Pierce College News

Begin or continue your education this fall at Pierce College. You can register any time from now until the first week of class in late September.

If you are taking five credits or less, you can “register in person, by fax, or by mail now”:http://www.pierce.ctc.edu/getstarted/registration.php3!

3 easy steps

# Meet with an advisor. An advisor will help you figure out your class schedule, assessment test needs, and tuition payment options. ["More about advising":http://www.pierce.ctc.edu/getstarted/advising.php3]
# Register for classes. If you’ve received your Registration PIN from an advisor, you may register online. Otherwise, register in person after meeting with your advisor! Mail-in and fax registrations are accepted through September 16. ["More about registration":http://www.pierce.ctc.edu/getstarted/registration.php3]
# Pay tuition. Tuition is due at the time of registration. You can pay online (credit card only), in-person or by mail. ["More about tuition and fees":http://www.pierce.ctc.edu/getstarted/tuition.php3]

Need help paying for school? If you haven’t already applied for financial aid, there are still some options available. Ask an advisor for more information, and visit the “financial aid Web site”:http://www.pierce.ctc.edu/financialaid/ to apply for upcoming quarters.

Up-to-date information is now online! Download the 2005-2007 Catalog (PDF, 10MB) or view the online final fall bulletin, including Continuing Education courses.

Catalog information will be updated throughout the Pierce College Web site during August and September.

Our Web site, including Student Online Services, will be unavailable briefly starting at 1 p.m. on Friday August 5. We anticipate that the outage will only last a few minutes, but it may be as long as an hour. Thank you for your patience.

If you enjoy interacting with people from diverse backgrounds, can handle confidential information with care, and like to help resolve conflicts, Pierce College’s program in Human Resource Management may be just the career path for you.

Pierce College offers both an Associate Degree in Business with a focus in Human Resources (HR), and a one-year Certificate in Human Resources.

“Students who earn their HR certificate or degree can qualify for entry level HR management positions,” said Rick Hogan, Pierce College business instructor who coordinates the Human Resources Management Program. “They can be HR generalists, or can specialize in areas such as training or compensation and benefits. They also may have an opportunity to work as consultants.”

Professionals in the HR field are involved in employee recruiting and hiring, training and development, compensation and benefits, and employee and labor relations. Employees in HR may document and record employee information and maintain confidential records. Communications skills are essential to many of the functions of an HR professional, particularly in the process of recruiting, interviewing and hiring.

“HR used to be called personnel management, and involved just hiring and processing employees,” Hogan said. “HR management now has an important strategic role, including planning HR needs for the future. Advancement opportunities are open, and trained HR professionals can move up quickly.” Students who complete the associate degree program are encouraged to go on to complete their bachelor’s degree, he said.

Human Resource representatives answer questions regarding examinations, eligibility, salaries, benefits and other pertinent information. They arrange for advertising or posting of job vacancies and notify eligible workers of position availability. HR representatives provide advice and guidance to managers, and assist all employees with job-related personnel issues.

Students in the Pierce program have an opportunity to join the Society for Human Resource Management, a national organization with more than 150,000 members that publishes a monthly journal and has “a Web site full of resources,” Hogan said. The organization offers valuable assistance with professional certification, competency testing and continuing education.

Pierce College is believed to be the only community college in the area to offer specialized training in HR management. Pierce College Puyallup is at 1601 39th Ave. S.E., and Pierce College Fort Steilacoom is at 9401 Farwest Drive S.W., Lakewood.

For more information on the Human Resource program, call Rick Hogan at (253) 840-8360 or visit our Web site at http://www.pierce.ctc.edu/programs/programlist/bus.php3.