Online Classes   

Join this free information session to learn about the HR Generalist Certificate! Registration is required.

View Certificate Information and Outline. 

Join us for a free information session. During this session, the Leadership and Supervision Instructor will discuss how this certificate will help you acquire the interpersonal skills needed to interact successfully in a supervisory role. Registration required.

See overview to learn more about this Certificate.

Zen is an ancient way of life that emphasizes being more present to what is happening, moment after moment. In this gentle, interactive class you will learn about bringing the spirit of Zen mindfulness to your daily activities and in focused meditation.

Zen Buddhism developed over centuries in China, Japan, and Korea, but is now practiced around the world. In this gentle introductory class the emphasis will be on the spirit of Zen, through lectures, in-class guided meditations, short films and readings, and mindfulness practices to try at home.

Student Learning Outcomes: Students will know more about Zen and mindfulness, and will have simple, supportive ways to bring more mindfulness to daily life.

Do you have an aging parent or partner with declining health? Explore the complex issues you may encounter when assisting the elderly. Learn the key legal issues and documents relevant to elder care, the differences in medical insurance, the different types of housing/medical assistance available to the elderly, and the potential role of hospice or palliative care.

This class is offered in partnership with Clark College.

Syllabus

This course is perfect for absolute beginners eager to learn how to play chess with confidence. Starting with the basics — rules, piece movements, and board setup — then moving into key opening principles, simple tactics, and winning strategies. Through guided practice games and interactive exercises, you'll build skills step by step. By the end of the course, you'll be able to play a complete game, recognize common checkmate patterns, and start thinking like a chess player. No prior experience needed — just curiosity and a willingness to learn!

This class is held in partnership with Clark College.

As an HR Generalist you are expected to be an expert in every human resource function including hiring, compensation, payroll, performance management, employment laws (FMLA, ADA, COBRA, etc.) and much more. Through lecture, discussion and activities, this program will help prepare you to effectively serve in an HR Generalist role. Additionally, you will be equipped with tools to assist you as you encounter situations in today's workplace. This class is offered in partnership with Green River College.

See course requirements and outline.

In this introductory course discover how HR functions within an organization, and learn about the specific role of the HR Generalist. Identify the typical duties HR Generalists are responsible for and how they can have a positive influence on an organization. You will also evaluate common scenarios HR professionals deal with and define the characteristics of successful HR Generalists. This class is offered in partnership with Green River College.

This is the first course in the HR Generalist Certificate Program (8 Class Series).
 

This class is mostly conducted in Spanish at an intermediate level. It is a mixture of grammar, culture pronunciation, listening and speaking. It includes readings from authors of the Spanish speaking world such as García Márquez, Cortázar, Borges, García Lorca, etc.

Required Materials:

• Practice Makes Perfect - Complete Spanish Grammar - 4th Edition by Gilda Nissenberg; ISBN 9781260463156

This class is conducted entirely in Spanish at an advanced level. It is a mixture of grammar, culture pronunciation, listening and speaking. It includes readings from authors of the Spanish speaking world such as García Márquez, Cortázar, Borges, García Lorca, etc.

Required Materials:

• Practice Makes Perfect - Complete Spanish Grammar - 4th Edition by Gilda Nissenberg; ISBN 9781260463156

Develop your leadership, communication, motivation, and problem-solving skills with the Supervision Certificate. Through a series of six courses, you will acquire the interpersonal skills needed to interact successfully in a supervisory role. Topics include turning negative situations into positive outcomes; identifying your leadership traits through personal assessment; leading effective meetings; providing feedback; establishing priorities; problem-solving techniques, and more! This class is offered in partnership with Green River College. 

See overview to learn more about this Certificate. Earn the certificate by taking the courses individually or register for the series and save.
 

Project Managers are in high demand. In this free information session, our project management instructor will discuss the project management industry, the project management profession and the newly revised Project Management Certificate Program. If you have been thinking about taking courses to formalize your PM understanding, making a career change or learning tangible skills to help you stand out in your current role, join us for this free informational session. This class is offered in partnership with Green River College. Registration required. 

View program Project Management Certificate Overview.

Legal compliance is a critical task for Human Resources. Learn the basics of the federal and state employment laws that HR Generalists most often deal with, including Title VII, ADA, ADEA, FLSA, FMLA, OSHA and more. You will also identify the steps HR Generalists can take to keep themselves and their organizations out of trouble. Other topics include identifying and preventing sexual harassment and the difference between compliance and risk management approaches to employment laws. This class is offered in partnership with Green River College.

This course is part of the HR Generalist Certificate Program (8 Class Series).

This class is conducted entirely in French. It is a mixture of grammar, culture pronunciation, listening and speaking. It includes readings from authors of the French speaking world such as Camus, Abdellah Taia, Orsenna, Yourcenar, etc.

