Certificate Revision Updates

STAR REVISIONS

S200 The Lending Process, 4th edition
What's new:

• Introduction rewritten
• Revised discussion of open-end and closed-end credit
• Expanded discussion of multi-featured open-end plans;
• Updated for changes to:
• Uniform Commercial Code - Article 9;
• Fair Credit Reporting Act;
• NCUA Regulations.
• Small corrections throughout course to update or clarify accuracy
• All forms updated or replaced

S220 Collections, 4th edition
What's new:

• Focus shift from manual record keeping to automated collections systems;
• Chapters on collections notices, letters, telephone contact have been merged to emphasize telephone contact, the dominant practice in collections today, over collection letters;
• Sections on pressure tactics and have been replaced with new text on the "fair but firm" approach to collections;
• New information has been added on the impact of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley privacy protections on skip tracing.

S300 Basic Accounting, 3rd edition
What's new:

• Treatment of accounting for regular reserves reflects new Prompt Corrective Action (PCA) regulations;
• New discussion of PCA capital requirements and related calculations;
• Enhanced discussion of accounting for fixed assets, including both purchases and disposals;
• New examples explain debits and credits;
• Improved explanations for entering taxes on the books;
• Increased emphasis on accounting issues specifically related to credit unions;
• Material more accessible to readers lacking previous accounting training;
• Consistent numerical examples reflect new regulations.

S410 Mortgage Lending, 3rd edition
What's new:

• Entire book has been rewritten and reorganized with updated information, figures, and activities:
• ch. 1 includes almost all new introductory information on mortgages;
• ch. 2 on types of mortgage loans is completely new;
• ch. 3 on laws and regulations is updated and expanded;
• ch. 4 is mostly new on the application process;
• ch. 5 on underwriting has been expanded to processing the application and underwriting the mortgage;
• ch. 6 describes the elements of a closing more completely and simply, and includes updated forms and new activities;
• ch. 7 is more complete, with new sections on property taxes, delinquent loans, and selling loans;
• ch. 8 on looking to the future of mortgage lending is new.
• Chapter on setting up a mortgage program has been dropped;
• Focuses on front-line employee's needs for learning about mortgage lending (last edition was oriented to managers who were setting up mortgage loan programs).

S420 Loan Marketing, 3rd edition
What's new:

• A shift from traditional marketing to relationship products and relationship marketing;
• The importance of younger members of generation X, women, and minorities;
• Online marketing, e-mail marketing, and Internet-based services;
• Data warehouses and special data analysis software as marketing tools;
• Risk-based pricing;
• examples of successful loan strategies.

S520 Interpersonal Skills: Understanding Your Impact on Members, 2nd Edition
What's new:

• The introduction includes a chapter-by-chapter description to help guide readers through the text;
• A discussion on the role of gender and culture in our communications with members and coworkers;
• The role of gender and culture in how we deal with our personal finances;
• A new resources section;
• Test questions have been revised for clarity and accuracy;
• Test questions have been revised to ensure that readers must have read the text to choose the correct response.

S620 Serving Members with Technology, 2nd edition
What's new:

• More emphasis placed on meeting credit needs of members;
• Some statistics and activities have been updated;
• More and new information about the Internet and about online privacy is included.

S810 Individual Retirement Accounts 2nd edition
What's new:

• Information on the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001, and the Taxpayer Relief Act of 2001;
• New figures on contribution amounts to Traditional, Roth, and Education IRAs;
• Information on Coverdell Education Savings Accounts (formerly called Education IRAs);
• Additional information on contribution deadlines;
• New information on moving funds from an employer retirement plan to an IRA;
• New information on determining the required minimum distribution (RMD);
• New information on withdrawing funds form an Education IRA;
• Current forms.

MERIT REVISIONS

M04 Training & Orienting Employees, 2nd edition What's new:

• Expansions:
• Discussion of the learning environment and processing learning;
• Discussion of assessing learning needs;
• Additions:
• New form on gap analysis for employee learning;
• A section creating a plan for learning evaluation;
• A section on distance learning;
• Information on determining a return-on-investment ratio for training costs;
• A skill/knowledge form for planning training;
• Section on monitoring and evaluating training is updated.

M05 Delegating for Results, 2nd edition
What's new:

• Expanded discussion of the changing nature of business organizations, from the hierarchical model to the flatter network model;
• Refined discussion of the problems resulting from micromanagement of delegated assignments;
• Revised, reorganized discussion of mistakes managers typically make in monitoring delegated projects;
• Expanded discussion of evaluation based on results and appropriate measurement methods rather than on work styles;
• Expanded discussion of outside resources available for delegating-including use of the Web;
• Revised troubleshooting guide-now included in the appendices.

