PayTrain^® College & University Courses

Course Components

Live Instruction

APA’s PayTrain College & University program combines live instruction with printed workbooks and interactive online games, application exercises, case studies, and tests.

PayTrain College & University courses are held on over 60 campuses across the U.S. To accommodate the needs of busy professionals, each institution sets their own schedule with classes being held on evenings and weekends. Course instructors have years of payroll experience to share with class participants.

Printed Workbooks

All students will receive printed workbook(s) and access to the online components. The text is divided into seven modules (see course topics for complete lesson outlines).

Module 1: Payroll Concepts
Module 2: Payroll Calculations
Module 3: Fringe Benefits
Module 4: Payroll Reporting and Employment Taxes
Module 5: Record Keeping and Payroll Practices
Module 6: Payroll Accounting
Module 7: Management and Administration

Online Components

The online components are essential to the learning process. These interactive tools will help participants determine their initial level of knowledge, create a study plan based on individual need, reinforce their studies with games, application exercises and tests, and track their learning through progress reports. The online portion of the course consists of the following components.

• Overview: The overview will guide you through the program. Read the overview now.
• Pre-Test: The timed pre-test, comprised of 50 multiple-choice questions, will measure your existing level of payroll knowledge by topic, and help you develop an efficient study plan. Correct answers are provided after each question.
• Lesson Quizzes: After reading each lesson from your workbook, complete the related lesson quiz to test your comprehension and retention of topics studied. Correct answers and links to the appropriate section of text are provided after each question.
• Module Game: On Track provides a fun and interactive way of reinforcing learned materials at the end of each module.
• Application Exercises: A number of application exercises, including Excursions, Whistle Stops, and Grand Tours, will help you apply the concepts learned in the text to a series of job-based scenarios. Correct answers and links to the appropriate section of text are provided after each question.
• Course Game: Keep the Train on Time (Fundamentals), The Great PayTrain Robbery (Mastery), and Workin’ on the Railroad (both courses) provide an entertaining and challenging review of the topics covered by the entire course.
• Final Test: The timed final test, consisting of 50 multiple-choice questions, covers content drawn from the entire course. Correct answers and links to the appropriate sections of text are provided after answering each question. The final test results will measure the progress you’ve made throughout the course and will provide an indication of areas that require further study.
• Online Glossary: Accessible any time during the program, the pop-up glossary allows you to look up definitions of terms without leaving your current activity.
• Reports: Track your course progress through a reporting feature that compares your pre-test and final test scores.