(COLUMBIA, Tenn. - March 22, 2013) - - - Columbia State Community College's Center for Workforce Development is offering a variety of professional development courses during the month of April. Courses include computer, health care and leadership training for anyone who would like to learn new skills or refresh the skills they already have.

During Introduction to Excel 2010, students will learn to sort and analyze data, design custom charts and graphs, and format worksheets using mathematical formulas. This one-day class takes place on Friday, April 5.

Introduction to QuickBooks 2010 covers banking and billing activities, working with reports and budgets, protecting and backing up data, and more. This class will take place on Friday, April 12.

Internet/email is geared toward those who want to learn how to get started with email, send and receive messages, and use popular email tools in this four-hour seminar. Email is a quick and inexpensive way to keep track of friends, communicate with grandchildren, and get the latest information on your hobbies and interests. This class will be on the Columbia campus on Friday, April 26.

ACT Test Prep is designed for new test takers and test repeaters who desire to improve their scores. This class meets once a week for 5 weeks in order to review math word problems, algebraic expressions and geometric concepts. In addition, students will practice reading for comprehension and review basic grammar rules, as well as take timed practice tests. Classes begin at the Columbia campus on Tuesday, April 16 and the Williamson County campus on Thursday, April 18.

On Thursday, April 4, Managing Performance Problems will take place in conjunction with the leadership series. This class will help leaders provide people with performance problems with a clear understanding of what they must do to improve their situations and the consequences of failing to do so. Learn how to take appropriate action, based on the best practices, to effectively address ongoing performance and work-habit problems or serious misconduct problems. The class also covers how to impose formal consequences, such as probation or suspension, with the confidence that the person has been fully heard and fairly treated and minimize the impact of ongoing performance problems on the individual.

Setting Performance Expectations is also offered in conjunction with the leadership series. This class helps leaders ensure mutual understanding of performance expectations; identify performance expectations that align with the organization's goals; gain individual or team commitment to fulfilling the expectations in the performance plan; and handle challenging situations that can arise during setting expectations discussions. This class will be on Thursday, April 18.

Effective implementation of change can be a major challenge for organizations. Why is it so difficult? Successful Organizational Change teaches how to better understand the change cycle, what is normal that we should expect, and how to build support for change. This course will take place on Friday, April 19.

The Online Medical Coding program consists of six consecutive blocks. Each block contains four to five courses, and each course will take approximately six weeks to complete. Medical coders are professionals skilled in classifying medical data from patients' records. Upon completion of the course series, coding practitioners will have the skills required to review patient records and assign numeric codes for each diagnosis and procedure. This course will start Monday, April 15.

Basic Life Support for the Health Care Provider (CPR) is a seven-hour course that reviews basic life support and airway obstruction. Students will be working with mannequins in order to practice and perfect skills. This class will take place at the Columbia campus on Friday, April 26 and at the Williamson County campus on Saturday, April 27.

For class times, pricing or additional information, call (931) 540-2659. To register for continuing education courses through Columbia State's Center for Workforce Development, visit http://registration.xenegrade.com/columbiastate.

Columbia State is a two-year college, serving a nine-county area in southern Middle Tennessee with locations in Columbia, Franklin, Lawrenceburg, Lewisburg and Clifton. As Tennessee's first community college, Columbia State is committed to increasing access and enhancing diversity at all five campuses. Columbia State is a member of the Tennessee Board of Regents, the sixth largest higher education system in the nation. For more information, please visit www.columbiastate.edu.