Accounting: College (Recommended
prerequisite: Accounting Basics)
Accounting teaches students the information needed to create financial statements,
including trial balances, t-accounts, balance sheets, and various other accounts
and their respective functions. Emphasis is placed on the conceptual framework
involved in the classification and summarization of financial data. Valuation
of assets and liabilities and recognition of revenue and expenses under the
accrual basis are emphasized. Please note: Students should expect 6-8 hours
of homework each week.
Audience: Students who require a fundamental knowledge of accounting
Accounting: Financial
(Recommended prerequisite: Accounting Basics)
This course covers accounting terminology; the recording and classifying of
financial transactions, including analyzing, journalizing, and positing; the
preparation of the trial balance, work sheet and financial statements; a familiarization
with handling of adjustments, bad debts, inventory and depreciation; and matters
concerning sole proprietorship and partnership. Course objectives: describe
content and purposes of balance sheet and income statement; compare the basic
characteristics of the accrual basis with the cash basis of accounting; explain
the full accounting cycle and prepare all required journals, entries, and adjustments;
outline the necessity for and features of internal control; identify the basic
assumptions, principles, and modifying conventions of accounting; describe how
inflation affects information presented in conventional financial statements;
define partnerships and explain their characteristics.
Audience: Appropriate for students who need a working knowledge of accounting.
Analyzing Financial Statements
(Prerequisite: Accounting - College or Financial)
A practical introduction to financial analysis from the viewpoint of the commercial
loan officer, this course gives you the skills you need to effectively assess
a borrower's ability to repay loans. After successfully completing this course,
you will be able to: relate how a company's type of business, legal structure,
size, and management strategies affect the way a lender conducts financial analysis;
analyze income statements, balance sheets, and pro forma statements; calculate
key financial ratios and use them to compare a company's performance with that
of the company's industry; use advanced analytical techniques - sensitivity
analysis, sustainable growth, working investment analysis, break-even analysis,
and operating leverage; determine when a funds flow statement is required; construct
and analyze long-run, multiple-year forecasts of income statements and balance
sheets; and construct and interpret a cash budget.
Audience: Designed for commercial loan officers, credit analysts and trainees
who have a basic knowledge of accounting principles and practices and a familiarity
with the commercial lending process.
Business Communications
This course takes you through a well-developed, consistently applied process
approach to communication that is combined with integrated, hands-on application
of current and emerging business technologies. Students learn a process for
solving future communication problems, and how to use Internet and electronic
media to deliver their message, resulting in a tangible communication strategy
they can use throughout their careers.
Business Math
This course is a comprehensive coverage of personal and business related math
topics. Basic math skills are essential for survival in today's business world.
Learning day-to-day application of math concepts is necessary to become successful
in the financial services industry. Topics to include: understand how many ratios,
payments, interest, etc. are calculated; understand how gross and net pay are
calculated; understand the different types of banking accounts and how business
math applies to them; calculate loan payments and interest; understand the cost
of credit; calculate mortgage payments, including insurance costs; calculate
life insurance premiums; estimate technology costs; and understand employee
recruitment expenses, including the cost of part-time vs. full-time employees.
Commercial Lending
This course will give you the knowledge and skills to be an effective commercial
lender. It covers both the technical side of lending and the important human
relations skills all successful lenders must have. After successfully completing
this course, you will be able to: explain why good human relations skills are
critically important to the successful lending officer in many stages of the
commercial lending process; identify the functions of the loan interview and
credit investigation; describe how the borrower's financing needs and business
type can affect the structuring of a loan; list important elements of loan documents
and describe their functions; and name some warning signs of problem loans and
identify ways that you can prevent problem loans
Audience: Designed for entry-level commercial lending officers, officer trainees,
or personnel supporting commercial lending officers.
Consumer Lending
In this comprehensive overview of the consumer lending business, participants
learn the essentials about closed-end loans, indirect loans and related credit
products, and open-end credit products. They also trace the consumer lending
process from developing and taking loan applications to collection and recovery.
After successfully completing this course, you will be able to: describe key
laws or regulations affecting consumer lending; list characteristics, benefits,
and disadvantages of direct lending, indirect lending, and open-end credit products;
explain how effective marketing can increase loan outstandings and application
volume; describe consumer loan information sources and the credit verification
process; explain how the five C's of credit are used in credit evaluation and
decision making.
