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NIU’s professional HR certification programs make nation’s Top 20 five consecutive years

January 27, 2012
Brian Vollmert

Brian Vollmert

The NIU Professional HR Management Certification Programs have been recognized as one of the nation’s “Top 20” SHRM programs for the past five years.

Recognition is based on enrollments and pass rates of course participants that successfully complete the rigorous professional examinations required for awarding the prestigious Professional Human Resources (PHR) and Senior Professional Human Resources (SPHR) credentials demanded in today’s competitive job market.

NIU Outreach has been a licensed provider of SHRM’s Professional HR Management Certification Prep and Essentials of HR Management programs since 1995. These non-credit programs attract hundreds of candidates to NIU each year.

Many candidates are returning NIU alumni seeking to advance their professional careers. Others are professionals that are engaging with NIU for the first time.

Brian Vollmert, director of Professional and Continuing Education & Conference Services with NIU’s Division of Outreach, Engagement, and Information Technologies, attributes much of the program’s consistent success to the shared commitment for excellence among our students, certified instructors and Outreach staff.

“Success of this nature can only be achieved by relentlessly serving students with an instructor team comprised of practitioner experts, ongoing continuous improvement processes and outstanding staff including Donna Mann, (SPHR) director of credentialing programs,” Vollmert said.

Donna Mann

Donna Mann

Mann, a veteran continuing educator and administrator, is recognized as one of the most accomplished program administrators in the industry.

Programs are offered as traditional classroom, blended and interactive online courses.

Professional and Continuing Education & Conference Services also delivers several other non-credit programs for HR professionals including SHRM’s Essentials of HR Management program and NIU’s HR Strategies and Solutions seminars and workshops.

The Essentials program is ideal for entry-level HR professionals, small business owners and managers and supervisors with responsibilities for managing people. HR Strategies and Solutions programs focus on current issues related to the HR profession and award continuing education credits for certification retention.

If human resources is not of interest, NIU Outreach is a licensed provider of certification programs for the International Facility Management Association, Institute of Internal Auditors, Institute of Management Accountants, Building Performance Institute, LEED and other sustainability-related organizations.

For more information about NIU Outreach credentialing programs, contact Mann at (815) 753-6249 or dmann@niu.edu.