Compensation Best Practices, CERT
for the Graduate Certificate in Compensation Best Practices
Compensation Best Practices Certificate Overview:
Develop skills for the negotiation process as the interactive basis for union-management relations; conflict and conflict resolution as part of the negotiating process; wage and other effects of collective bargaining. Learn about hiring, promotion, evaluation, discrimination, raiding, job definition, pay schemes, benefits, and design of work.
The online certificate program consists of a variety of tracks and each track has three courses (12 credit hours total, four credit hours per course). Each course in the certificate program is either six or eight weeks long. You can choose to engage in one or more certificate program tracks. Once you have received one or more certificates, and decide you are interested in the full Master of Human Resources and Industrial Relations (MHRIR) program, you are able to apply for the online master’s program.
Each certificate program track takes between 7 to 10 months to complete.
How do I know if the certificate program is for me?
Are you…
- working in HR with no HR background?
- employed by an organization that provides tuition reimbursement, but the reimbursement amount isn’t equivalent to a full degree program?
- seeking to gain more knowledge in HR but either unable to or prefer not to attend graduate school?
- currently in HR and seeking to freshen-up your knowledge? This group may include, for example, individuals who started in HR, left HR for different reasons or even left the labor force.
- seeking to enter the HR field or change positions within your organization to HR, but do not want to commit/can’t commit to a full degree?
- an individual who wants to know more about HR in general prior to embarking on a full degree program?
If you answered ‘yes’ to one or more of these questions, then this certificate program may be the perfect fit for you.
What is required to apply for one of these certificate programs?
Please note all applicants must have received a bachelor’s degree prior to starting one of our certificate program tracks.
- Application
- Resume
- Official Transcripts
- English Proficiency Exam for international students
- Phone Interview – Contacted after application is reviewed for a phone conversation regarding interest in the certificate program.
for the Graduate Certificate in Compensation Best Practices
Graduation Requirements
Minimum Cumulative GPA: 2.75
Minimum hours required for certificate completion: 12 hours
Students who have successfully completed the Compensation Best Practices certificate may use the certificate courses to satisfy the following degree requirements, provided they apply and are admitted to the degree program:
- 8 to 12 hours of core coursework requirements and/or 4 elective course credits of the MHRIR degree program. Certificate may fulfill the following distribution requirements: Labor Markets and Employment, Union Management and Labor Relations Policy, and Human Resource Management and Organization Behavior
Students in the certificate program will choose three out of the five course options listed below. Students will need to complete 12 credit hours total to be awarded a certificate. The courses do not need to be taken in any particular order.
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| LER 561 | Compensation Systems | 4 |
| LER 542 | Collective Bargaining | 4 |
| LER 545 | Economics of Human Resources | 4 |
| LER 543 | Workplace Dispute Resolution | 4 |
| LER 535 | Negotiation Principles in HR Context | 4 |
for the Graduate Certificate in Compensation Best Practices
Below is a subset of learning outcomes from our MHRIR degree program. These outcomes are specific to the Compensation Best Practices Certificate. LER utilized HRCI's Human Resources Body of Knowledge to inform our learning objectives and has recently (January 2022) received “exceeds expectations” score from the Office of the Provost Learning Outcomes Assessment of its MHRIR degree program.
- Students will apply Business Management and Strategy to shape immediate and long-term HR activities, practices, and policies. Students will critically examine the complex link between strategy and business practices, understand and apply workforce metrics to drive decision-making, and apply a strategic lens to international human resources.
- Students will understand the structural elements of compensation system design and evaluate an organization’s Compensation and Benefits structure relative to market forces, union agreements, and legal requirements.
- Students will apply and adhere to statutory and legal requirements when administering HR policies and procedures and employ Risk Management strategies to protect the employer from loss and liability and comply with labor law.
- To support Human Resource Development, students will support organizational priorities by managing employee performance through evaluating gaps between employee performance and the desired state, building programs to address these gaps, and designing strategies for motivating employees.
- Students will be able to use critical thinking and problem-solving skills to act strategically when making decisions in business and in life.
Graduate Degree Programs in Labor & Employment Relations
- Human Resources & Industrial Relations, MHRIR
- Human Resources & Industrial Relations, PhD
- Online Program
- Certificate Programs
for the Graduate Certificate in Compensation Best Practices
School of Labor and Employment Relations
Dean: Simon Restubog
Director of Graduate Studies: Amit Kramer
On-campus Programs Contact: Becky Barker
Online Programs Contact: Eden Haycraft
Labor & Employment Relations website
Labor & Employment Relations faculty
504 East Armory Avenue, Champaign, IL 61820
(217) 333-2381
Labor & Employment Relations email: ler-admissions@mx.uillinois.edu