Sherri Bennett passed a certification exam in the human resources profession the first time she took it.

It was no easy feat.

Only 63 percent of those who took the exam to be certified as a Professional in Human Resources (PHR) in the December/January time frame passed it, according to a spokesman for the Human Resources Certification Institute, which administers the test nationwide to human resource professionals.

 “It was very hard,” said Bennett, coordinator of human resources at Lakeview Village, a retirement community in Lenexa. But a 13-week preparatory course she took from Loretta Summers at JCCC ‘s Center for Business and Technology “helped tremendously,” she said.

“I had heard about the class – actually my boss had taken it when she took the test – and she told me that she didn’t think she would have passed it without that class. And I totally agree with that.”

The class prepares students for exams that can lead to either a PHR certification or a SPHR (Senior Professional in Human Resources) certification. The former, which Bennett obtained, is designed for human resource professionals who handle day-to-day operations; the latter is for human resource professionals who design and plan rather than implement.

The SPHR exam is just as difficult as the one for professionals who handle daily operations. Only 57 percent earned their SPHR certification during the December/January testing period, the institute’s spokesman said.

Summers, who has the SPHR certification, said the prestigious designations are achievements that many human resource professionals want and need. “If you are certified, that will give you the edge over other people looking for jobs in human resources,” she said.

Summers teaches the course, called Human Resources Management (SHRM Learning System) twice a year. The next course starts in January.

During the course, students learn about management practices, general employment practices, staffing, human resource development, compensation and benefits, employee and labor relations and health, safety and security issues.

Summers has been teaching a variety of human resource, leadership and other courses at the college for about 10 years. She also is an adjunct professor at Ottawa University, Baker University and Benedictine College and president of The Summers Advisory Group, Inc., a firm specializing in human resources training, consulting and mediation.

Bennett, who is 29, said the course gave her a good understanding of the laws and government regulations that human resource professionals must follow.

“I would say everyone learned something every week,” she said. “It’s a wonderful class. It really is.”