M06 Managing Employee Performance, 2nd edition
What's new:

• Expanded discussion of participative management style emphasizing a balance between organizational and employee needs;
• Expanded section on what motivates workers, with a focus on a career friendly work environment;
• New discussion on the importance of a sales and service orientation for credit unions;
• Updated discussion of employee performance as a multi-faceted concept.
• New material on how to establish a system of continuous evaluation and improvement, and its importance for effective coaching;
• More information on habits that managers can practice to help ensure effective appraisals;
• Expanded focus on continuous evaluation and improvement through such tools as a daily log and daily field coaching;
• Added discussion on the importance of following up after performance appraisals;
• New discussion of the differences among coaching, discipline, and intervention;
• New discussion of discipline, focusing on progressive and positive approaches;

M11 Compensation Systems, 2nd edition
What's new:

Overall revision. Introduction rewritten for clarity and quality of information. Most chapters include portions that have been rewritten. The chapter order has changed slightly from first edition.

• Chapter 3 Job Analysis includes one additional step in pay plan development (Figure 3.1, step 11: Review pay plan for effectiveness);
• Chapter 9 Alternative Pay Plans is now grouped with other chapters on pay structure;
• Chapter 10 Employee Benefits includes updated information on health care costs and trends;
• Chapter 12 Executive Compensation includes updated information on bonus and incentive plans; adds new section on trends;
• Chapter 13 Legal issues includes new sections on the Family and Medical Leave Act and COBRA; chapter objectives reorganized;
• Appendix A Job Analysis Questionnaire, three items (8, 13, 17) revised;
• Resources section updated;
• Test questions rewritten for clarity;
• Index and glossary included;
• All information updated to reflect current salary figures and other data.

M17 Credit Union Financial Management for Nonfinancial Executives, 2nd edition
What's new:

• Numerical examples in several figures have been revised to improve consistency;
• Terminology has been changed to conform more closely with the standard terms used by US credit unions;
• Current financial trends are emphasized;
• Information on ratios has been changed and made realistic for credit unions;
• A section on regulatory requirements has been added to the chapter on capitalization.

VAP REVISIONS

V02 Financial Reports, 4th edition
What's new:

• Updated, more complete, and informative financial statements and examples are included;
• More analysis of financial information, including variances, is provided;
• Another ratio is added to the discussion: New Members/Full-Time Equivalent Employees;
• Trend information is updated, including how to calculate Return on Assets.

V03 Managing Risk, 5th edition
What's new:

• The rarity of employee embezzlement, reduced through internal controls, is mentioned;
• A question has been added to the Member Accounts Statements checklist (left column).

V100 Board of Directors: Duties and Responsibilities - 4th edition
What's new:

• Earlier editions' sections on credit union director, credit union member, monthly meetings, and treasurer/financial officer have been updated.
• A section on community involvement has been added to chapter 1.
• New text has been added regarding the communication between the board of directors and the management of a credit union.
• New text in this chapter suggests that along with the customary financial and growth goals, the board should set goals of fulfilling the credit union's service mission (remedial financial counseling, consumer education, and community involvement).
• The chapter distinguishes between the responsibilities of the board and those of the manager, emphasizing teamwork throughout.
• The section of chapter 5 that dealt with 1982 legislation, when NCUA removed regulations on share, share draft, and certificate accounts, has been deleted.
• The sections on capitalization, regular reserves, and measuring risk have been replaced by a brief statement on what capital consists of for credit unions.
• The sections on marketing price changes and investments have been removed.
• More current trends in meeting consumer needs are added.
• The section on loans to officials has been updated.
• The security section adds information on computer and Internet security.
• The list of Federal consumer credit protection laws has been revised.
• The list of "other" laws has been revised.

V101 Board Policies, 5th edition
V101 Board Policies, 5th edition has been renamed and refocused to address your board's responsibilities in policy making, and how board policies fit into the overall credit union picture. Author and attorney Alan Stabler has made important changes to this course, including clarification of:

• board responsibilities in developing and approving policies;
• management's role in developing procedures to implement policies;
• policies versus procedures;
• the factors that affect policies.

In addition, revisions include:

• moving the chapter on the benefits of policies to the front;
• adding a section on eleven steps of preparation in drafting policies;
• adding a section on policies required by regulations, state and federal laws;
• revising discussion on location, access, maintaining, and updating the policy manual.

