Professional Development Programs

Rhode Island College is extremely pleased to be partnering with the Office of Training and Development to offer courses for state, municipal, nonprofit, and private sector employees. Please read the payment and registration information carefully if you wish to register for any of these courses.
Please continue to check this website for updates on courses.

Fall 2009 Course Schedule

CONT 380C-81: Enhancing Personal Performance

Course Call #: 12136
Fee: $95
Dates: 5 Mondays beginning October 5 (no class 10/12/09)
Time: 9:00 am - 12:00 pm noon
Instructor: Susan Shapiro, MA
Location: Rhode Island College – Craig-Lee 228
Credit: 1.5 CEUs; State employees may be eligible for 1/2 incentive credit

In this NEW course we will focus on meeting and exceeding employer expectations and how to best use your talents, abilities, and skills. Information and strategies for maximizing personal productivity will be provided each week. Topics will include time management techniques, tools for workplace stress management, ethical behavior and decision making, effective communication and conflict management, and tips for managing up. By using strategies outlined and discussed in this class, and by developing a personal plan, you will enhance your workplace productivity!

CONT 580C-80: Critical Supervisory, Management, and Leadership Skills

Course Call #: 12409
Fee: $110
Dates: 5 Wednesdays beginning October 21, 2009
Time: 2:00 - 5:00 pm
Instructor: Janet M. Letourneau, MBA; Peak Performers, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Location: Rhode Island College – Kauffman Center Conference Room
Credit: 1.5 CEUs; State employees may be eligible for 1/2 incentive credit

Is your organization or work unit functioning at peak performance in achieving expected objectives? Are your leaders, managers and supervisors skilled in helping their direct reports and team members work effectively and efficiently? This timely, NEW class will bring real world experiences to the latest theories in order to meet the many and never-ending challenges of leaders and managers. We will focus on how your internal communications can improve decision-making and relationships with bosses, team members and your employees. Topics will include:

• Style Awareness
  Most of us have no idea about the impact we can have on our co-workers, bosses or customers. Knowing your own work style can help you to create the right impact, at the right time, with the right people for the right purpose. By reviewing four specific styles you will learn more about yourself, the key emotions of each style, how to identify the styles of those with whom you work, and how to adapt to those styles resulting in improved communications and relationships, and reduced conflict.

• Managing Up, Down and Across the Organization
  Learn to understand, value and manage relationships with your boss; define two types of expectations; and how to use a basic checklist for taking charge of this relationship which will give you win/win results. By understanding the reasons why you need your boss and he/she needs you, you will be better able to evaluate this mutually dependent relationship and how it impacts the performance of all employees.

• Emotional Intelligence (EQ)
  Emotional Intelligence plays a major role in leadership success. We will review the five components of EQ and 20 core competencies. Learn how this insightful model affects your success, how you lead and follow others, assess how much EQ you have and how to trigger success at all levels.

• Are You Leading or Managing?
  There is a difference! Managing day-to-day activities requires different skills than leading your team to success. We will review the key differences between the two, and complete a self-assessment to see where you stand. Knowledge of whether you are leading or managing your team can improve your performance in doing both. Understanding these skill sets, the value and the benefits, along with how to apply them day-to-day will greatly impact your performance and others. We will also identify where your organization stands and what it values.

CONT 1800C-80: Introduction to MS Word 2007

Course Call #: 12411
Fee: $135
Dates: 5 Fridays beginning 9/25/09 (no class 10/9/09)
Time: 9:00 am - 12:00 pm noon
Instructor: Lisa Pagano, MS.
Location: Rhode Island College – Gaige 168
Credit: 1.5 CEUs; State employees may be eligible for 1/2 incentive credit

Learn the NEW editing and printing features of Microsoft Word 2007 with the Ribbon. Enhance your word processing skills and efficiency by using many new tools and shortcuts to create and format documents.

CONT 280C-80: Intermediate MS Word 2007

Course Call #: 12413
Fee: $135
Dates: 5 Fridays beginning 11/6/09 (no class 11/20/09 or 11/27/09)
Time: 9:00 am - 12:00 pm noon
Instructor: Lisa Pagano, MS.
Location: Rhode Island College – Gaige 168
Credit: Learn even more Word 2007 features including mail merge, creating forms and tables, tables of content, editing comments, tracking changes, desktop publishing and macros, as well as more shortcuts and tips! You should be a Word 2007 user who feels comfortable with the basics of this new program.

