CEP COURSE DESCRIPTIONS

Course number: 200
Course name: Management
Level: Introductory

Grasp the essentials of effective management practices. Explore planning, leadership and influence, control, problem solving, and evaluating results. This course will provide a solid foundation for a career in management.

• Management thought – theories that have impacted the way management is today
• Planning – vision and strategy
• Organization – issues of control, staff-line roles, and centralization vs. decentralization
• Leadership and influence – motivation, communication and its dynamics, empowerment, and delegation
• Control and control mechanisms, measurement, problem-solving, and decision-making process

Course number: 500
Course name: Risk Management and Insurance
Level: Intermediate

This course covers general issues in credit union risk management and insurance. You’ll learn how to identify, analyze, and manage the loss exposures with loss control techniques or insurance. Topics covered in this course include:

• Insurance, insurable and uninsurable risks, and legal principles
• Insurance companies and policies and how to select a carrier
• Direct and indirect property losses
• Financial asset exposures such as crime, interest-rate risk, and credit risk
• Liability exposures
• Workers' compensation, unemployment, benefits, and retirement plans
• Deposit, credit, and life savings insurance
• Life, health, home, and auto insurance

Course number: 700
Course name: Marketing
Level: Introductory

Marketing is critical to credit union survival. Great marketing occurs when sound marketing theory is combined with imagination. Case studies show how actual credit unions have applied marketing theory. Five main topics are covered in this course:

• The role of marketing in the credit union
• Product planning and development
• Practical, legal, and ethical considerations in product distribution
• Promotion and sales
• Product pricing
• Strategic marketing planning

Course number: 900
Course name: Credit and Collections
Level: Introductory

Examine the nature, role, and complexities of the credit decisions you face every day. Gain an understanding of the sources of consumer and commercial credit, the types of credit available, regulations governing credit, and credit and collections management.

Course number: 1000
Course name: Business Law
Level: Advanced

Gain a broader understanding of the legal environment of business and legal systems in the U.S. Prepare yourself to better understand the legal situations you deal with as a credit union executive. Topics include administrative law, torts and crimes, contracts, wills, estate, trusts, and elder law, business organizations, corporate securities regulation and investor protection, personal property and sales, real property, real estate transfers and liens, loan and financing transactions, creditors’ rights and debtors’ relief, payments and transfer of funds, and consumer and environmental protection.

Course number: 1500
Course name: Economics and the Monetary System
Level: Advanced

Any current or prospective credit union manager needs a good foundation in economic theories and knowledge of how the monetary system operates. This course covers macroeconomics, introducing basic concepts and theories like supply and demand, inflation, GDP, and elasticity. It gives you an in-depth look at money's functions, types of financial institutions and their regulation, banking legislation, the Federal Reserve and its powers, national monetary and fiscal policies, and global economics.

Course number: 1600
Course name: Financial Management I
Level: Advanced

Take an in-depth look at general issues in finance, their application to credit union financial management, and the broad areas of financial planning that affect the stability of your credit union. The course covers the following topics:

• Basics of finance and financial management
• Creation of money and credit
• Factors that affect the supply and cost of credit including ALM analysis
• Structure and tools of the Federal Reserve
• International finance
• Security markets
• Time value of money
• Financial risk in general and funds management policy for credit unions
• Long-term debt investments
• Equity and capitalization
• Valuation of common stock
• Analysis of financial statements including ratio and trend analyses

Course number: 1700
Course name: Financial Management II
Level: Advanced

The Financial Management II course provides additional education in credit union financial management. You’ll focus on investments, asset-liability management, and pricing member services. It is designed to assist you in long-term planning for the financial success of your credit union. The following topics are covered:

• Risk and return
• Budgeting, financial statements, and ratio analyses
• Asset-liability management and its tools
• Liquidity management
• Investment management
• Fixed asset and capital administration
• SLY principle and CAMEL ratings
• Mathematics of investment and yield curves
• Pricing and elements influencing pricing decisions
• Costs, cost structures, and break-even analysis

Course number: 1800
Course name: Human Resource Management
Level: Introductory

This course presents practical information that can be applied to everyday situations at the credit union. The course covers six main areas

• Human resources management: what it is, how it has changed, its environment, and how it affects today’s credit unions
• Laws relevant to human resources management
• Job descriptions and the recruitment and selection of employees
• Employee compensation and benefits
• Employee evaluation and development

Course number: 1900
Course name: History and Philosophy of Credit Unions
Level: Introductory

This course explores the history and philosophy of the credit union movement and the basic structure, operations, and concerns of credit unions. This should be a required course for all credit union staff. You’ll learn what sets credit unions apart from other financial institutions. This course covers the following topics:

• Operating principles of credit unions
• Origins of cooperative credit
• Historical development of credit unions in Europe and the U.S.
• Formation of state, national, and international credit union organizations
• Federal Credit Union Act and regulations that affect the credit union industry
• Legislative process and credit union influence
• Ethics and professionalism in credit unions

Note: This course cannot be used as an elective for CFSP designation.

Course number: 2200
Course name: Strategic Business Management and Leadership
Level: Advanced

Effective management and leadership are essential for the ultimate success of every credit union. This course provides an opportunity to study the writings of authors who have dedicated their lives to understanding management and leadership. You will learn how executives of major organizations are preparing for the future, what skills the “experts” believe will be required for the future, and how to prepare yourself to move into progressively challenging leadership roles. This course will help managers prepare their credit unions to thrive and survive in a competitive world.

