FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Human resource professionals in Arkansas have the opportunity to take a course through the University of Arkansas that will prepare them to take a national certification exam that employers are coming to expect as an indication of dedication and recognition of experience, knowledge and skills.

The university is offering the Society of Human Resource Management Learning System course via compressed interactive video at three locations in Arkansas this fall from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Thursdays beginning Sept. 6. The 12-week course prepares human resource professionals to take exams for the designations of Professional in Human Resources and Senior Professional in Human Resources as awarded by the Society of Human Resource Management.

Instructors will lead the course from the university’s Fayetteville campus, from NorthWest Arkansas Community College in Bentonville and the National Park Community College in Hot Springs. Judith Tavano, director of the Professional Development Academy in the College of Education and Health Professions at the University of Arkansas, will be joined on the instructional team by local industry experts who hold one of the two certifications and have been approved by the university to teach the course. They are Clifford Sandsmark of J.B. Hunt Transport, Colby Irving of Wal-Mart, Jeff Owens of HR-Factor and Cathleen Hoffman of Coca-Cola.

Tavano, who was instrumental in bringing the certification program to the university and has served as the coordinator, welcomes back certified faculty members who helped the program attain a 100 percent pass rate in two locations in 2006.

“I am also pleased to welcome two new faculty members, and I am sure they will help us to maintain our high pass rate, which when all locations and classes are considered is approximately 80 percent overall,” Tavano said. “The University of Arkansas is also appreciative of Wal-Mart for giving us the instructional services of Colby Irving.”

Industry leaders such as J.B. Hunt Transport in Lowell want to hire people with the certification, said Eric Lemmon, who recruits employees for the information technology, engineering, accounting and finance departments of J.B. Hunt. He completed the course last fall and passed the certification test in February.

“We put a preference for certification in our job descriptions when recruiting,” Lemmon said. “When I was taking the test, I remember feeling that I couldn’t imagine taking it without having done the preparation course. Unless you had majored in human resources in your undergraduate work and it was fairly recent, it would be very tough to pass the test without taking the course.”

Human resource professionals interested in registering for the course at any of the three locations should contact the University of Arkansas program registrar at (479) 575-3605. The course fee is $900 for registrations received before Aug. 27, after which the fee is $998. That includes a complete set of study guides and a test bank on compact disc. Two years in a human resources leadership position is required before a candidate may take the test for either certification designation.

The Society of Human Resource Management has trademarked the SHRM Learning System and the certifications of Professional in Human Resources, designated as PHR, and Senior Professional in Human Resources, designated as SPHR.