Audience: Designed for entry-level consumer lenders, consumer credit personnel,
and bank employees who need to understand consumer credit.
Customer Service Excellence
Discover why improving your service to consumers is a career investment. Learn
how to provide service that meets the needs and expectations of every consumer.
Course content includes: recognize the importance of customer service; understand
the communication process; recognize the value of face-to-face interactions;
describe how to effectively use the telephone to communicate; identify techniques
for interacting with diverse customers; identify techniques for handling challenging
situations; explain the role of technology in customer service; describe the
importance of effectively working with internal customers.
Audience: Anyone who has direct or indirect contact with consumers.
Deposit Accounts and Services
This course provides the tools you need to effectively open deposit accounts
and help potential customers make the best account choices. It will increase
your understanding of the different types of account ownership. At the conclusion
of the program participants will be able to: understand deposit investment counseling;
state the account owner's rights and responsibilities; examine new account precautions;
compare savings, checking, money market accounts and certificates of deposit;
define individual, joint, corporate, partnership and trust account ownership;
understand contributions and distributions of Traditional, Roth, Education,
SEP and SIMPLE IRAs; and accurately administer decedent accounts when an owner
dies testate or intestate.
Audience: Financial counselors, personal bankers, supervisors, managers, tellers
and customer service representatives.
Economics
Macroeconomics applies economics to phenomenon that students are familiar with
and interested in, this course teaches students how economic analysis can be
applied to virtually anything of interest, thus helping students develop true
economic intuition. This course focuses on macroeconomics, and offers a unique
blend of solid theoretical, while utilizing intriguing applications that convey
the prevalence of economics in everyday life.
Audience: Students who have not had a formal course in economics and who wish
to increase their understanding of macroeconomics.
Employment & Labor Law
During the past decade, American businesses have shifted their focus in human
resource management and labor relations to employment issues such as wrongful
discharge, sexual discrimination, and other employee rights. After successfully
completing this course, you will be able to: Describe Employment-at-will; Identify
commonly committed workplace torts; Understand Title VII of the Civil Rights
Act and Race Discrimination; Describe gender and family issues legislation,
as well as discrimination based on religion and national origin; Discuss discrimination
based on age and disability; and Understand and describe EEO legislation Audience:
Human Resource and Department Managers
Effective Business Writing
This course helps one to improve their written communication. Good grammar and
punctuation skills are prerequisites for his course. The course content includes:
three stages of the writing process and special financial service writing characteristics;
the 'you attitude' writing technique; determining the reader's need for scope,
depth and language; complete, efficient and emphatic sentences that build to
unified and organized paragraphs; common business letter characteristics and
formatting; effective memos, emails, and letters for good-news, bad-news and
persuasive writing situations; and writing effective reports and job procedures.
Audience: Designed for anyone whose current or future job requires effective
written communication.
Human Relations
This course provides an examination of the evolution of human relations in the
workplace, concepts of motivation, and leadership behavior. The role and function
of the individual within an organizational structure are addressed. Topics include:
how human relations is a key success; improvement of personal and organizational
communications; identification of individual motivations; development of personal
strategies for improving human relations; and how to achieve emotional control.
Audience: Aspiring and current supervisors who desire a broader knowledge of
the "culture" in a workplace.
Human Resource Development
Employee skills and motivation are critical for organizational success. This
course will help anyone increase their effectiveness, along with that of individuals
with whom they work and the organizations of which they are a part. After successfully
completing this course, you will be able to: understand
the concepts, processes, and practices that form the basis of successful HRD;
show how concepts and theory can and have been put into practice in a variety
of organizations; focus on the shared role of line management and human resource
specialists in HRD; and reflect the current state of the field,
blending real-world practices and up-to-date research.
Human Resource Management
This course offers practical coverage of basic human resource management concepts
and practices, including the review of important laws and regulations and an
overview of information that is commonly used by human resource professionals.
