Offered in partnership with the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM), this cost-effective course covers real-life HR issues, including employment law, selecting qualified employees, compensation, the employee performance process, and much more. You will also learn key information to keep you on track with compliance issues.

Learn Essential HR Skills - Improve your ability to handle challenging HR issues.

The SHRM^® Essentials of Human Resource Management Certificate Program is an introductory course offering a comprehensive overview of the human resource function. This course is specifically designed to challenge you and provide the skills you need to confidently face today's complex HR situations and compliance issues within your organization. You will participate in interactive case study activities designed for you to practice real-life HR situations in a non-threatening atmosphere.

Using Blackboard, a web-based set of course tools designed to deliver online learning, you can be part of a virtual class that will provide a thorough review of the learning system. You will follow a schedule and interact with your instructor and peers in a virtual environment. This course covers the same content as the classroom-based program, offers flexible scheduling and the benefit of attending class on your own computer.

You'll learn techniques for handling HR challenges through interactive case studies designed to make you feel comfortable dealing with HR issues. You'll also receive the SHRM^® Essentials of HR Management Certificate Program manual consisting of six modules, glossary, and index as well as the Participant's Activities Book. In addition, you'll have the opportunity earn a Certificate of Completion from George Mason University and to earn Continuing Education units (CEUs) for completing this course.

The SHRM Advantage

SHRM is the world's largest association devoted to human resource management, with more than 210,000 members. SHRM educational programs are developed according to the highest quality standards and are continually updated to reflect changes in legislation and HR polices.

This course provides important knowledge and skills you can use immediately in your day-to-day job:

1. Resource Management
   -Gain a clear understanding of the HR function
   -Roles and responsibilities
   -Important steps and outcomes in the HR planning process
   
   
2. Employment Law
   -Enhance your ability to apply key HR legislation
   -Civil Rights Act
   -EEOC, affirmative action, and elements of the affirmative action plan
   -Pregnancy, age, and disability legislation
   -Many other employee protection laws
   
   
3. Recruitment and Selection
   -Gain important skills for selecting employees
   -Recruiting methods and their effectiveness
   -Key selection tools
   -Adverse impact calculations
   -Interview biases
   
   
4. Compensation and Benefits
   -Learn the key elements of a total compensation system
   -Framework for base pay, incentives, differentials, and increases
   -Job analysis and documentation
   -Methods for job evaluation
   -Benefits commonly offered by employers
   
   
5. Employee Development
   -Gain an understanding of orientation, development, and training
   -Effective adult learning, both on-the-job and off-the-job
   -Four levels of evaluation
   
   
6. Performance Management
   -Discover the purpose and process for performance appraisals
   -Common appraisal methods and errors
   -Legal concepts surrounding the disciplinary process
   -Guideline for conducting disciplinary meetings
   

This program is designed for front line managers, entry-level HR professionals, small business owners responsible for the HR function in their companies and people looking into HR as a career-change possibility.

These are typical job titles of students who've completed the program:

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You must login to your course site at least once a week. For purposes of this course, the week will begin and end on Mondays at noon.

You will be expected to read and respond to discussion questions posted in the week's lecture and to reply to your colleagues' comments.

You are expected to post at least 30 responses in the discussion area by the end of the course. These should preferably be done on a weekly basis (four or five per week).

Your response to the initial post in the discussion area should be substantive: that is to say, usually no less than 50 words per reply for each response.

Complete the end of course exam assessment.

Complete all assignments for each unit.

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