ATLANTA, Georgia, January 29 /PRNewswire/ -- The College of Direct Support (CDS), an internet-based curriculum for direct support professionals and managed in partnership by MC Strategies/Elsevier and the University of Minnesota's Research and Training Center, announced today that its sixth course in the College of Frontline Supervision and Management (CFSM) on Your First Few Weeks and Months as a Supervisor is now available for administrators and learners to use as part of the online curriculum.

This course provides an overview of the entry-level skills and duties that a person will need as a new supervisor and it will be very helpful during the first few weeks and months on the job. It may also be helpful for more experienced supervisors who have not had formal training in these areas.

The course training covers a number of important areas, including the following:

- Delegation and organization. - Remote supervision. - Operational management. - Planning and running effective meetings. - Conflict management and problem solving.

From this course learners will develop valuable management and supervisory skills to help them be effective and efficient supervisors. The skills developed from this course will help create open, organized, and efficient organizations and that will in turn lead to the creation of a more satisfied staff. Learners who take this course are encouraged to review the course, Preparing for the Supervisor's Job in Human Services. It will help you to build on the professional development plan that is started in that course.

The College of Frontline Supervision and Management is embedded in the CDS curriculum. The quality and stability of Direct Support Professionals (DSPs) is more often than not related to the quality and stability of their supervisors. In many instances good DSPs are promoted to supervisory positions without receiving the focused training they need to be effective leaders and managers in their new roles. To respond to this, the CFSM was created and its target audience is Frontline Supervisors, lead workers, and DSPs who want to move into supervisory roles.

For additional information, you may visit http://www.collegeofdirectsupport.com or call Bill Tapp, National Director of the CDS, or Tom King, Director of Communications, at +1-877-353-2767 (toll free). You also can send an email to Tom King at tking@collegeofdirectsupport.com.

About the College of Direct Support

The College of Direct Support is a learning gateway for contemporary best practices for Direct Support Professionals. By incorporating web-based learning, backed by nationally recognized curricula, the CDS is designed to promote a profession of direct support. The CDS is being used in more than 30 states and also in Canada. It is a collaboration between MC Strategies/Elsevier and the University of Minnesota's Research and Training Center's Institute on Community Integration, which authors the curriculum.

CDS offers a complete lineup of courses offered on the MC Strategies/Elsevier's Learning Management System.

About Elsevier

Elsevier is a world-leading publisher of scientific, technical and medical information products and services. The company works in partnership with the global science and health communities to publish more than 2,000 journals, including The Lancet (http://www.thelancet.com) and Cell (http://www.cell.com ), and close to 20,000 book titles, including major reference works from Mosby and Saunders. Elsevier's online solutions include ScienceDirect (http://www.sciencedirect.com), Scopus (http://www.scopus.com), Reaxys (http://www.reaxys.com), MD Consult (http://www.mdconsult.com) and Nursing Consult (http://www.nursingconsult.com), which enhance the productivity of science and health professionals, and the SciVal suite (http://www.scival.com ) and MEDai's Pinpoint Review (http://www.medai.com), which help research and health care institutions deliver better outcomes more cost-effectively.

A global business headquartered in Amsterdam, Elsevier ( http://www.elsevier.com) employs 7,000 people worldwide. The company is part of Reed Elsevier Group PLC (http://www.reedelsevier.com ), a world-leading publisher and information provider, which is jointly owned by Reed Elsevier PLC and Reed Elsevier NV. The ticker symbols are REN (Euronext Amsterdam), REL (London Stock Exchange), RUK and ENL (New York Stock Exchange).

Contact: Tom King, +1-877-353-2767, tking@collegeofdirectsupport.com .

SOURCE: Elsevier and MCStrategies

CONTACT: Contact: Tom King, +1-877-353-2767,tking@collegeofdirectsupport.com .