Excel Performance & Tools
| Course code: | 26-SS-223 |
|---|---|
| Dates: | April 6 - May 1, 2026 Alternate Course Dates |
| Location: | Online |
| Instructor: | John Rutledge |
| Fee: | $195.00 |
Description
You’ll gain hands-on experience with advanced logical and financial functions, explore Excel’s What-If analysis tools like Scenario Manager, Goal Seek, and Data Tables, and discover how to protect, validate, and clean your data to ensure accuracy. You’ll also learn how to build dashboards and visual tools that communicate key insights with clarity and confidence.
Course Outcomes
- Apply advanced logical functions (including AND, OR, NOT, and IF statements) to evaluate complex business conditions.
- Perform financial calculations using Excel’s built-in functions to compute loan payments, interest, present value, and payment periods.
- Use What-If Analysis tools, including Scenario Manager, Goal Seek, and Data Tables, to forecast and compare business outcomes.
- Implement data validation rules to protect data integrity and avoid entry errors and duplication.
- Import and export data between workbooks and other sources while maintaining data accuracy.
- Protect workbooks and sensitive data, ensuring accuracy and security in shared files.
- Create pivot tables and dashboards to summarize and visually display insights for confident business decision-making.
- Professionals working with budgets, forecasting, or data analysis
- Managers and business analysts who need to model and evaluate complex data scenarios
- Experienced Excel users ready to move beyond intermediate skills
- Entrepreneurs and financial decision-makers looking to make strategic decisions based on clean, accurate data
- Anyone responsible for preparing, protecting, and presenting data to guide organizational outcomes
Notes
Registration Deadline: Participants can register up to 5 days after the course begins.Course Access: Offered in partnership with LERN. Log in 24/7—no live meetings.
Course Format: Weekly units include readings, audio-slide lectures, self-quizzes, and discussion forums.
Tips for Success: Log in 2–3 times a week and contribute 2–3 thoughtful posts per unit for the best experience.
Recognized Credentials: Earn nationally recognized CEUs from the Learning Resources Network (LERN), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit association—perfect for meeting professional development goals or licensure requirements.
Cancellation/Refund Policy: VCU Continuing and Professional Education offers this class/certificate in partnership with LERN. Therefore, you may cancel your registration up until you receive your login and password from LERN and receive a full refund minus any credit card processing fees. Cancellations must be received via email at ocpe@vcu.edu
In the unlikely event that this program is cancelled or postponed due to insufficient enrollments or unforeseen circumstances, the university will fully refund registration fees, but cannot be held responsible for any other expenses, including change or cancellation charges to include but not limited to airlines, hotels, travel agencies, or other organizations.
Online courses offered with the Learning Resources Network (LERN) continue to run, as scheduled during inclement weather. If there are changes to meeting status, you will receive an email at the address you provided upon registration informing you of the cancelation.
*exempt-this offering is ineligible for waiver use
Student/Participant Conduct:
Participants are subject to all university policies applicable to students, unless a specific university or VCU Continuing and Professional Education policy explicitly states otherwise. University policies governing students are available at https://vcu.public.doctract.com including:
Student Code of Conduct
Honor System and Standards of Academic Conduct
Preventing and Responding to Discrimination
Title IX Sexual Harassment Policy-Interim
Sex-Based Misconduct Policy-Interim
For Academic Accommodations, please visit https://ocpe.vcu.edu/courses/policies.html#accommodations
There are still openings remaining at this time.