This shortened essentials version offers concise, streamlined
content. Its focused coverage is ideal for individuals preparing for HR certification
exams, Directors of HR and instructors who are seeking basic yet comprehensive
and up-to-date coverage of HR concepts and practices. The Managerial Perspectives
found at the beginning of each chapter, encourage readers to think in terms
of general management as they learn human resource management.
Law and Banking: Applications
Business law and, more generally, the legal environment of business have universal
applicability. A student entering virtually any field of business must have
at least a passing understanding of business law in order to function in the
real world. Topics covered include: Introduction to Law and Legal Reasoning;
Courts and Alternative Dispute Resolution; Negotiable Instruments; Creditors'
Rights and Bankruptcy; Agency Formation and Duties; Liability to Third Parties
and Termination; Administrative Law; Consumer and Environmental law; Cyberlaw
and E-Commerce.
Audience: Designed for entry- and officer-level bankers.
Law and Banking: Principles
Business law and, more generally, the legal environment of business have universal
applicability. A student entering virtually any field of business must have
at least a passing understanding of business law in order to function in the
real world. Topics covered include: Introduction to Law and Legal Reasoning;
Courts and Alternative Dispute Resolution; Torts; Criminal Law and Procedures;
Contracts: Nature and Terminology, Agreement, Consideration and Capacity of
Assent; Breach of Contract and Remedies; The Formation of Sales and Lease Contracts;
Title, Risk, and Insurable Interest; Sole Proprietorships and Partnerships;
Corporations: Formation and Financing, Directors, Officers, and Shareholders;
Limited Liability Companies and Limited Partnerships; Wills, Trusts, and Elder
Law; Personal Property and Bailments; Real Property.
Audience: Designed for entry-level and officer-level personnel who need an overview
of the legal aspects of banking.
Leading Your People to Success
This course discusses how supervisors can use proven techniques
to empower their employees. The content of the course includes: team building
skills; group dynamics; coaching and counseling; productive performance appraisals;
support of employee career development; creating a high-opportunity work environment;
embracing change; and continuous improvement of employees.
Audience: Designed for new or experienced supervisors and first-line managers
or those preparing for such a role.
Management
This course presents management theory and applications in an engaging narrative
style not commonly found in textbooks. The author's unique organization and
features focus on the critical theories and enhance them with detailed examples
that draw the reader into the reading and clearly show their implications for
managers and organizations. The text's unique organization focuses on how managers
"make things happen" in modern organizations, exploring the role and
impact of management on individuals and organizations.
Managing Performance and Productivity
This course covers the management principles needed by today's supervisors.
It discusses how supervisors can use processes and systems to encourage maximum
productivity of their employees. Topics to be covered: how to use an effective
interview process to select the best candidate; the mentor system and techniques
for training employees; establish expectations and measure productivity and
performance; work simplification and time management skills; use technology
to improve productivity; manage meetings and give presentations; and how to
use problem-solving tools to reach results
Audience: New or experienced supervisors and first-line managers or those preparing
for such a role.
Marketing
The primary objective of Essentials of Services Marketing: Concepts, Strategies
Cases, is to provide materials that not only introduce the student to the field
of services marketing, but also acquaint the student with specific customer
service issues. The business world now demands, in addition to traditional business
knowledge, increasing employee competence in customer satisfaction, service
quality, and customer service - skills that are essential in sustaining the
existing customer base.
Audience: Students who have not had a formal course in marketing and who wish
to increase their understanding of all facets of marketing.
Money and Banking (Recommended
prerequisite: Economics)
Money and Banking teaches the role of money, credit, and financial institutions
in the U.S. economy. Topics include commercial banks, thrifts, credit unions,
the Federal Reserve system, credit markets, and monetary theory and policy.
It emphasizes the effects of structural change, globalization, financial innovation,
and technology on the financial environment.
Audience: Students who have not had a formal course in money and banking and
who wish to increase their understanding of the banking industry; officer trainees
through mid-management level bankers.
New Account Fraud
This program covers the critical information needed to reduce the chances of
opening an account that the 'customer' intends to use to commit fraud. Participants
will learn practical techniques that help to reduce fraud at the time accounts
are opened. Topics to be covered: describe types of new account fraud; follow
steps to detect fraud in the new account interview process; list types of applicant
identification documents and describe standards for acceptance; verifying an
applicants signature; analyze suspicious applicant behavior and types of transactions;
describe the decision making process for determining whether to open an account;
and describe new account fraud prevention methods used in electronic account
opening.
