“We are committed to training and education and this year’s catalog is the most extensive ever,” says Greg Smith, CEO of CU*NorthWest.  This year CU*NorthWest as a part of the larger cuasterisk.com network will offer over 95 web-based conferences, 36 formal classroom trainings, and more than 7 regional training events on product specific topics.  In addition, this year’s catalog includes a CU*NorthWest section for training events specifically targeted at our clients.

The education topics encompass areas derived from client need as identified through customer service calls, months with focused learning to support different credit union operational functions and CU*BASE application, and more.

Other scheduled events available to clients include a series of workshops and roundtable events for Leadership teams and CEO’s, hosted by cuasterisk.com partner, CU*Answers, in Grand Rapids-MI.

According to CU*Answers, for clients that cannot always send staff to the Grand Rapids area, Regional Training Events provide another opportunity for training and networking with clients in a particular area of the country.  Currently there are three events held each year: Wisconsin, East Coast, and Northern Michigan.

The CUSO continued to say that course topics are determined after surveying the interests of attending credit unions, and often incorporates special training on recent or impending releases and new software.

For information about CU*Answers Education resources, access http://www.cuanswers.com/education/.

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The recently issued 2010 Education Catalog has over 60 days of training scheduled, including over 50 web conferences and more than 80 classroom events.  For credit unions seeking more convenient options, Online and OnDemand courses are available free of charge.  Additional classes throughout the year will be announced due to software enhancements and client requests.

The CUSO is excite to be offering new classes this year with content focusing on compliance offerings, WordPress with SiteControl, multiple Lending and eDOC Innovations classes as well as a new 5300 Call Report class.  Education Specialists at CU*Answers are available to assist credit unions in designing a comprehensive training plan designed to meet specific needs of individual credit unions.

According to Laura Welch-Vilker, Manager of Education Services for CU*Answers, “We’re really excited about the upcoming year.  Our education offerings have been so widely accepted that we’ve added an additional Education Services Specialist and increased the amount of classes offered for 2010.”

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This class is designed to teach credit union supervisory personnel the various tools used by CU*BASE to prepare for audits and examinations.  According to the CUSO, often the results of an audit or examination contact come down to how well the credit union can communicate their controls, management concepts, and the results of their activity.  CU*Answers has a full-time Compliance Officer with experience as both a credit professional and state examiner. This class will focus not only on audit preparation but on managing the application of data processing-related compliance issues, with CU*Answers as a partner.

Other objectives for discussion include exploring the credit union’s role in waving the regulation “red flag”, reviewing the reports CU*BASE generates used for ALM decision making, and investigating the information required in basic ALM Models.

This class is offered via web conference and registration for this course is required at least 2 days in advance, which can be done at http://cuanswers.com/education/syllabi/?course=2.62.

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Learn from recognized industry experts, and apply your expertise to real credit union challenges. This year-long program consists of two on-site intensive learning sessions at Pepperdine University and project work throughout the year with peers in the credit union community.

Designed to be an applied learning experience, participants will be required to demonstrate the knowledge, skill sets, and expertise they have learned to earn the designation of Certified Collaboration Professional. The Faculty will focus on new ways of thinking, how to build businesses and operate them in new ways.

You’ll learn how periods of economic turbulence provide a unique opportunity to start new businesses, launch disruptive product and market strategies, and strengthen customer/member relationships.

Here’s what you’ll get for $4,995

• 3 days at the sunny campus of Pepperdine University in Malibu, California
• 3 nights lodging at the beautiful Villa Graziadio Executive Center at Pepperdine University
• Delicious meals during session days are included
• 21 full hours of high-powered instructional classroom time
• This program is a full year-long commitment
• Small class sizes for intimate participative lessons
• Faculty consists of both successful industry executives and experienced Pepperdine professors
• 5+ hours of webinar sessions throughout the year
• Mentor led Applied Collaboration and Business Network Project enforces practical experience
• The Certified Collaboration Professional designation is jointly endorsed by NACUSO and Pepperdine University
• Over 9 hours of networking time with other leading industry professionals
• Return to Pepperdine a year later to present your project for critique by peers and faculty
• Identify the strategic and operational areas where collaboration and business networks will have the greatest payoff
• Learn how to establish and maintain collaborative relationships.
• Identify the funding strategies for building and growing business networks
• Understand the legal issues related to effective collaborations.

Registration is now open but class size is limited.

More information and Registration available online at https://www.nacuso.org/pepperdine.

Each year, CU*Answers arranges an extensive calendar of courses delivered to its clients in several different ways. This year, 134 different courses are being offered in several different venues such as Regional Training Events, Focus Groups, and Online Courses. In addition to its classroom training schedule, over 157 courses will be able via web conference.

The CUSO holds several university weeks throughout the year, two upcoming weeks include April 20- 24th, and May 18-22nd. The schedule is extensive, including two new Loan courses, and new courses on e-document strategies. Other courses offered included Marketing/Sales, Teller/Member Service, and more. For more information or to register for courses, visit the education section of http://www.cuanswers.com.

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Each year, CU*Answers arranges an extensive calendar of courses delivered to its clients in several different ways. This year, 134 different courses are being offered in several different venues such as Regional Training Events, Focus Groups, and Online Courses. In addition to its classroom training schedule, over 157 courses will be able via web conference.

