Online Professional Trainings and Certifications

     










    Lake Forest College is pleased to partner with 4ProPlus/4MedPlus Professional Trainings and Certifications to give graduating seniors an additional opportunity to enhance your resume with sought-after technical skills that will help you to become a more competitive candidate for careers across the Pathways.

    Through this partnership, you have the opportunity to register for two of the online training courses listed below related to Career Readiness, Graphic/Web Design and Development, Database Technology, Health Care, Programming Languages, and/or Legal. These courses are funded by Lake Forest College and made available to you at no charge. Upon completion of these courses, you will receive a certificate of proficiency, providing you with a tangible endorsement of your knowledge and skills that is marketable to employers in a variety of industries.

    These courses are self-paced and available to you as on-demand webinar workshops to be completed any time at your convenience. Courses are presented using the unique 4ProPlus/4MedPlus 10/10/10 learning method. Modules include 10 minutes of reading, followed by 10 minutes of audio/video/animated review, and a 10 question assessment. Some questions include interactive exercises and all courses include the final exam, certificate and professional seal upon completion. Courses vary in length depending upon subject matter and credential (see further details in descriptions below).

    Your online training courses of choice will be available to you by Wednesday. December 13, and you will have access to them for one year from the date you receive access. Registration is now open, and the deadline to enroll is 
    Friday, December 1, 2023 at 5p.m. CT.

    Please email us at careers@lakeforest.edu if you have any questions.

     


    Course Descriptions

    Foundational Professional Skills for Career Readiness for careers in all industries

    • Communication Strategies Proficiency (1 hour): This course teaches students how to build a strategic attitude toward professional and personal communication, develop effective crisis management skills, understand the power of social media, leverage the power of organizational communication to improve reputation and establish cross-cultural intelligence and tolerance in the workplace.
    • Growth Mindset Training - Become Your Greatest Self (1.5 hours): A growth mindset can impact potential for success. In this course, the learner will understand how best to adopt a powerful mindset to move forward and achieve important goals. Students will learn the importance of awareness, investing in mental health, and healthy living, as well as learn ways to reduce stress, experience more joy, and discover the freedom of being yourself.
    • Thinking Critically (2 hours): This course helps the learner build the problem-solving skills necessary to carve out solutions in the workplace. This course enables excellence by promoting critical thinking, developing acceptance of results and establishing a problem-solving attitude. Learn how to develop an open state of mind, configure a problem statement, analyze a complex problem, assemble potential solutions, and prepare a proposal to solve a problem.
    • Workplace Diversity Awareness (1 hour): This course explains the benefits of diversity and is designed to increase employee awareness, help build teamwork, and minimize internal conflict creating healthier and better performing teams. It introduces the concept of unconscious bias and explains how identity filters create barriers to inclusion, relationships, and performance. It also explores the challenges to diversity in the workplace. This course teaches learners the basics of identity filters, subconscious bias, and stereotypes, which are barriers not just to diversity and inclusion, but also to good communication, teamwork, and performance.
    Technical Skills for Career Readiness for careers in all industries
    • Cyber Security (1 hour): In this course, the learner will review models of malware and common security breach threats; build skills in prevention methods to increase overall data and network security and review basic concepts associated with modern cyber security protocols and practices.
    • Chat GPT: Learn AI Like a Pro (1.5 hours): In this course, learn how to effectively leverage Chat GPT in a variety of industries and applications. From marketing to work and learning, finance, and programming, tap the limitless potential of this cutting-edge technology. Students will learn how to understand the Chat GPT interface and limitations, use Chat GPT for language tasks such as translation and summarization, and employ Chat GPT for financial and data applications including algorithmic trading and back-testing.
    • Excel Proficiency 1 (4.5 hours): This course introduces students to Microsoft Office Excel 2019/365, with a focus on basics including performing calculations, modifying a worksheet, formatting a worksheet, printing workbooks, managing workbooks, adding borders and colors to worksheets, and simple Excel customization. This course also covers working with multiple worksheets and workbooks, sharing and protecting workbooks, automating workbook functionality, using Lookup functions and formula auditing, importing and exporting data, working with forms and controls.
    • Excel Proficiency 2 (4.5 hours): This course will teach students intermediate level skills with Microsoft Office Excel 2019/365 including working with multiple worksheets and workbooks, sharing and protecting workbooks, automating workbook functionality, using Lookup functions and formula auditing, importing and exporting data, internationalizing workbooks, intermediate customization options, and working with forms and controls.
    • PowerPoint Proficiency (3 hours): This course will teach students the primary features and functions of PowerPoint 2019/365 including how to develop an optimized PowerPoint presentation, perform advanced text editing operations, add graphical elements, format graphical elements and best practices to deliver a cohesive slide-show presentation.
    • Social Media Strategy Proficiency (1 hour): This course is designed to achieve two objectives. It gives you the social analytics tools, and training to help you become an influencer on social media. The course also gives you the knowledge and resources to build a complete social media marketing strategy – from consumer insights to final justification metrics.

