Office Administration

PROGRAMME SUMMARY

This continuing education certificate programme in Office Administration is comprised of 120 contact hours geared towards equipping individuals with the foundation knowledge, skills and competencies required to function within a business environment.  The programme seeks to provide individuals with essential business skills such as verbal and written communication and computer software applications. This course targets persons who want to gain an understanding of the business environment through the provision of office support and administrative assistance. While it does not have any pre-requisites, participants should be interested in being a part of a business environment.                         

RATIONALE FOR THE OFFERING OF THE PROGRAMME

Every business needs office support and administrative assistance. There is a need for people with strong office administration skills in any business. With business processes, equipment, documentation and communication becoming increasingly complicated, office administrators need a broad range of skills to run the office effectively. Often these skills are neglected or ignored, which results in ineffective office management.

Upon completion of this programme, participants will have enhanced their employment opportunities or chances for upward mobility in their respective organizations. Some of these sectors include government agencies, educational institutions, law firms, as well as the medical, engineering, manufacturing, travel, insurance and banking industries. Participants will also be able to work efficiently in the small business and entrepreneurship environments to perform a wide variety of duties.

TARGET AUDIENCE

The CPE programme in Office Administration is geared to and targeted towards school leavers and/or persons entering the world of work for the first time. Individuals who are embarking on an entrepreneurial path or even those who are seeking to change their career or progress in their current career will need to have an understanding of office administration and the skills of the profession.  Participants on this course range from those wanting to upskill and seek promotion, to small business owners and job seekers wishing to improve their prospects.

 

PROGRAMME AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

The programme aims to provide the student with the necessary competencies and abilities to become a valuable asset in the workplace and driver of productivity in the office. This programme provides an overview of the types of skills required to operate in a busy office environment.

 

At the end of the programme, the students should be able to:

1. Prepare business letters, memos and email communication;
2. Create business documents using business software applications, including word processing, spreadsheets, databases, presentations,
3. Execute office procedures such as reception, mail processing, email communication, managing diaries, telephone communication, operating office equipment, task management and meeting participation;
4. Generate, maintain and retrieve manual and electronic records;
5. Use effective interpersonal communications in the workplace

 

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS

There are no formal prerequisites; however, applicants are expected to possess basic communication skills and a general interest in office administration.

 

PROPOSED PROGRAMME STRUCTURE

Course Codes	Course Titles	Continuing Education Units
Semester I
MGMT226	Office Administration: Principles and Practice	3.0
BCOM 010	Business Writing and Communication I	3.0
Semester II
MTMT228	Essential ICT Skills for Office Administrators	3.0
MGMT229	Records Management for the Office Administrator	3.0

 

WHEN WILL THE PROGRAMME START?

Contact your nearest Open Campus Country Site on the start date for the programme.  

HOW DO I APPLY?

Kindly contact an Open Campus Country Site location nearest to you for further information on the application process.

PROGRAMME COST

Please contact your nearest Open Campus Site location for information on the cost for this programme. Locations can be found at this link: http://www.open.uwi.edu/locations

ASSESSMENT STRUCTURE

A model of continuous in-course assessment and a final project is proposed for all courses to be offered in this programme. Students will be assessed at different intervals over the duration of each course and would be required to complete a final project or portfolio as an alternative to mid-semesters and final examinations. Continuous assessment is learner-focused and reduces anxiety on the finality of testing. Students are provided with more than one opportunity to develop mastery and as a result, develop their pace as they progress through each course. This assessment method, therefore, enhances learning since students will be able to remediate weaknesses before each course ends.

 

EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES

Where appropriate, materials will be made available to learners online for download. Participants will be required to procure recommended textbook using their resources to acquire them via online or hard copy purchases. Relevant handouts will also be provided to participants when needed to support instruction

 

COURSE DESCRIPTION

OFFICE ADMINISTRATION: PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE: This course lays the foundation for you to become a professional office administrator.  Students will be exposed to the structure and function of organisations and the various departments within organisations, the functions of an office, organizing travel and meetings, managing the files within the organisation and what it means to be an office administrator.

BCOM010 – BUSINESS WRITING AND COMMUNICATION I: (Adapted from CPE Business Writing and Communication Certificate): Students will be taught how to write documents commonly used in business writing such as letters, memos, electronic messages, proposals and informal reports.  Students will also be expected to make an oral presentation making use of both verbal and non-verbal forms of communication appropriate to the business environment.

ESSENTIAL ICT SKILLS FOR OFFICE ADMINISTRATORS: This course is designed for individuals who will benefit from an introduction to the ICT software tools used by an office administrator. The course is geared towards new owners/users of personal or business computers and individuals who would like to learn more about word processing and spreadsheet software and operations. Additionally, participants will be exposed to the purpose and use of electronic mail (email) as well as the electronic management of the office diary. The course requires use of computers.

RECORDS MANAGEMENT FOR THE OFFICE ADMINISTRATOR: This course seeks to provide participants with a basic introduction to the principles of records management and how it can contribute to the efficiency of an organization's operations.  Moreover, some focus shall also be place on systematic control of information resources, from creation through use, storage and final disposition.