The CUSO holds several university weeks throughout the year, two upcoming weeks include April 20- 24th, and May 18-22nd. The schedule is extensive, including two new Loan courses, and new courses on e-document strategies. Other courses offered included Marketing/Sales, Teller/Member Service, and more. For more information or to register for courses, visit the education section of http://www.cuanswers.com.

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Four full weeks of CU*Answers University will be offered in 2008 at its Grand Rapids, Michigan facility, as well as one full week of Web Conference Education. In total, CU*Answers will offer over 125 CU*Answers University sessions to credit union staff throughout the year.

CU*Answers reiterated its commitment to on-going staff education by highlighting an average of 50 education sessions a month being completed in 2007, with an even greater number scheduled for 2008. In addition to classroom training, CU*Answers announced 41 classes offered via its Online University; various regional training events and Focus Group meetings. CU*Answers says its educators work with over 2,000 credit union employees each year.

CU*Answers also stated it will maintain its long standing commitment for never invoicing a client for attending personal education sessions. They believe staff education represents a joint investment between CU*Answers and its clients for meeting the goal of developing “power users” of its CU*BASE processing system.

Finally, CU*Answers also announced its continued relationship with Harland Educational Services for providing Job Enrichment classes to credit union staff for becoming better employees — including 200+ classes for staff to participate in.

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CU*Answers recently hosted its 2nd Annual CEO Strategies Week at the Frederik MeijerGardens and Sculpture Park located in Grand Rapids, MI. The week provided a unique andinteractive forum for credit union CEO’s to join as peers in a “live blog”, attend a series ofworkshops, roundtable discussions and “CEO School” intended to assist CEO’s in being betterinformed about their credit union using the CU*BASE technology tools that are readily availableat their fingertips. CEO Strategies Week promoted collaboration as being a solution and acompetitive edge for growth.

The theme for Strategies Week was “Real Work” and it facilitated considerable discussionamong CEO’s for examining new ways to partner together and collaborate; in essence, torevolutionize the industry in a new way. Randy Karnes, CEO of CU*Answers says “CEOStrategies Week is intended to promote collaboration as being a solution and competitive edgefor growth. Can we inspire a new wave of innovative collaborators before it is too late? Do wehave the components to collaborate efficiently?”

The Schedule of Events included:

• Collaboration Workshop – a CEO brainstorming session about the merits of aCU*Answers Scholarship Program that assists credit unions by providing reduced or insome cases, free data processing services from CU*Answers as based upon variousqualification criteria.
• CEO School — a day of mentoring and coaching on how a credit union CEO can use CU*BASE tools to better interact with their Board of Directors and Management Teams.
• CEO Roundtable — featured a face-to-face discussion where CEO’s were asked to share information about their credit union’s business plan, how they see the marketplace changing, and the potential for new partnerships over the coming year. Each CEO was responsible for presenting what they wished for the credit union industry, as well as identifying the biggest challenge facing their credit union. Another CEO was then responsible for addressing an issue presented by a peer CEO and providing a possible solution.

Throughout the week, Karnes challenged the group to think in a new and collaborative manner.As Karnes presented “every CEO needs to develop a new mindset where no rule can’t be bent or opportunity be harvested, if people have the right frame of mind and initiative for getting things done. There is power in people thinking and working together!”Pat Lowney, CEO of Lakeview CU located in Neenah, WI says “I attended the CEO StrategiesWeek for the first time and found it to be very beneficial. It wrapped up nearly a month of steady traveling for me, almost all of it business. This was a great wrap up because the message tied in very well with things I’m hearing from all over. We are going through times of great change.”

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CU*Answers Web Services team is taking its CUSO client base to new heights with new Web Hosting Platform capabilities. This platform allows credit union staff to personally administer select modifications and updates to their sites and manage their CU*Answers hosted e-mail addresses. Additionally, it provides a display of critical statistics via a comprehensive graphical web hosting control panel.

Plans are in the works for additional enhancements that will enable clients to even further control their own site building and content management. With these features, clients will be able to perform various updates and changes on the fly, without any lag time involved. Without a doubt, this new web hosting platform allows clients to exert greater site control, schedule changes as desired, and budget future costs more effectively.

Not only does CU*Answers create and maintain credit union web sites; it also has branched out to other credit union associated entities. NACUSO Executive Assistant Shauna Luna says “I highly recommend the CU*Answers Web Services team. They are knowledgeable and quick to respond when I have questions. Many times we have projects that come up at the last minute and their turn-around is usually within 1-2 business days. Typically, it gets addressed even the same day.”

“The Web Services team is in high demand from CU*Answers clients. From new site design, performing site updates and custom requests, to exploring new territory with Content Management Tools and RSS (Really Simple Syndication) content feeds; you don’t want to miss what’s happening here. Best of all, we are just getting started! Our clients and their members are savvier each day for what the value of having a truly interactive and effective web site can mean to drive new member opportunities” says Web Services manager David Damstra.

Some other recent projects completed by the Web Services team include:

• Online Education Registration for CU*Answers University training classes.
• Retailer Direct; allowing any retailer to present an electronic, secured loan application directly to a loan underwriters workstation and eliminate all re-keying. Retailer Direct also includes risk based pricing, auto-decisioning and forms print features.
• A new partnership with Prime Alliance, providing a web-based Mortgage Application (and optional LOS system) solution delivered directly to a loan officer’s desktop.
• An Xtend Financial Services CUSO Shared Branching web site that provides members a web map tool for locating every shared branch location.

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