Audience: Customer service representatives, personal bankers, new account personnel,
supervisors, managers and tellers.
Principles of Banking
This course explores the principles and practices of banking and credit in the
United States. The course gives an excellent overview of financial services,
including information on human resources, marketing, and ethics. Topics to be
covered include: money and interest, negotiable instruments, mortgages, commercial
lending, security and ethics, and the role of banking in today's economy.
Audience: Personnel new to banking, at any level.
Real Estate Appraisal
This course is a thorough outline of current appraisal theory and practice,
providing a practical guide to real estate appraisal for students. After successfully
completing this course, you will be able to: define terms associated with real
estate appraisal; discuss the formal appraisal process; understand inspections
and analysis; understand cost and income approaches; estimate depreciation
Audience: Anyone working in lending or interested in gaining an understanding
of the appraisal process.
Real Estate Law
This course brings to life the color and law of real estate in day-to-day settings.
In addition to the lively case selection, it also has a clear set of rules that
will enable you to recognize, solve, and prevent legal issues.
As a result of this course, students will be able to: understand partial ownership
AND co ownership of real property, and lending issues related to these topics;
discuss real estate residential and commercial leases; understand mechanic's
liens (strikethrough: methods of real property conveyance); discuss constitutional
issues, specifically eminent domain powers; and understand environmental issues
in real property, focusing on Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation
and Liability Act (CERCLA).
Residential Mortgage Lending
This course covers construction and permanent financing for residential property;
real estate law; documentation; mortgage loan servicing; the secondary mortgage
market; the role of government in mortgage lending; and residential real estate
as an investment. The discussion of underwriting, processing, and servicing
will give participants a framework for learning the mortgage lending business
and refining their existing knowledge. Additionally, the coverage of laws and
regulations affecting mortgage lending provide an understanding of mortgage
lending's history and a glimpse into its future.
Audience: Financial service professionals who want a broad overview of mortgage
lending.
Sales Excellence
This course challenges financial institution employees to see themselves as
sales professionals. It provides the tools needed to achieve the level of sales
professionalism required by financial institutions today. Upon completion of
this course, participants will be able to: overcome hesitations about selling
and benefit from a professional approach to sales; recognize how your sales
efforts benefit your institution, your customer and you; adjust your selling
techniques to comply with the unique challenges of financial selling; identify
customers' financial needs quickly and efficiently in a variety of customer
situations; structure your sales presentation as a dialog with the customer,
rather than' pitching' the product; use the techniques of listening, questioning
and communicating nonverbally to improve results in sales situations; customize
product presentations for specific customers and their problems or needs; present
products in terms if benefits as well as features in order to gain customer
commitment; gauge customer interest in the product enabling you to ask for the
sale at the right time; respond effectively to common objections to financial
products and services; use proven strategies for efficiently confirming the
sale; create a positive customer encounter, regardless of the outcome; analyze
demographics to help understand customers' life-styles and their financial wants
and needs; shop the competition to improve sales results; implement tele-consulting
strategies to improve sales results; and use goal setting and the power of positive
thinking to improve sales success.
Audience: Anyone who works at a financial institution and has customer contact
including tellers, personal bankers and loan officers.
Spanish for Financial Professionals
This introductory course will help financial institution employees develop verbal
conversation skills in Spanish and show you the appropriate idiomatic constructions.
After successfully completing this course, you will be familiar with: the Spanish
alphabet; pronunciation; vocabulary; everyday expressions; and basic banking
terminology. **Online students, please note that there are four scheduled instructor
calls throughout the online class.
Audience: personnel who would benefit from learning basic banking terminology
and everyday Spanish expressions.
Supervision
Supervision blends skill-building techniques and traditional management principles
to prepare students to become supervisors in today's business world. The course
will emphasize that supervision is working through people to develop and empower
them to become better and more efficient in their roles, and closely follows
the SCANS requirements for the five workplace competencies and three-part foundation
of skills and personal qualities needed for job performance.
Audience: Both practicing and aspiring supervisors who have little formal knowledge
of supervision.