Education Choices

CU*Answers prides itself in offering many different education opportunities for our clients.  We understand that one style of training doesn’t suite all learners, so we are dedicated to offering many choices.  Whether it be online learning, classroom training, workshops, or training via web conference, we want to make sure you get what you need to become a power user of CU*Answers products and services. 

Below is an overview of the many educational opportunities CU*Answers offers to its clients:

Learning Style	Description
Classroom Training	In 2007 we are offering six weeks of classroom training held at our main office in Grand Rapids, Michigan.  Each day of training has a theme to make the best use of your employees’ time.
Regional Training Events	These events give credit unions more local training so they can increase their participation without having to send the entire staff to the Grand Rapids area.
Workshops	Although our classroom training is very effective for most courses, sometimes clients just want that hands-on experience, especially when they are setting up a new product, configuring a new service, or even beginning to use one of the subsidiary processes.  Let us customize a workshop for you and your team based on your needs.
Individual Training	If you just can’t make to one of or regularly scheduled classroom sessions, we are happy to schedule an individual session for you or your team.  Training can be held either at CU*Answers or your CU site, via classroom sessions or even via web conference.
Training Library: Bedrock CCU	Do you need to train a new staff member, but don’t want them to post transactions to real accounts or open up memberships that are not real?  You need our training library: Bedrock Community CU.
Web Conferences	With each new year comes more demand for classes to be held via web conference.  We hear you!  In addition to offering release training and special events via web conference, this year we have developed a special schedule of web conference training.
Focus Groups	To ensure we meet the needs of our clients, we periodically offer focus groups to get client input on projects in development. This year we are incorporating some of the focus groups into the CU*Answers University weeks, to make it easier for out-of-town clients to attend.
Online Learning	CU*Answers offers an online campus free of charge to all of our clients.  The CU*Answers University campus is a combination of CU*BASE courses and soft skill industry courses to make your staff better member service employees.
CU University	If your credit union wants more online education for your staff, the CU University is for you.  CUU offers over 200 courses with individual development plans for everyone on your credit union staff.
Consumer Education	Online education for your members!  Our partnership with Harland Educational Services lets you provide financial consumer information to your members via your website.

Classroom Training

Classroom training was originally developed simply to educate our clients on the CU*BASE software, but over the years it has evolved into so much more.  These sessions are designed to encourage client interaction, gather ideas for new software development, and give our clients an opportunity to discuss the industry and best practices with their peers. 
Come join us and learn what your peers are being challenged with in the credit union industry, and brainstorm with them about how to hit those challenges head on!
NOTE:  In order to provide a good learning experience for everyone, we do not include web participants in any of our regular classroom training sessions.

Regional Training Events

Regional Training Events give credit unions more local training so that they can increase their participation without having to send the entire staff to the Grand Rapids area.  These classes will be offered based on the activity and participation exhibited by the credit unions in each region.  Regional Training Events only work based on the leadership of the users.
Classes scheduled for these sessions are decided upon by the participating credit unions in each Regional Group.  Classes will be scheduled through Laura Welch-Vilker and communicated approximately two to three weeks prior to the next session’s start date.  The location for each set of classes is determined by the participating credit unions based on space availability for the participants.  You may also view the Regional Training Events Schedule.

Workshops

To help move from theory to actual hands-on, get-the-job-done training, it is sometimes necessary to get together with CU*Answers trainers in a hands-on “lab” environment.  CU*Answers encourages credit unions to take advantage of CU*Answers’ training room and workshop environment to actually enter the configuration and start the processing for many of the topics described in this catalog.
Workshops let your credit union plan a day to come to our offices, bringing the materials required to actually set up data on your own files, and work with our trainers to get the ball rolling.  The following topics are great workshop projects:

Misc. Member Account Forms and CD Forms Configuration It’s Me 247 Virtual Member Services (VMS) Configuration Planning for Electronic Lending and using the Household Database Marketing Clubs and Tiered Services Configuration Marketing Campaigns

Subsidiary Processing: Fixed Assets, Prepaids and Accrued Expenses Subsidiary Processing: Investments Collection Processing CU Financial Report Configuration CU Budgets and ALM Planning CU Designed Reports and Inquiries ... or any other topic you’d like!

• If you are interested in setting up a lab session, contact Laura Welch-Vilker.