    Business Skills and Legal Training: Become more competitive for roles such as a Legal Assistant, Project Manager and Human Resources Manager

    • Human Resources Management Proficiency (1 hour): The HR department is not just a component of an organization - it can represent the hub of professional team engagement. In this course, learn to develop the best teams by selecting, developing, supporting and engaging its members. Students will learn how to understand talent acquisition, create performance management, employ engagement for retention, encourage workplace socialization, and deploy effective discipline.
    • Introductory Project Management Proficiency (6.5 hours): The Introduction to Project Management course is a comprehensive course based on the curriculum advised by the Project Management Institute for their Project Management Professional (PMP) certification. The course covers the basic concepts of project initiation, planning and execution. The course is based on real-world scenarios which provides an opportunity for an interactive and practical knowledge-gaining experience; outlining the basics of key positions in the field of project management. The course also helps the students to prepare for the PMI certification exams.
    • Legal Office Administration Proficiency (5 hours): The Certificate of Introductory Legal Concepts Proficiency focuses on introductory legal concepts, designed for beginner level professionals who are looking to pursue a career in the field of law. The course covers many fundamental topics and concepts such as criminal law, types and layers of courts, types of trials and juries and appellate courts. In addition to these topics, the course also examines potential career pathways for prospective lawyers and legal secretaries.

    Design, Marketing, and Media: Become more competitive for positions in fields such as communications, publishing, design, art direction, marketing, non-profit marketing and development, media/media relations