Required materials:

• The Ultimate French Review and Practice, 4th Edition; ISBN 978-1-260-45241-9
• Une mélancolie arabe, Abdellah Taia  ISBN 9782757821060
   

How do you grab and maintain an audience's focus when you're asked to present important information? By being clear, organized, and engaging. Today's audiences are tech savvy, accustomed to high-impact multimedia content, and stretched for time. By learning how to use the vast array of features and functionality contained within PowerPoint 365, you will gain the ability to organize your content, enhance it with high-impact visuals, and deliver it with a punch. In this course, you will use PowerPoint 365 to begin creating engaging, dynamic multimedia presentations.

Required: 

• Access to Microsoft PowerPoint
• Microsoft PowerPoint for Office 365 (Desktop or Online): Part 1 (appx $22.82)

Please see CEU procedure and Student Learning Outcomes.

Learn how to capitalize on your personal leadership style to achieve workplace goals. In this course, you will identify your leadership through personal assessment; learn the difference between leadership and management; recognize the "being" and "doing" of leadership; and develop the innate motivating techniques that transform employee attitudes and enhance cooperation and teamwork. Other topics include understanding the leadership management balance and SMART goal development. This class is offered in partnership with Green River College.

For more information, please refer to our course outline.

This is the second course in the Supervision Certificate (6 Class Series).

Discover the science and art of effective project management, and learn why 75 percent of all projects fail! Summarize the five Process Groups, 10 Knowledge Areas and 49 processes recommended for application in the PMBOK® Guide (Project Management Body of Knowledge). Learn about the Initiating Process Group, and discover how to develop a business case, create a Project Charter, identify and document stakeholders and effectively present a project to decision-makers using a winning methodology. This class is offered in partnership with Green River College.

Click here for more information

TEXTBOOKS (available through Amazon)

• Required: The PMBOK® Guide - 7th Edition, Project Management Institute, Inc., 2021, ISBN-13: 978-1628256642
• Recommended: Project Management Made Simple and Effective, Yeomans, 2016, ISBN-13: 978-1457549816

This is the first required course in the Project Management Certificate Part A (3 Class Series). For complete details about our Project Management Certificate Program, attend a free Project Management Information Session and/or visit our Project Management Certificate overview.

PMBOK® is a registered mark of the Project Management Institute, Inc.

Acquire the skills to manage projects in a variety of industries. Our seven required courses give you the tools and techniques to deliver projects on time and within budget. In Part A, you'll get a broad overview of project management and then delve deeper into the five project management processes: Initiating, Planning, Executing, Monitoring and Controlling and Closing. Courses include team activities, insightful discussion and a toolkit you can immediately utilize. This class is offered in partnership with Green River College.

Please note: Students must complete all seven courses offered in Part A and Part B to earn a Certificate of Completion. If you are interested in registering for an individual course, please reach out to communityed@pencol.edu. 

View program requirements prior to registering.

Recruiting and selecting the best employees for your organization is one of the most important things you will do as an HR Generalist. Topics for this course include creating a job description, strategies for finding candidates, interviewing and selection techniques for determining the best candidate for the job, and keeping the hiring process fair and legal. This class is offered in partnership with Green River College.

This is the second course in the HR Generalist Certificate Program (8 Class Series).

Discover why some meetings fail and learn proven techniques for making meetings more productive. Gain tips related to the four essentials of productive meetings: planning, participating, presenting and producing. Other topics include meeting formats and when to vary them, responding to conflict in a meeting and meeting follow-through. A key component of this course is utilizing effective communication strategies before, during and after your meetings.

For more information, please refer to our course outline.

This is the third course in the Supervision Certificate (6 Class Series).

Compensation and benefit programs are key factors in attracting and retaining the right talent for your organization. They are also one of the highest costs of doing business and offer an opportunity for HR to make a valuable contribution to the organization¿s bottom line. Learn about the different types of compensation systems, compliance with the FLSA and other employment laws, how to determine exempt verses non-exempt status and various benefits as part of a total compensation package. This class is offered in partnership with Green River College.

This is the fourth course in the HR Generalist Certificate Program (8 Class Series).

Spring is a fantastic time to focus on creativity in your photography. It's a time to explore your photographic vision and hone technical skills. This class focuses on learning to "see" how to use lighting, and creative use of exposure to create your photographic images. Skills are taught through lectures, examples, class discussions, and weekly assignments. The instructor critiques assignments and helps students grow their photography skills. Some topics covered are Spring color, motion, people, and digital dark room. Class is hosted in partnership with Edmonds College.

