Cornell University Brings Strategic Perspective to Pay, Rewards with New Compensation Studies Certificate

— New ILR program at eCornell goes beyond tactics to design unique plans that drive results —

A surprising number of today’s organizations still struggle to get compensation plans right. Pay-based performance incentives are used in 90 percent of U.S. companies, yet recent reports find that most plans don’t deliver, or deliver the wrong results. Now, through eCornell, Cornell University’s globally renowned ILR School is offering an online Compensation Studies certificate that provides professionals and organizations with the strategic framework needed to rethink total compensation plans, motivate employees, and drive performance.

The Compensation Studies certificate builds on the ILR School’s more than 70 years of leadership in delivering research-based professional education. Since 2010, ILR has worked with eCornell to rapidly expand into online learning, offering five online Human Resources certificates, and launching Cornell University’s first blended master’s degree program—an Executive Master of Human Resources Management that combines innovative online coursework with rigorous on-campus sessions.

“Our new Compensation Studies certificate program is a strong addition to ILR’s growing portfolio of online education offerings. It expands access to the school’s deep expertise in human resources management,” said Linda Barrington, Executive Director of the Institute for Compensation Studies at Cornell’s ILR School and co-author of the new certificate program, along with instructing faculty member Stephanie Thomas, Ph.D. and Kevin Hallock, Ph.D., the Kenneth F. Kahn ’69 Dean and Joseph R. Rich ’80 Professor of Economics and Human Resource Studies.

The Compensation Studies certificate is comprised of four courses that can be completed over two months. Students undertake a comprehensive, performance-based approach to compensation—aligning compensation to organizational goals, creating fair and profitable employee incentives, and probing the impact of plans on performance, profits, and people. Courses draw upon authoritative research shaping global pay-for-performance strategies, and include interactive tools and guidance on using a research-based compensation model, addressing cultural considerations, and defining employee populations by talent and role to optimize return on performance pay.

Cornell’s new certificate program is especially relevant for entry- to intermediate-level HR or compensation professionals, and for small business leaders seeking to structure and realign compensation with business strategy.

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About Cornell University’s ILR School

Cornell University’s ILR School is the leading college of applied social sciences focusing on work, employment, and labor policy issues and practices of national and international significance. Offering undergraduate and graduate education as well as career-long learning for professionals, the ILR School advances the world of work through teaching, research and outreach, disseminating leading-edge knowledge to solve human problems, manage and resolve conflict, establish best practices in the workplace, and inform government policy.

About eCornell
As Cornell University’s online learning platform, eCornell delivers online professional certificate courses to individuals and organizations around the world. Courses are personally developed by Cornell faculty with expertise in a wide range of topics, including hospitality, management, marketing, human resources and leadership. Students learn in an interactive, small cohort format to gain skills they can immediately apply in their organizations, ultimately earning a professional certificate from Cornell University. eCornell has offered online learning courses and certificate programs for 15 years to over 130,000 students at more than 2,000 companies.