FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - Mar 26, 2007

Keuka College to Offer Training for Human Resource Certification Exam

KEUKA PARK, N.Y.—Keuka College’s Accelerated Studies for Adults Program (ASAP) will offer training for the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) certification exam beginning this fall.

“There are two levels of certification,” according to Mary Willoughby, who will teach the certification exam preparation course. “The first is professional of human resources (PHR), and the second is senior professional of human resources (SPHR).” 

The certification that a person pursues is based on “his or her level of experience,” said Willoughby.

“PHR certification is to human resources what CPA (certified public accountant) is to accounting,” according to Willoughby.

“Many of the larger companies such as Excellus Blue Cross Blue Shield and Paychex are requiring their employees to get certified and a lot of smaller companies are following in their footsteps,” added Willoughby.

Certification also gives “job seekers a leg up,” according to Willoughby.  

The certification exam is offered two times each year, from Dec. 1 to Jan. 31 and April 1 to May 30. The training session is eight weeks long and will begin in the fall in preparation for the winter exam. Sites where training will be offered have been selected in Syracuse and Canandaigua, but more sites may be added if there is enough interest. Contact Willoughby at mwilloug@mail.keuka.edu for more information.

Willoughby has taught two certification exam preparation courses each year for four years.

“It’s been my experience that taking the prep course increases students’ chances of passing the exam,” said Willoughby. “On average, only 54 percent of people who do not participate in a structured prep course pass their exam the first time. The first time pass rate for students who have taken the prep course I teach is 92 percent.”

Willoughby has held executive positions in human resources (HR) for 15 years and “other” HR positions before that. She has worked for not-for-profit, manufacturing, and human service organizations. She serves (a three-year term) on the Society of Human Resource Management’s Special Expertise Panel, a global panel that involves “writing papers and publishing articles on current and emergent trends” in human resource management.  

Those who take the preparation course receive the SHRM Learning System, a six-volume set of reference material.

For more information about the certification exam, visit www.hrci.org.

Keuka College is the national leader in experiential, hands-on learning.

Office of Communications, Keuka College, Keuka Park, New York 14478

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