    • Blog and Search Engine Optimization Skills Proficiency (2 hours): In this Blogging for business course, learn how to write blogs that generate leads and sales - learn professional modern blog and article writing techniques. This course assumes for a basic understanding if AIDA principles of copywriting, and expands those skills to incorporate with solid SEO techniques to get people to ENGAGE. This course balances good sales and relevant blog copy writing techniques with SEO tricks of the trade to get your copy in front of the right audience for a successful content campaign every time.
    • Building Websites with Photoshop CC (5 hours): Learn to build a web page from scratch using Photoshop! This course covers how to leverage the Photoshop interface to streamline web design. Explore the various grid systems, wireframes and UI designs.  Once you're satisfied with your design, this course will show you how to extract the HTML and CSS that will bring your design to life, and how to customize the code to suit your needs. So if you're interested in web design for fun or profit, this course will set you up with everything you will need.
    • Internet Marketing Fundamentals (1 hour): This digital marketing course teaches a wide range of techniques used in online media and digital outreach to implement effective marketing strategies. At the completion of this course, the learner will have a better understanding of the fundamentals of the digital marketing landscape and will develop new skills using tools to help digitally create, distribute, promote and price products and services.
    • Learn Adobe Premiere Pro and Audition Fast (1.5 hours): This course is designed to help you learn how to edit and produce videos using Adobe Premiere Pro and Adobe Audition FAST! This course will show you what to do from importing your video footage into Premiere Pro, through the necessary color, audio and cutting editing processes then onto how to export your video with music.
    • Media and Public Relations (1 hour): This course is designed to improve public image and brand value through effective corporate communication and networking. These skills are crucial to advancing a unique selling proposition. This program is designed to deliver, practical, hands-on approaches to help develop strong communications skills.
    • Working with InDesign CC (2.5 hours): InDesign is the premiere page layout application used in modern desktop publishing. In this easy to follow, hands-on course, veteran software trainer Geoff Blake will introduce you to InDesign, and get you up to speed quickly. First, you’ll discover the InDesign interface and learn how to navigate through document layouts quickly. Then, you’ll see how to set up your documents, including how layouts need to be set for commercial reproduction. Next, it’s on to handling text, text frames, and how to thread text frames together. Then, you’ll see how to work with a variety of shapes, mix new colors, and import graphics into your layouts. Finally, you’ll see how to convert your layouts to static images and PDF documents for sharing with co-workers.
    Database Technology: Become more competitive for positions such as Data Analyst, Database Administrator (DbA), Web Developer
    • Fundamentals of MySQL (5 hours): If you're new to web development, MySQL is the most popular database technology out there. This free technology is used to create the majority of database dependent websites (which most are). This course will start at the very beginning, with lessons on what MySQL is and how it works, to installing MySQL, then moving on to all the basic skills you'll need to use MySQL in the real world. You will also learn the popular new MySQLi framework. MySQLi is the next generation of MySQL, and if you know this now you will be ahead of the competition for a long time to come. This course also includes two real life projects. After you've gained an understanding of how MySQL works, you'll learn how this technology is used on real websites.
    Health Care: Become more competitive for positions such as Medical Scribe, Clinical Research Associate, Electronic Health Record Technician, Veterinary Technician, and Outcomes and Evaluation Researcher
    • HIPAA, Health & Safety and EHR Proficiency & Population Health Proficiency (7.5 hours): The complete healthcare learning path is designed to address critical areas of HIPAA  awareness, comprehensive infection prevention and a hands-on understanding of the electronic health record (EHR) workflow. An excellent skillset bundle for professionals looking to apply for roles in the healthcare industry. The Certificate of Population Health Proficiency (CPOPP) Certificate provides an introduction to Population Health and POP Health Management as it is addressed in the current Health IT landscape. This course describes Population Health Management for success in current healthcare organizations. It describes the principals of PHM. Its potential to improve care while reducing cost, government and private incentives for adoption, risk stratification, data analytics and more.
    • Certified Veterinary (Animal Care) Foundational Learning Proficiency (6 hours): This course is designed to provide those working (or planning to work) in a veterinary setting with foundational learning around the basics of animal care and veterinary office operations. This complete learning path includes 6 certificates of proficiency (Introduction to Animal Care Basics, Infection Prevention in Animal Care Environments, Veterinary Healthcare Site OSHA Requirements, Electronic Record Management/EVMR Skills, Payment Options and Data Security Management, and Veterinary Compassionate Care Training) as well as the CVFLP certification at completion of all elements of training.
    Programming Languages: Become more competitive for positions such as Data Analyst (Health Informatics, Computational Biology/Chemistry), Computational Modeling, Laboratory Research Assistant, Cyber Programmer/Cyber Security Analyst, Application/Software Developer, Quantitative Trader
    • C# Programming Crash Course (9 hours): Knowing the suite of C languages developed by Microsoft is a guaranteed career booster. They’re powerful, in-demand, and can create almost any kind of application or software under the sun. C# is generally considered to be the least confusing of the family. This crash course will teach you everything you need to know and help you become a C# proficient coder in a matter of hours.
    • Data Visualization with Python and Matplotlib (6 hours): More and more people are realizing the vast benefits and uses of analyzing big data. That's where data visualization comes in; creating easy to read, simple to understand graphs, charts and other visual representations of data. Python 3 and Matplotlib are the most easily accessible and efficient to use programs used today for data analytics. 
    • Python Programming Basics (3.5 hours): Widely regarded as one of the most simple and versatile programming languages out there, Python is used for web programming, video game building, microchip testing, desktop apps, and so much more. Used by programmers, developers, designers and everyone in between, it's one of the easiest programming languages to learn, and definitely the best starting point for new coders. This course will not only give you an understanding of the code, but will enable you to create and run real world Python programs too.

      Registration

      Registration is no longer available because the registration deadline has passed.