"We're all going to die, and we don't know when," says Rev. Bodhi Be, a mentor of the instructor and director of perhaps the only non-profit funeral home. Given that important and poignant truth, there are many things we can do to prepare ourselves and save our loved ones time and stress. In this class, we will explore legal documentation, practical considerations, relational networks, wishes for your memorial and your body's disposition, and much more. All of this information is valuable to anyone regardless of age or state of health. Each class session has built-in time after the presentation for questions and deeper discussion. The instructor will follow up with a checklist and a document with extensive resources to help you complete and maintain your end-of-life preparations.

This class is held in partnership with Clark College.

Want more creative, motivated employees who are eager to work hard and satisfy both internal and external customers? Good leaders empower their employees to feel confident, valued and motivated. In this course discover what motivates people, how to resuscitate motivation and how personality affects motivation. You will also learn how to give clear and motivating directions, set realistic and achievable standards and provide effective feedback, praising good results and correcting unsatisfactory performance. This class is offered in partnership with Green River College.

For more information, please refer to our course outline.

This is the fourth course in the Supervision Certificate (6 Class Series).

Employee and labor relations is a broad topic that includes performance management, disciplinary action, employee rights and dealing with various employee issues and complaints. If an organization is unionized, it also includes labor contract negotiation and administration and resolving grievances. In this course, discover strategies for driving high performance while maintaining a respectful working environment. You will also learn how to manage the termination process to reduce the likelihood of a legal claim. This class is offered in partnership with Green River College.

This is the third course in the HR Generalist Certificate Program (8 Class Series).

It is said, "If you fail to plan, you plan to fail." Discover the 24 key planning processes needed to plan and implement a successful project, and learn the order in which they should occur. Identify the key tools and techniques to effectively plan for scope, schedule, cost, quality, human resources, communications, risk, procurements and stakeholder management. This course keys on both predictive (Waterfall) and adaptive (Agile) planning techniques. This class is offered in partnership with Green River College.

Prerequisite: Project Management Basics: Initiating the Project.

TEXTBOOKS (available through Amazon)

• Required: The PMBOK® Guide - 7th Edition, Project Management Institute, Inc., 2021, ISBN-13: 978-1628256642
• Recommended: Project Management Made Simple and Effective, Yeomans, 2016, ISBN-13: 978-1457549816

This is the second required course in the Project Management Certificate Part A (3 Class Series).

For complete details about our Project Management Certificate Program, visit our Project Management Certificate overview.
PMBOK® is a registered mark of the Project Management Institute, Inc.

Time is a valuable resource that can be costly to a company when wasted. In this course you will develop communication strategies to minimize time loss, evaluate personal and organizational time-wasters, learn to establish meaningful priorities and determine ways to deal with disruptions and unanticipated drains on time. Additional topics include schedule planning, prioritizing, delegation and large project completion. This class is offered in partnership with Green River College.

For more information, please refer to our course outline. 

This is the fifth course in the Supervision Certificate (6 Class Series).

Training and developing staff is an important function in the HR Generalist's role. In this course you will identify how and why adults learn and discover tips for keeping employees engaged and interested in the learning process. Other topics include performing a needs assessment, selecting the appropriate intervention to meet the identified need and talent development strategies including succession planning. This class is offered in partnership with Green River College.

This class is part of the HR Generalist Certificate Program (8 Class Series).

OSHA and other laws require an employer to provide a safe and healthy working environment for their employees. In this course you will review both general and specific requirements and best practices for ensuring a safe and healthy workplace. You will also learn about the roles of OSHA and WISHA, how to manage L&I claims and gain tips on preparing for and dealing with violence in the workplace. This class is offered in partnership with Green River College.

This class is part of the HR Generalist Certificate Program (8 Class Series).

Creative problem-solving and effective decision-making skills are essential in today's workplace. Through the use of real-life case studies, discover four primary problem-solving tools, learn a format for group problem-solving, methods for effective decision-making and techniques to minimize conflict and dissension. This course concludes with an interactive problem-solving group exercise. Concepts taught in this course can be applied to all facets of life. This class is offered in partnership with Green River College.

For more information, please refer to our course outline. 

This is the sixth and final course in the Supervision Certificate (6 Class Series).

The evolution of technology has changed the way that HR manages many of its functions, including payroll. In this course you will learn the basics of the payroll process, how using HR technology can save time and money for your organization and the growing demand and importance of HR metrics. You will also discover state and federal recordkeeping requirements, what to keep in a personnel file and important HR technology terminology. This class is offered in partnership with Green River College.

This course is part of the HR Generalist Certificate Program (8 Class Series).

Organize, calculate, analyze, revise, update, and present your data in ways that help the decision makers in your organization. This course provides you with a foundation for Excel knowledge and skills, which you can build upon to eventually become an expert in data analysis.