Course number: 2300
Course name: Financial Institutions: A Contemporary Look
Level: Intermediate

This course analyzes financial institutions and markets, the structure and regulation of commercial banks, and other financial intermediaries. Topics covered in this course include:

• Similarities and differences of financial institutions
• Commercial banks
• Structure and regulation of the banking industry
• Savings and loan debacle, commercial bank failures, and deposit insurance
• Role of the Federal Reserve in the Great Depression
• International monetary system

Note: This course cannot be used as an elective for the CCUE designation.

Course number: 2400
Course name: Relationship Marketing
Level: Advanced

The course presents ideas and methods designed to capitalize on relationships with members, employees, and suppliers. To be successful in relationship marketing, a complete organizational commitment and culture changes may be required. The topics include:

• New marketing paradigm
• Relationships as strategy
• Planning for better relationships
• One to one marketing
• Identification and differentiation of customers/members
• Customer interaction
• Implementation strategy development

Course number: 2500
Course name: Competitive Intelligence
Level: Intermediate

Unlock the secrets to competitive intelligence — the process of collecting, analyzing, and acting upon information about competitors and your environment. This course helps students develop an approach to finding, analyzing, and using information to make better business decisions. The following topics are covered:

• Why to gather competitive intelligence
• Marketing research as a process
• Benchmarking and data analysis
• Connecting competitive intelligence and strategy
• Sources of competitive intelligence

Course number: 2600
Course name: Mortgage Lending
Level: Intermediate

Understand the fundamentals of residential mortgage lending. This course offers guidelines and practical observations from the experience of other credit unions. The following topics are covered:

• Credit union mortgage lending environment
• Mortgage lenders and their differences
• Regulations
• Processing mortgage loans
• Real estate appraisals
• Underwriting the mortgage loan
• Secondary mortgage market
• Strategic management of the mortgage department
• Mortgage marketing strategies

Course number: 2700
Course name: Consumer Lending
Level: Intermediate

This course examines lending management strategies and lending in a retail environment. It explains the use of credit scoring, risk-based lending, collections and bankruptcy processes and prevention. The textbooks for this course are credit union specific, and the syllabus includes credit union case studies. This course provides sound instruction on the day-to-day lending functions at the credit union, including issues relating to regulations, indirect lending systems, call centers, leasing programs, and risk-based lending.

Course number: 2800
Course name: Training, Development and Problem Diagnosis
Level: Intermediate

This course will help you know how to tailor training programs to your credit union’s needs. A core premise of the course is that training and development should be tightly integrated into the credit union’s strategic planning process. You’ll learn a model for creating an effective training process. The model is comprised of an initial needs analysis, the training design, the evaluation criteria, a range of alternatives and methods that can be used to deliver training, and the development and implementation of the training.

Course number: 2900
Course name: Organizational Culture and Motivation
Level: Intermediate

This course helps you understand and use two challenging management concepts: culture change and motivation. You’ll learn a practical framework to assist you in evaluating and changing your organization’s culture. This course will provide a common sense approach to understanding and using motivation.

Course number: 3100
Course name: Regulatory Overview: Governance and Examinations
Level: Intermediate

This course provides a historical and conceptual understanding of how credit unions are governed. It includes an overview of the credit union board and regulators and an in-depth look at credit union examinations. You’ll gain an understanding of the examination process and get tips on preparing for the next exam. This course covers:

• The responsibility of board of directors in establishing policies and direction for the credit union
• Requirements for other credit union committees to conduct meetings and keep records
• Nominations and elections
• Overview of regulator exams, the examination itself, the joint conference
• Resolution of examination problems.

Course number: 3200
Course name: Compliance Program Management
Level: Advanced

This course provides general information on regulations affecting credit unions. You’ll learn how to implement a compliance program in your credit union, prepare for an NCUA exam, and conduct compliance audits. This text includes a regulation checklist for credit union products and services as well as practical tips and checklists for conducting compliance audits. You’ll be able to train staff on critical compliance issues, maintain reference materials, and encourage ongoing learning.

Course number: 3300
Course name: Policy Writing
Level: Intermediate

The Certified Executive Program is offering a new course on Policy Writing. This course will provide the rationale behind the goals of good policy development and clear policy writing, as well as help develop the step-by-by step skills to accomplish both. Students taking this course will get basic information on anticipating, reviewing, and developing new or updating current credit union policies, and getting them approved by the board. The course textbook, Credit Union Model Policies includes sample policies provided in MS Word so that policies can be easily customized for your credit union.

This course covers the following major topics:

• Essential concepts in policy development
• Step-by-step approach to policy writing
• Strategic management of policy review and development
• Compliance framework and policy issues for deposit accounts
• Developing lending policies in compliance with goals and regulations
• Advantages of a flexible collections policy
• Major operational policies, including ALM, E-Commerce, and Privacy
• Lesser operational policies, including check cashing, marketing, and purchasing
• Recognizing the full scope and depth of personnel policies

Course number: Stock #23511
Course name: RegTraC, Level Two - Compliance Expert, set of six training modules with proctored exams
Level: Advanced

Provides in-depth training on regulations for deposit accounts, general operations, consumer lending, mortgage lending, and the NCUA.

For more information, please contact Certified Executive Program staff at 1.800.356.9655, extension 4055 or e-mail cunacep@cuna.coop.