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Contact Information

CDC University Learning Portal Support Team: 1-770-488-1818

CDC Management Information Systems Office (MISO): 1-404-639-7500

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Select a question to view its answer.

• What will I learn in the Project Officer Principles course?

  In the Project Officer Principles web-based course, you will follow along with Jenna’s orientation to her role as project officer. You will see her notes on the screen, and you will help answer the questions she has for Jim, her mentor. The Project Officer Principles course will increase your capacity to

  • Explain the overall job of the project officer when working with grantees and program plans
  • Describe the Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) process from planning to publication
  • Describe the cooperative agreement process from development to closeout
  • Describe the role of the project officer in the cooperative agreement application review, approval, and award processes
  • Explain methods and best practices for interacting with grantees, including finding public health information, conducting site visits and conference calls, and sending e-mail
  • Assist grantees as they develop their revised work plan
  • Track program implementation and performance by using an ongoing assessment process
• Who should take the Project Officer Principles course?

  The primary audience for this training is project officers with up to two years of experience, and project officers of all experience levels will benefit from taking the course. In addition, this course is for all CDC employees and others interested in the role of project officer.

• How is the course structured, and how long will it take?

  The course consists of seven modules of approximately one hour each. Each module contains two to four lessons, and each lesson takes approximately 10 to 30 minutes. There is a scenario-based quiz at the end of each module, consisting of 10 to 12 questions, and you must achieve a score of at least 80% on the module quiz for the module to be marked complete.

  • Module 1: Your Role As a Project Officer
  • Module 2: Understanding Funding Opportunity Announcements
  • Module 3: Elements and Functions of Assistance Awards: Focus on Cooperative Agreements
  • Module 4: The Role of Project Officer in the Application Review, Approval, and Award Process
  • Module 5: Interacting with the Grantee to Achieve Program Goals and Success
  • Module 6: Technical Monitoring and Program Management
  • Module 7: Monitoring Progress to Sustain Success
• Do I have to take the modules and lessons in order?

  The course material is organized so that it will make the most sense to you if you start with Module 1, Lesson 1, and proceed in order.

• Do I have to complete the whole course in one sitting?

  No. The Learning Management System tracks the progress you make in the course. Be sure to exit appropriately, using the Exit button in the course, and you should be returned to the place you left off in the course from your last session.

• How do I get credit for this course?

  The Learning Management System will track your progress and provide course completion credit after you have completed every lesson in the course and you have achieved a score of at least 80% on the end-of-module quizzes.

• I did not achieve a passing score on the module quiz. What do I do now?

  If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again! The end-of-module quizzes are set up with three different scenarios, to allow you three attempts to achieve a passing score of 80%. The summary screen at the end of the quiz allows you to review the questions you missed and provides the location of the associated content in the course so you can read the information again before reattempting the quiz with a new scenario.

  If you attempt all three scenarios without achieving a passing score, you will need to retake the module in order to try again.

• How do I make sure my progress in the course is saved if I need to quit and come back later?

  Make sure you always exit the course by clicking the Exit button, located at the top right side of the screen. Simply closing the browser window may not save your data.

• How do I know what to click?

  Selectable graphics are identified by a blue arrow in the corner of the image, and the cursor will change to a pointing hand when positioned over a selectable or rollover graphic. Also, bold blue text is selectable and allows you to view more information about a topic. Always read the instructions in the prompt area at the bottom of each page to ensure that you don’t miss any information.

• When I click a link or graphic, nothing happens. Why?

  You may need to set your browser to allow popups in order for some information to appear. You may also need to enable JavaScript in your browser’s settings.

  Be sure to close each popup window after reading the information. If you still have a popup open from a previous page, a newly selected popup will open in the same window, often appearing behind your open browser window. Therefore, it may seem that nothing is happening when you click the selectable item.

  Keep in mind that many of the graphics are not selectable. The cursor will change to a pointing hand when positioned over a selectable link or graphic.

• What do all the buttons do?

  The table below describes the function of the buttons used in the course.

  BUTTON	FUNCTION
  EXIT	With confirmation, closes the course and tracks your location.
  MENU	Returns you to the Lesson Menu.
  GLOSSARY	Provides a list of terms used in the course with their definitions.
  LIBRARY	Provides a list of resources (web links and PDF documents) referred to in the module.
  HELP	Provides Help Desk contact information and these FAQs.
  BACK	Returns to the previous screen.
  NEXT	Advances to the following screen.

• Can I read a transcript instead of listening to audio?

  Yes. Any page that includes audio also includes a link to view the audio transcript.

• Can I skip the questions in the course?

  The Knowledge Checks are provided for your benefit so that you may practice the new information in order to learn it more effectively. You must answer the Knowledge Checks questions to move forward. In addition, you must answer the end-of-module quizzes, and score at least 80%, to mark completion of the module.

• How do I find out more information about a topic or term?

  Select the Glossary button at the bottom of the screen to launch a popup box containing definitions of terms used throughout the course. In addition, you may view a list of resources relevant to the lesson by selecting the Library button at the bottom of the screen. When you select the items, they will open websites or portable document format (PDF) versions of various reference documents. You must have Adobe Reader installed to view these documents; you may download the reader at http://get.adobe.com/reader/. All links will open in a new window.

• I’d like to be able to refer back to the course materials later. Will I have to log in to the Learning Management System?

  You may save and/or print a summary of each module in portable document format (PDF) for later reference. A link is provided on the last page of each module. You must have Adobe Reader installed to view these documents; you may download the reader at http://get.adobe.com/reader/.

  Also be sure to save or print the resources for each module, available from the Library button at the bottom of the screen.

• How can I find more tools and templates and learn more, to help me in my job?

  You can find many helpful resources on the Project Officer Portal, including links to additional training as it becomes available: http://intranet.cdc.gov/ostlts/projectofficerportal

  You should also check with your team lead to see what additional resources are available in your center, division, or branch.