CONT 380C-80: Program Evaluation

Course Call #: 12034
Fee: $95
Dates: 5 Fridays beginning September 25, 2009 (no class 10/9)
Time: 9:00 am - 12:00 pm noon
Instructor: Kamila Barzykowski, MSW, MBA
Location: Rhode Island College — Craig-Lee, Room 253
Credit: 1.5 CEUs; Approved for Social Work CEUs; State Employees may be eligible for 1/2 incentive credit

Successful and pro-active program managers routinely seek ways to examine and improve their programs and enhance delivery of services. In these difficult times, it is particularly useful to review how resources are being used and if desired outcomes are being achieved. In this hands-on course, the outcome measurement method of evaluating programs will be used to develop a logic model for your program. It will explain how and why the program works and you will develop measures to evaluate whether the program is achieving its planned results. Using data collection and analysis to look at each aspect of the program design, you will evaluate the quality of program components and how they contribute to the success of the program.

CONT 480C-80: Diversity 2009

Course Call #: 12035
Fee: $95
Individual Session Fee: $30
Dates: 5 Fridays beginning November 6, 2009 (no class 11/27)
Time: 9:00 am - 12:00 noon
Instructor: See Instructor for each session below
Location: See Location for each session below
Credit: Full Course - 1.5 CEUs; Approved for Social Work Diversity CEUs; State Employees may be eligible for 1/2 incentive credit
Individual Session - 0.3 CEUs (3 contact hours)

This exciting and timely course will examine the following critical issues:

• REFUGEES AND IMMIGRANTS
  Individual Session Course and Call Number: CONT 480C-81; 12036
  The legal differences between the two, why refugees come to the United States and Rhode Island, and services allowed by law will be reviewed. A panel of refugees from different countries will share the reasons bringing them to the U.S. and their experiences here, and a representative from the International Institute, is planned.
  
  Instructor: Jenifer Giroux, MEd; Director of Outreach Programs, Rhode Island College
  Date: November 6, 2009
  Time: 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 noon
  Location: Rhode Island College - Caig-Lee, Room 253
  CEUs: 0.3 (3 contact hours)

• GLOBAL AND LOCAL PERSPECTIVES ON ISLAM AND MUSLIMS
  Individual Session Course and Call Number: CONT 480C-82; 12037
  According to current estimates there are about one billion, three hundred million Muslims worldwide. Muslims live, work, and practice their religion in virtually every country of the world and every state in the US, including Rhode Island. In addition, the current religious-political climate has thrust Islam as a religion to the forefront. Clearly, the potential for misunderstanding, and misreading Muslims and Islam can create bias and prejudice. The content knowledge necessary for public servants and citizens in general to address historical, cultural, religious and practical issues related to interacting with Islam and Muslims in the workplace is the focus of this workshop. The presenters will provide global and local perspectives on Islam and the Muslim World. The presentations will utilize a variety of web-based materials and case studies to illustrate cultural, religious and political dimensions of the Muslim world, Islam, and interactions with Muslims.
  
  Instructor: David Thomas, PhD, Professor of History, Rhode Island College
  Date: November 13, 2009
  Time: 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 noon
  Location: Rhode Island College - Craig-Lee, Room 253
  CEUs: 0.3 (3 contact hours)

• SEXUAL ORIENTATION AND GENDER IDENTITY: SUPPORTING LGBTQQ YOUTH AND ADULTS
  Individual Session Course and Call Number: CONT 480C-83; 12038
  This training will provide information about the issues that impact lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning (LGBTQQ) youth and adults. We will provide strategies to assist you in facilitating conversations with and ways to support LGBTQQ individuals, especially youth and their families, in combating homophobia. You will learn concrete ways to help you create an environment where every LGBTQQ person feels valued and free to function in their environment to the best of their abilities. You will acquire concrete tools to identify the needs of LGBTQQ persons, and ways to interrupt prejudice, and to create positive and inclusive environments and services. We will also discuss the current status of the RI Marriage Equality legislation and the national Emerging Protections Based on Sexual Orientation legislation.
  