V200 Credit Committee Duties and Responsibilities, 4th edition
What's new:

• The section on Terms of Office for the credit committee members has been replaced with a more accurate picture of the varying lengths of terms served by credit committee members determined by individual credit union bylaws.
• The entire section on Savings and Loans has been replaced with a description of the evolution of savings and loan associations into what are now savings banks and other financial institutions.
• In addition, the section on credit union shares adds the more current IRS regulations that prevent the shares classified as IRAs from being used as collateral on a loan.
• The Special Cases and employees sections are replaced by information on loan applications by insiders, and how they must be reviewed according to federal and state regulations and credit union bylaws. In some cases, officials of a credit union are not allowed to co-sign loans of another credit union member.
• In the policy examples, the dollar amounts are changed to more accurately reflect today's auto loan market. Percentage rates are decreased, and terms of the loans are increased (60-month to 72-month, and from 84-month to 96-month.).
• This revision reinforces the language used in loan denials, making it stronger and more precise.
• The Loan Portfolio Analysis section uses more generic descriptions of the economy rather than the previous very specific conditions for locking in deposits.
• Loan rate percentages in examples are lowered (from 12% to 7% and from 9% to 4%), reflecting the current situation.
• Appendices: An index and a resources section have been added. The test has been revised.

V201 Loan Granting, 4th edition
What's new:

• Amplified discussion on secured loans reflects today's lending environment;
• Discussion of computer-based automated lending systems;
• Updated discussions on requirements of Truth-in-Lending and Equal Credit Opportunity Act;
• Updated information on variable-rate loans and risk-based lending;
• Two new chapters discuss loan delivery channels and lending trends;
• New sample consumer loan policy;
• New example of online consumer loan application;

V202 Collections, 4th edition
What's new:

• Discussion of third notice in written collection work has been eliminated;
• Updated information on the sale of repossessed property;
• Discussion on developing a collection system has been added.

V300 Supervisory Committee Duties and Responsibilities, 5th edition
What's new:

• Information on Part 715 of NCUA's Rules and Regulations;
• Clarification of what type of "individual" can perform an audit in accordance with GAAS;
• Clarification of the supervisory committees' role with regard to policies;
• More examples of key regulations such as Bank Secrecy Act, Right to financial Privacy, Equal Credit Opportunity Act and Fair Debt Collection Act;
• Discussion of relationship between supervisory committee and the manager or CEO;
• Discussion of the SAS 70 report;
• New material on the four types of audits.

V301 Auditing 1, 5th edition
What's new:

• Discussion on how NCUA changes in Rules and Regulations, Part 715 affects credit unions. Part 715 is provided in its entirety in an appendix;
• Discussion and examples of various internal controls are updated and streamlined;
• Current information on audit requirements for travelers' checks has been streamlined and moved out of the text and into figures;
• Sample money order count work papers have been added;
• Examples of general ledger accounts have been added;
• A sample trial balance for an automated system has been added;

V302 Auditing 2, 5th edition
What's new:

• An overview of the audit process and information on internal controls is added;
• Updated, more informative forms and work papers are included;
• More emphasis placed on computerized data and less on manual record keeping;
• Information on relevant laws and regulations is updated;
• Discussion on use of compensated auditor versus supervisory committee audit is added.

V403 Marketing, 4th edition
What's new:

• The statistics used in text and figures are drawn from current surveys;
• New text refers to use of the internet, e-mail, and computer technology in marketing;
• Expanded list of financial services;
• Discussion on importance of marketing to different age groups and lifestyles.

V404 Strategic Planning, 4th edition
What's new:

• Discussion of strategic competence and segmentation is enhanced;
• Additions:
• Discussion on anticipating needs;
• An extensive, informative section on resources available to planners;
• Expansions:
• Section on external analysis and evaluation;
• Section on human resources
• Updated information and approaches, including figures discussing benefits of systems thinking and barriers to the strategic planning process;
• The discussion of policies, their roles, and benefits.

V407 Bankruptcy, 2nd edition
What’s new:
This course has been updated with the new bankruptcy legislation.

• Is There a Bankruptcy Crisis?
• How Bankruptcy Laws Work
• How Bankruptcy Affects Credit Unions
• What Credit Unions Can Do About Bankruptcy
• Helping Members Steer Clear of Bankruptcy

V501 Planning for Technology, 2nd edition
What's new:

• Emphasis on personal service as the differentiating factor between credit unions and other financial service providers;
• Director's role in the technology creative planning cycle;
• Smart cards and other technological innovations;
• The impact of the technological savvy of the different generations;
• Security issues resulting from advancing technology;
• Claim histories for credit union plastic card fraud.