Individual Training At CU*Answers or Your Site

Due to credit union personnel schedules, remote locations, and the various needs of our clients, we know it is not always possible for your credit union to commit to every one of our scheduled training events.  CU*Answers encourages credit unions to set up on-site training based upon their own needs and timing. 
If this 2007 training schedule doesn’t fit well with your credit union, maybe you should consider a special training session. Depending on the situation, there may be a fee for travel and out-of-pocket expenses for your assigned instructor.  All training time is free as part of your CU*Answers maintenance fees. 
Please understand that CU*Answers stresses the need for your credit union to also participate in our regularly scheduled classes.  Interaction with credit union colleagues is one of the strengths of CU*Answers University and key to your understanding of how CU*BASE can work in your credit union.  Either way, education is the only way your credit union will get its money’s worth from CU*Answers and its CU*BASE investment.
• To schedule a class at your credit union or to come to CU*Answers for special training classes, please contact Laura Welch-Vilker.

Training Credit Union Library: Bedrock Community CU

• Welcome to Bedrock Community Credit Union — a pretend credit union specially designed to meet the training needs of our online credit unions.  This credit union library is set up very much like a real credit union and can be used for training new and existing employees on key CU*BASE features. 
• As you can see, the name of the credit union was selected to distinguish it from your actual live files and add a little fun to your training routine.  With account names like “Fred Flintstone” and “Barney Rubble” you’re not likely to get the two confused! 
• Following is an outline of the basic features of the new Bedrock CCU training library:
• Scope - Activity can be performed in the following areas:
• Member Services (opening memberships/accounts, teller posting, account adjustments, etc.)
• Loan Processing (including all loan application functions)
• Member Inquiry, Phone Inquiry and Update functions
• Does not include Back Office, G/L, Management, Reports, or Configuration
• Features - Keep these things in mind when deciding how you will use Bedrock CCU in your training efforts:
• Shared library - The same training library is shared by all online credit unions; any accounts your credit union sets up will be visible to other credit unions.  You may choose to use a unique naming convention or reference number to help identify your own accounts, if you wish.
• Generic product configuration - Because the library can be used by everyone, share, certificate and loan products are set up to mirror typical configurations; they may not exactly match your own credit union’s product offerings.
• Generic fee structures - Again, fees are set up to match typical parameters.
• Printing directly to OUTQ - To avoid problems with hardware device and printer setup, all printed output will be sent directly to a temporary OUTQ (automatically cleared at the end of each day), which can be directed to a printer by the CU if and when desired.
• BOD/EOD/EOM - Just as with our “live” credit union files, normal daily and monthly processes will be run by CU*Answers on the Bedrock CCU files.
• Security - Access will be controlled through the use of special iSeries User Profiles assigned to your credit union upon your request.  IDs will have limited access; no configuration settings or other parameters can be changed.

Bedrock CCU is intended to give all online credit unions an easy and safe way to train new employees on member service functions, while also incorporating instruction on specific credit union policies and procedures for your new and existing employees. 
• If you would like to use Bedrock CU as part of your training program, you must contact Laura Welch-Vilker or Pauline VanZalen (ext. 170) to be configured for the special User IDs.

Web Conferences

Last year we added a new Web Conference Training Schedule to the Education Catalog, and the response was great.  The new schedule includes even more our most popular classroom courses, offered via the web using our new dedicated web studio. 
Web conferences can work well for clients either out of state, or even just out of the area.  There is a fee to cover the cost of the service, but in most cases the savings in travel expenses will more than outweigh this nominal fee. This style of training can also allow your credit union to have more staff members attend than might normally be able to travel to CU*Answers. 
In addition to this schedule, we will continue to offer our release training and other special events via web conference.  Also, if you have a special training need and would like a class to be set up for your credit union via web conference, please contact Laura Welch-Vilker.

Are your facilities set up to accommodate group web conference events for your staff?  All you need is a projector, a PC, a telephone with speaker, and a high-speed internet connection.  If you would like assistance in setting up a facility for web conferencing, please contact our Network Services team, and they would be happy to assist you. 
For the schedule of special web conference events already planned for this year, visit the web conferences page .

