College Relations

One of the goals of the College Relations initiative is to promote mutually beneficial interaction between SHRM students and practicing HR Professionals. HRA of Greater Oak Brook's involvement in local colleges is part of a much larger effort by SHRM to promote the HR profession and to ensure students have a voice in the HR community.

Lewis University SHRM Student Chapter

The Lewis University student chapter is for current students interested in learning more about the field of Human Resources (HR) Management and pursuing a career in HR.  Our goal is to inform students and increase awareness of the HR profession. Our mission is to provide current information regarding the Human Resource profession and connect students with opportunities to network with local professionals, scholarship opportunities available through SHRM.org, and internship opportunities with local businesses.

The advantages of joining the student chapter are:

• Networking with local business leaders
• Potential internship and mentoring opportunities
• Connecting with other students who are passionate about human resources
• Scholarship opportunities
• Free attendance at virtual meetings of the HRA of Greater Oak Brook 
• Opportunity to learn about human resources from professionals in the field
  

Meetings are held at least once per month throughout the academic year.

Students interested in more information should contact Dr. Kami Tsai at [email protected].

HRA of Greater Oak Brook Members interested in volunteering with Lewis University’s Student SHRM Chapter should contact Heather Acerra at [email protected] or 309.370.7943.

College of DuPage

HRA of Greater Oak Brook works closely with the College of DuPage through their Human Resource Management (HRM) certificate program, which is designed to develop HR competencies required to launch and/or advance an HR career.  This program provides instruction in human resources management practices including recruitment and retention, compliance and policy development, benefits and compensation and overall HR strategy. Program participants have applied their learning to employment experiences ranging from small to large companies as well as departments of one. 

The COD Human Resources Management (HRM) Certificate is a two-semester/short-term credential consisting of the following coursework:

• First Semester: 
  • Management 2240 - Human Resources Management - 3 credit hours
    • The course provides an introduction to the study of HRM and familiarizes the student with the language of HR, including Employment Law, Job Analysis, Recruiting, Selection, Training and development, Performance Management, Compensation and benefits, Employee Relations, Employee Safety and Security, and Union/Labor Management Relations.
    • The course is offered each Fall, Spring, and Summer term in a variety of formats including face-to-face classroom, asynchronous online, and synchronous virtual class meeting formats.
    • Students who have previously attained their SHRM-CP or HRCI PHR certification and whose certification is active are eligible to earn credit for this course and move directly into the second-semester courses listed below
  • Second Semester:
    • Students complete COD’s HRM Certificate Learning Community integrating the following three 2-credit hour advanced HRM courses for a total of 6 credit hours during this second semester. Students complete the three courses concurrently through an experiential, integrated, and collaborative learning experience.
      • Management 2242 – Talent Acquisition & Retention
      • Management 2245 – Compensation, Benefits, & Total Rewards
      • Management 2248 – Strategic Human Resources Management
    • These three advanced courses are offered at COD’s main campus in Glen Ellyn each Fall and Spring semester in a face-to-face classroom experience.

HRA of Oak Brook members have partnered with COD students during their HRM Certificate coursework as mentors, informational interview partners, capstone presentation panelists, as well as employers through both internship opportunities and job openings offered to students and alumni. We also have a few HRA members who are adjunct professors on the COD HRM Faculty team.

More information on the COD HRM Certificate is available by contacting Jane Murtaugh, COD Professor and chair of the program, at [email protected] or on COD’s website at  https://catalog.cod.edu/programs-study/management/human-resource-management-hrm-certificate/.