  Instructor: Beth Stump Olsen, Youth Pride, Inc.
  Date: November 20, 2009
  Time: 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 noon
  Location: Rhode Island College - Craig-Lee, Room 253
  CEUs: 0.3 (3 contact hours)

• AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES (ADA) AMENDMENTS ACT OF 2008
  Individual Session Course and Call Number: CONT 480C-84; 12039
  The ADA Amendments Act of 2008 (ADA-AA) -- effective January 1, 2009 -- carries out the original ADA's objectives by expressly rejecting Supreme Court cases that narrowed or limited the definitions of "disability" under the ADA. The amended law reframes the analysis of disability discrimination so that more emphasis is placed on the conduct of covered entities, and less analysis is required to determine whether an individual has a “disability.” The ADA-AA also authorized the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission and the U.S. Departments of Justice and Transportation to update their ADA regulations to be consistent with the changed definitions. We will review the scope of these statutory changes and how they may impact your workplace practices.
  
  Instructor: Anne Mulready, JD; Disability Law Center
  Date: December 4, 2009
  Time: 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 noon
  Location: Rhode Island College - Craig-Lee, Room 253
  CEUs: 0.3 (3 contact hours)

• DIVERSITY IN PRINT MEDIA
  Individual Session Course and Call Number: CONT 480C-85; 12040
  The commercial media inundate us with hundreds of images which form cultural stereotypes many of us share. Learn how to recognize ads which create or promote stereotypes through status placement, body language, clothing, and context. Learn to decode these techniques, purposefully used by corporations when constructing ad campaigns. A slide presentation will illustrate how ads affect such groups as women, African Americans, Muslims, Hispanics, and Gays and Lesbians.
  
  Instructor: Mary Ball Howkins, PhD; Professor of Art, Rhode Island College
  Date: December 11, 2009
  Time: 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 noon
  Location: Rhode Island College - Clarke Science, Room 106
  CEUs: 0.3 (3 contact hours)

Course Locations

(Please See Course Descriptions For RIC Room Location):   

Directions:       http://www.ric.edu/aboutRIC/directions.php

Parking:          See the Campus Map and note the grey areas designated as parking lots. Most are open to faculty, staff, and students. Parking permits are not required.

Campus map: http://www.ric.edu/campusmap/index.php

Registration and Payment Instructions

Online Registration
Secure registration must be completed online.
Please click here to register for a course online.
Registrants will be asked to provide information needed to establish or update their RIC account and to be registered for the class of their choice.  Registration must be completed one week before the first class meeting.

Payment Information
Payment Online or by Mail
In order to reserve your place in a course, payment is due in full one week before the start of the course. Secure online payment by credit card is available through the online course registration form. Payment by check is possible by mail only; please follow the mailing instructions provided on the Registration Form.

Payment Information for State Agency Payment:

If you are a state employee and a state agency is paying, you must submit the following:

1. The Centralized Pay Summary Report showing the invoice number to be referenced for final payment
2. A printed copy of your registration confirmation number provided after submission of your online registration is completed. While completing the online registration please select the "Third Party Payment" check box option and be sure to fill out all required fields.

The Centralized Pay Summary Report and copy of your online registration confirmation number must be mailed or faxed to the address/number below to reserve a seat in any course:

Office of Continuing Education and Summer Sessions
Rhode Island College
Forman Center 207
600 Mount Pleasant Avenue
Providence, RI 02908
FAX 401-456-8188

Contact Information and Questions:  Lori Martin, 401-456-8909

Please Note:  

Registration forms received without payment by credit card, check, or Centralized Pay Summary will not reserve a seat in the class.

RIC Transcript

RIC does not provide grade reports, but they are available online through RIConnect at www.ric.edu (follow link to Online Services). Please contact the RIC Records Office (Phone: 401-456-8212 or 8213; -e-mail: records@ric.edu) if you need your RIConnect username and password.

Incentive Credit

For state employees interested in incentive credit, all rules regarding each employee's eligibility will apply. For example, the course must be "directly related to the employee's job duties" and be the appropriate level for those duties. CS-365 forms requesting incentive approval must be received by OTD 7 days prior to the start of the course. Each course must be at least 15 hours. If you do not receive verification from OTD that your incentive credit request has been approved, it is your responsibility to check the status of your request, and insure that OTD receives it. State employees with questions about incentive credit courses should visit the OTD Web site at http://www.admin.ri.gov/otd/ or contact Melissa Day at 401-222-2178 or mday@gw.doa.state.ri.us.
Mailing address: RI Department of Administration, One Capitol Hill, Providence, RI 02908