Required: 

• Access to Microsoft Excel
• Microsoft Excel for Office 365 (Desktop or Online) Part 1 (appx. $30.12)

Please see CEU procedure and Student Learning Outcomes.
 

Your Project Management Plan is approved and accepted. What's next? This course shares best practices for implementing and controlling the project to success. Learn how to manage quality, develop and manage a project team, effectively communicate, manage risk and engage stakeholders. Key tools and techniques and valuable tips will be introduced, shared and applied - all to ensure that your project is successful. This class is offered in partnership with Green River College.

Prerequisite: Project Management Basics: Initiating the Project

TEXTBOOKS (available through Amazon)

• Required The PMBOK® Guide - 7th Edition, Project Management Institute, Inc., 2021, ISBN-13: 978-1628256642
• Recommended Project Management Made Simple and Effective, Yeomans, 2016, ISBN-13: 978-1457549816

This is the third required course in the Project Management Certificate Part A (3 Class Series). For complete details about our Project Management Certificate Program, visit our Project Management Certificate overview.

PMBOK® is a registered mark of the Project Management Institute, Inc.

This course builds upon the foundational knowledge presented in the Excel 365 Level 1 course and will help start you down the road to creating advanced workbooks and worksheets that can help deepen your understanding of organizational intelligence. The ability to analyze massive amounts of data, extract actionable information from it, and present that information to decision makers is at the foundation of a successful organization that can compete at a high level.

Prerequisite: Excel Level 1 or equivalent experience

Required: 

• Access to Microsoft Excel
• Microsoft Excel for Office 365 (Desktop or Online): Part 2 (appx $30.12)

Please see CEU procedure and Student Learning Outcomes.
 

Learn how to use PivotTables to summarize, group, chart and analyze data effectively in Microsoft Excel.

Advances in technology have made it possible to store ever increasing amounts of data. Along with this, the need to analyze that data and gain actionable insight is greater than ever. You already have experience working with Excel and creating basic PivotTables to summarize data. But, Excel can do much more. Being able to harness the power of advanced PivotTable features and create Pivot Charts will help you to gain a competitive edge. You will not only be able to summarize data for you to analyze, but also organize the data in a way that can be meaningfully presented to others. This leads to data-driven business decisions that have a better chance for success for everyone involved. During this class, the instructor demonstrates the concepts while you perform the tasks at the same time.

Required: 

• Microsoft Excel for Office 365/2021: Data Analysis with PivotTables (appx $15.98)
• Access to Microsoft Excel

 

Pre-Requisites: Basic experience with Microsoft Excel.

Please see CEU procedure and Student Learning Outcomes.
 

We are now living in the age of big data. Data is being collected all the time and for increasingly detailed transactions. This can lead to an overwhelming amount of data, which brings about a need for people who can analyze large amounts of data quickly. Fortunately, Excel provides Power Pivot to help you organize, manipulate, and report on your data in the best way possible. Since a tool is only as good as the person using it, it is important to gain a solid understanding of Power Pivot to maximize your effectiveness when analyzing data.

Prerequisite: Excel Level 1 or equivalent experience

Required: 

• Access to Microsoft Excel
• Microsoft Excel for Office 365/2021: Data Analysis with Power Pivot (appx. $15.98)

Please see CEU procedure and Student Learning Outcomes.
 

Continue developing your project management skills. In Part B, you will learn how to achieve high project team performance, learn the Agile process, utilize Microsoft Project as a tool to manage your projects and reinforce everything you've learned through a real-world project management simulation. Price includes an I Speak questionnaire and manual as well as Microsoft Project 2019 Level 1 and Level 2 textbooks. This class is offered in partnership with Green River College

Prerequisite: Project Management Certificate Part A and good working knowledge of Windows, Word and Excel.

View program requirements prior to registering.

How do you keep track of the day-to-day financial transactions of a business? Whether you are looking to advance in your career, or you're an entrepreneur, (or maybe you are a part of a family business), this course will help you if you are looking to understand the numbers.

The Basics of Bookkeeping course will help you understand, and know how to record, every penny that comes into your business and every penny that goes out of your business. This course shows you how to create a chart of accounts that meet your needs. All of the money you spend, and all of the money you earn, have a place to go. How do your record them? What are debits and credits? What do the numbers mean? How do I label accounts? Even if you outsource your bookkeeping needs, you should still have a basic understand of what happens with the money earned and the money spent. No one should be blind to his or her finances!

In this course you will learn where the numbers go, and why! You will learn the bookkeeping terminology as well as what it means to keep track of the numbers. At the end of the cycle, what do the numbers mean? The Basics of Bookkeeping will show you how to keep track of the numbers and why!