Focus Groups

As a CUSO, CU*Answers depends on the interactive involvement of its clients to drive the development of our products and services.  One way we do that is with Focus Groups.  These groups bring together credit union professionals from a specific discipline—lenders, member service leaders, webmasters—and give them direct interaction with the CU*Answers developers who are building solutions to meet their needs.
If you are interested in contributing your ideas for projects in development, please join us and take part in one or more focus groups.  This is where it all begins...clients interacting, sharing ideas and discussing industry needs to create the tools you use today! 
You’ll notice that we have attempted to incorporate focus group events into regular CU*Answers University training weeks whenever possible to make it easier for your staff to attend both!
See the focus group page for a list of current focus groups and a calendar of upcoming meetings.

Online Learning:  Web-Based Education At Your Fingertips

To supplement our classroom and face-to-face training, CU*Answers is pleased to offer the CU*Answers Online University Client Campus.  Over the past few years our focus has broadened and we wanted to find a way to provide education that didn’t just tell your staff how to push the right buttons, but actually helped them to become better employees—better tellers, better loan officers, better internal auditors and managers.  We found our solution in a partnership with Harland Educational Services (formerly MyDAS). 
Harland Educational Services provides state-of-the-art Learning Management Systems for some of the biggest credit unions in the country, with industry-recognized training in everything from compliance management to telephone skills.  This partnership gives you and your staff access to a very robust offering including a wide variety of industry courses as well as CU*BASE courses. 

Soft Skills Courses

• The Credit Union Difference (1 course)
• The Check 21 Act (1 course)
• Fraud School (4 courses)
• Loan Officer School (5 courses)
• Teller School (6 courses)
• Telephone Training School (7 courses)

CU*BASE Courses

• Welcome to CU*BASE GOLD (CTM 100)
• Preparing for Your Conversion to CU*BASE (CNV 100)
• Lending Basics (CLS 100)
• Menus, Screen, and Navigation (CTM 101)
• Member Inquiry (CTM 200)
• Phone Operator (CTM 201)
• Opening Memberships and Accounts (CTM 300)
• Teller Processing 1 (CTM 400)
• Teller Processing 2 (CTM 401)

We are continuing to develop more CU*BASE courses, so this list will keep growing!

Using the Online University

All of these courses are available to any employee of your credit union, from any CU*BASE terminal, at no charge.  The University can be accessed through the Net button on CU*BASE.  As you enter the Campus, CU*BASE will pass your credit union’s ID and password through so no one has to remember a password.  (If you want to take the courses from home or without logging in to CU*BASE, we can arrange that too.  Just contact lwelch-vilker@cuanswers.com to request your credit union’s login ID, password and the direct URL.) 
To access any of the available courses:

1. Log on to CU*BASE and click the NET icon
2. Click the CU*Answers University link (the CU*Answers Online University main screen will appear)
3. Click on My Courses on the left-hand panel
4. Click on Course Catalog
5. Click on a category to display the course titles, then click on one of the titles to begin your training

NOTE:  Since all Online University classes are hosted on MyDAS servers, staff will need Internet access in order to use this link. 

CUU: An Online University of Your Own

Want even more training for your staff?  Once you get your feet wet with the CU*Answers Online University campus, your credit union may get hungry for even more.  More courses, more control, more personalization to fit your credit union’s unique environment. 
Our partnership with Harland Educational Services means that your credit union can set up your own campus, including:

• The full course catalog of over 200 separate courses grouped into nearly 30 different schools
• Product information customized for your own staff
• Comprehensive Learning Management System (LMS) with tools to let you track individual student activity
• Individual Development Plans so supervisors and managers can define what their own employees need to learn
• Testing and certification features including management reporting and analysis tools

…..plus you’ll be able to include all of the same CU*BASE training courses that CU*Answers has developed for its own client campus.  Your CU will be able to administer user IDs for each of your individual employees, and track activity and progress towards development goals.
To learn more, contact Laura Welch-Vilker. 

Consumer Education for Your Members

CU*Answers has always believed in education as one of the best ways for credit union employees to provide better member service.  So CU*Answers has teamed up with our partner in online education, Harland Educational Services, to provide consumer financial education to your members via your web site.
These interactive education modules are fun, engaging ways to make financial concepts interesting and easy to understand. 
These web-based tools will not only make your members more knowledgeable and confident about managing their money, but will also help your staff as they talk to members about their financial service needs.  Help your members be more confident financial service customers. 
• To learn more or to sign up, contact the CU*Answers Webmaster at webmaster@cuanswers.com.