By STACEY PETSCHAUER Shelby State program designed to move students into job market By STACEY PETSCHAUER THE DAILY NEWS Shelby State Community College will implement six one-year Certificate of Credit programs this fall that will prepare students for entry-level jobs in a variety of fields. The programs will be offered through the departments of Business Technology, Education, and Clinical Nutrition, Dietetics and Food Service Administration, said Calvin L. Burns, public relations director for Shelby State. Three certificate programs will be offered through the business technology department, said Catherine Green, head of the department. Courses begin on Tuesday, Sept. 8. The first program is in accounting, and will prepare students to perform basic accounting, computing and clerical work, she said. The program consists of 21 credit hours. Students can choose which computer programs they would like to focus on, Green said. Among those being offered are Lotus, Microsoft Excel and Access, a popular course for accountants in terms of keeping up with information, she said. "Students will also take a computerized accounting course, in which they will learn everything from budgeting to check-writing for a business," she said. The second program in the business department offers students a Computer Software Specialist Certificate, and is made up of 18 credit hours. Green said Keyboarding 1 is a pre-requisite for the program, but students can bypass the course if they have a minimum typing speed of 30 words per minute with less than five errors. She said courses in the program include Keyboarding 2, Computers and Business and an introduction to software packages in word processing, spreadsheets and database management. Other course requirements of the program are Word Processing 2 and a computer data-entry course. The third program is Retailing and Merchandising, and it prepares students for a career in the retail field. This program offers courses in salesmanship, approaches to merchandising, applied techniques, principles of retailing and courses in planning and control, Green said. She said the programs are open for anyone who is interested in starting careers in these fields and are designed to prepare students to enter a new job within one year. "The program is set up so students can complete them in one year if they are able to attend full-time, and even students who are not able to go full-time can probably get them done within a year," she said. The education department will offer two new certificate programs that will consist of 18 credit hours each, said Dr. Betty Johnson, head of the departments of education and criminal justice. The first program, which offers a Child Care Administration Certificate, is designed to prepare students to become directors and lead teachers of child care programs, Johnson said. Students will learn how to supervise, as well as how to write proposals, plan budgets and perform other administrative duties, she said. "Its a combination of business courses and education courses," she said. The second program that will be offered through the education department is the Child Care Teaching Certificate Program. This program is designed to give students the knowledge and skills to walk into a classroom of preschool children and carry out a curriculum. "They will receive information that is designed to help them actually design a curriculum and make lesson plans," she said. "A great deal of involvement in the courses is on development, because if the students understand development, they will be able to plan more effectively for the children." Aside from the new certificate programs, the department offers also an early childhood education associates degree that will transfer to four-year colleges and universities to prepare students to be certified teachers, Johnson said. She said Shelby States education department is designed to bring needed academic training to the community. "These programs will help us to carry out our mission more effectively to have the programs that meet the needs of persons in child care as well as those persons who would want to go on to four-year colleges," she said. The Department of Clinical Nutrition, Dietetics and Food Service Administration will offer a Technical Certificate in Food Preparation, Safety and Service. This one-year program is designed for individuals interested in a food services career. Each programs courses will be offered at more than one of Shelby States campuses in the Memphis area, including the Midtown, Southeast Memphis and Whitehaven locations. Anyone interested in any of the six courses can call the college at 544-5900 for more information.