Take a Class, Become a Whiz at Excel
Duke offers low-cost computer, management and work skills classes
Tara Batemon, a staff assistant in the Divinity School, routinely keeps lists of alumni, attendance at lectures and registration for programs.
For help managing the data, she took "Excel Level 2," an eight-hour class offered by Duke's Learning and Organization Development (L&OD), a unit within Duke Human Resources.
"I knew that Excel could help with all that text data, but I needed some structure to learn how," she said.
Learning and Organization Development offers computer, management and work skills classes ranging from $55 for a half-day session to $149 for a full-day class on Excel. All classes are listed in the Learning Management System, available through the "MyLearning" tab of Duke@Work, the self-service website for faculty and staff.
Of the technical skills classes, Microsoft Excel and Access are the most popular, according to Bob Brigham, staff specialist for L&OD. He said commercial vendors typically charge about $250 for day-long computer workshops and $300 per day for professional and management workshops, which make the L&OD classes a great value. "And our instructors are familiar with campus and Health System organizations and tailor the professional workshops accordingly," he said.
Since departments usually cover class fees, the professional development offered to employees becomes a shared investment between Duke Human Resources, the department and the employee, said Len Johnson, assistant vice president for Human Resources .
"We know that for some people it is difficult to get away for a class, but we hope that participants return to their work with new ideas and skills that enrich them personally and also add value to their departments," he said.
Batemon said the hands-on instruction by Srini Iyengar, senior technology partner for L&OD, gave her plenty of ideas about how to use Excel to produce reports that are easier to read and simple to update.
"I love that there is a `Lookup' function that will allow me to easily pull out information like a last name from a long string of data, or slice the data according to how many years someone has been an alumnus," Batemon said.
She's already planning how to use Excel for handling the logistics of a major departmental retreat in August. Once that's over, she hopes to attend another L&OD class to delve into the mysteries of Excel pivot tables.
"Srini is really excited about sharing how to get more out of Excel," Batemon said. "It's kind of contagious."