Applied Payroll Management (APM)
Online Learning Course Outline

Total Hours:

5 – 8 hours per week

Prerequisites:
Introduction to Payroll Management, Organizational Behaviour
Management, Managerial Accounting, and Compensation & Benefits Management
Course Description:
This course is the final core payroll course in the Certified Payroll Manager (CPM) certification program.
Applied Payroll Management provides professionals with the opportunity to apply relevant management processes in a payroll department context. Benchmarking, best practices development and human resources skills - such as monitoring, motivating, assessing and supervising personnel - are utilized to enable the payroll professional to achieve organizational and career goals.
Upon completion of Applied Payroll Management, you should be able to:
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Define the legislative compliance role of a payroll professional, including how payroll can expand its role in an organization
Analyze payroll's relationship with the finance, human resources and information technology departments in an organization
Participate in continuous improvement strategies through benchmarking and the application of best practices
Identify the processes required for evaluating, implementing and maintaining new payroll systems
Participate in the development of payroll employees through the use of cascading objectives, job design, professional development, succession planning and performance measurement
Develop personal and professional career plans
Demonstrate self-management using effective time and stress management strategies © The Canadian Payroll Association – Applied Payroll Management – Version 10.0

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Applied Payroll Management (APM)
Online Learning Course Outline

Student Weekly Schedule:
For each specific topic, students should:
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Read the related chapter in the course material
Review the overview and related PDF presentations in the Discussion Forum
Post a response to the assigned activities for the topic within the assigned timeframe Review the Discussion Forums for new postings and post further comments or questions as needed

Evaluation Overview:
Participation

= 20%

Assignment #1 - NutriGrow

= 20%

Assignment #2 - Developing Position
Descriptions/Objectives and Self-evaluation

= 20%

Final Exam

= 40%

Total

=
100%

Both an overall grade of 65% and a mark of at least 65% on the exam are required in order to pass the course.
Participation
Participation is based on the quality of a student’s contribution to the discussion postings listed for each topic.
Assignments
Assignment #1 requires students to work as a team in the preparation of their report.
Students will develop a Team Charter, a team report on the Case Study and complete a peer assessment on each member of their team. These documents will all be posted in the Discussion Forums area.

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Applied Payroll Management (APM)
Online Learning Course Outline

For Assignment #2 each student will send their individual submission to their instructor using the Email Message feature. Do NOT post your submission on the Discussion
Forums. All work is due by 11:59 pm CT on the due date listed. Late postings and assignments will not be accepted for marking.
Final Exam
The final exam is an online exam, and students are given three hours to complete.
Students enrolled in this course are responsible for booking their exam date, time and location with an approved post-secondary institution test centre (the exam must be written during the exam week listed on the course outline provided).
Instructions on submitting your test centre booking information to the CPA is available under the Getting Started section of the Discussion Forum and in your Student
Information Guide. Please follow the instructions to ensure your exam will be available at the test centre on time. To view the CPA's database of approved test centres click on the link provided through the course site. Please contact one of these centres to determine their process for exam proctoring, availability, and to schedule your exam date. To view the CPA's database of approved test centres click on the link provided through the course site. Please contact one of these centres to determine their process for exam proctoring, availability, and to schedule your exam date.
Note: Once your exam sitting is booked, you must complete the ‘Test Centre Booking’ online Form available on the CPA website by the end of week 6. Please ensure that you enter all required fields as listed on the online form. Exam proctoring fees are set by the testing centre and are the responsibility of the student.
Important Tips:
 It is recommended that you use Mozilla Firefox, which is a free web browser
(www.mozilla.org) to login into your course.
 Before starting your course, ensure you read the Home page. This page contains important information that will allow you to work more effectively with the online program.  Read the announcement section of the course on a regular basis to ensure you do not miss any important messages or deadlines from your instructor.
 Type your discussion board postings in a notepad document first. Then copy and paste the information into the Discussion Forum section of your online course.
This will help you to prevent losing your work in case of any internet interruptions.

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Applied Payroll Management (APM)
Online Learning Course Outline

Week

Dates

Coursework

February 15

Student Profile

1

February
16 - 22

Study Chapter 1: Payroll
Management

2

February
23 - 29

Weekly Activities
Create your profile and post an introduction  Assigned readings
 Assigned activities/survey
 Internet search

Study Chapter 2: Payroll in the
Organizational Structure

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Assigned readings
Assigned activities
Internet search

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Assigned readings
Assigned activities
Internet search

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Assigned readings
Assigned activities
Internet search

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Assigned readings
Assigned activities
Internet search

Start to work on Assignment #1
3

March
1-7

Study Chapter 3: Benchmarking and
Best Practices

4

March
8 - 14

Team Charter is due by the end of this week
Continue working on Chapter 3:
Benchmarking and Best Practices

5

March
15 - 21

Study Chapter 4: Payroll Systems

6

March
22 - 28

Book your final exam at a Test
Centre and submit the online
‘Test Centre form’ to the CPA by the end of this week

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Applied Payroll Management (APM)
Online Learning Course Outline

Week
7

Dates
March 29 April 4

Topics
Study Chapter 5: Motivation and
Job Satisfaction

Weekly Activities
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Assigned readings
Assigned activities
Internet search

Assignment #1 due by the end of this week
8

April
5 - 11

Study Chapter 6: Employee
Development

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Assigned readings
Assigned activities
Internet search

9

April
12 - 18

Study Chapter 7: Monitoring and
Appraising Performance

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Assigned readings
Assigned activities
Internet search

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Assigned readings
Assigned activities
Internet search

Start to work on Assignment #2
10

April
19 - 25

Study Chapter 8: Career
Management

11

April 26 May 2

Assignment #2 due by the end of this week

12

May
3-9

Study Week

13

May
10 - 16

Final Exam Week

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