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Graduating students weren’t the only people applauded for their accomplishments at Queen’s this past spring.

At a recent ceremony in Goodes Hall with colleagues cheering on, Financial Services handed out certificates to 42 staff members who completed the new online training program.

“I am proud of these employees who carved out time in their busy schedules to complete this certificate program,” says Donna Janiec, Associate Vice-Principal (Finance). “Ongoing professional development in this area is important for strengthening the university’s financial controls and improving the quality and efficiency of financial transactions processed by staff members.”

Heather Drouillard was among the group of employees who recently received their certificates. When she first learned of the program last year, she was relatively new to the university, having only worked six months as the departmental manager in the Department of Chemistry. She saw the program as an opportunity to better understand the big picture of Queen’s financial system.

“Oh yeah, it was an eye-opener,” she says with a laugh when asked if the certificate program met her expectations. “The program definitely provided clarity on a lot of little issues that I wasn’t quite sure about. And it also helped with some of the more Queen’s-specific issues. I had worked in a financial role at the University of Toronto for 15 years before coming to Queen’s, and obviously things are a little bit different here compared to Toronto.”

Ms. Drouillard and the other participants completed 27 core and two elective sessions. The sessions fell into different groups: introduction, accounting basics, procurement, managing specific funds and systems training.

All of the sessions were offered online and developed with input from business officers to ensure the learning material met the needs of participants.

“I liked that the program was entirely online. I found I could do the program at my own pace,” says Maggie Black, the departmental administrative assistant for the Department of Ophthalmology. “The sessions included videos and PowerPoint presentations, which accommodated different learning styles.”

Ms. Drouillard says she anticipates that the certificate program will have a long-lasting impact on her work at Queen’s.

“This certificate program will allow me to provide correct information and financial guidance to people within my department,” she says. “If I don’t have the answer, I know where I can go and who I can talk to for assistance.”

Heather Woermke, Controller at Financial Services, says she and Ms. Janiec are thrilled by the positive interest in the certificate program.

“It was a great pleasure to attend the graduation ceremony and see the pride the participants took in their accomplishment,” Ms. Woermke says. “We look forward to offering this program in the future and we would welcome any feedback as we continue to update existing modules and add new ones.”