You’ve ordered CEBS^® Study Materials, but your Study Guide is collecting dust. Overcome your learning inertia and boost your motivation with CEBS Online Study Groups With Instructor Support! A set schedule holds you accountable to get started and keep making progress. Collaborative learning activities, such as weekly discussion questions and live review sessions, provide you with opportunities to get constructive feedback and encouragement. Gain a new viewpoint about employee benefits by interacting with your instructor and classmates, who work in organizations in a variety of industries and sectors in different states.

CEBS​​ Online Study Groups are an optional educational resource designed to support the self-study approach. Offered over a 12-week session, Online Study Groups provide a timeline for your study efforts and are facilitated by established and experienced CEBS professionals.

What does an online instructor do?

Your online instructor has many roles, including:

• Designing all content and activities in your class to help you retain knowledge and study for your CEBS exam
• Facilitating live review sessions
• Monitoring the discussion forum to provide clarification and guidance to learners
• Creating discussion questions for each module and Benefits in Action Mini Case to stimulate engagement and enhance learning about employee benefits
• Sharing their real-world experience about being a benefits professional
• Answering questions that students submit via the discussion forum, email and private message.

A Chat With Christine Healy, CEBS

Christine Healy, Ph.D., CEBS, PHR, SHRM-CP

Assistant Professor, Management

Dixie State University

Instructor: GBA 1—Directing Benefits Programs Part 1

How has earning the CEBS designation enhanced your career?

Having the CEBS designation has set me apart from many other candidates as a business professional. The knowledge gained from each course I took added more depth to my understanding of one of the most expensive factors of an organization—employee benefits. The content has helped me develop programs that benefit the organization and, due to the richness of the content, has enabled me to serve as a good advisor to my organizational leaders as well as the employee group.

What will benefits professionals learn from taking GBA 1?

GBA 1 will provide a basic understanding of the main benefits offered through an organization along with some of the legal and regulatory background and implications of them. The course also covers the concepts of risk management and factors to identify when performing a risk analysis, such as hazards and perils. Armed with this information, it will enable benefits professionals and human resources professionals to identify risks to an organization and then develop programs that provide the right options for employees from a health and welfare perspective that coincide with the organizational culture while meeting legal and regulatory requirements.

Are there any interesting current events or regulatory updates related to concepts the GBA 1 course explores?

Some of the current events that coincide with the concepts of this course include the increasing demand to move from only maternal leave to also parental leave to cover both parents and a push to get more paid sick leave as a required offering. Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) are another benefit that is being considered in terms of broadening their use for flexibility and tax advantages for the employer and employee. The push to offer financial wellness programs across organizations is also a very relevant topic. Organizations are beginning to understand that the financial well-being of an employee is important to their overall engagement and the retention of human resources. Pharmacy benefits management is another area of relevance. Pharmacy benefits have evolved over the past few decades and must be continuously monitored as they’re a significant cost in a benefits package. With a new administration in Washington, D.C., there may be changes to this realm in terms of costs, consumer advertising, etc. Mental health and general wellness remain at the top of the list as far as program development is concerned. Finally, there is the topic of telemedicine. Having this option can make things so much more convenient for the employees and lead to less absenteeism and missed work.

What are your best study tips for CEBS students?

Studying to take a CEBS exam requires commitment and discipline. I recommend the following steps:

1. Set up a study plan where you designate days/times to read the Study Materials. If you’re enrolled in an Online Study Group With Instructor Support, engage in the discussions in the online forum, take the interactive games and quizzes, and reflect on what you’ve learned. Having a consistent schedule set up will get you into a rhythm of learning.
2. In the Online Study Group, engage in online discussions. Even if others do not respond to you, the process of critically thinking through the concepts and putting it into writing will help you to better absorb the content.
3. Take advantage of all the interactive game and quiz questions provided in the Online Study Group.
4. When you get to the end of the course, set aside a couple of days prior to taking the CEBS exam to work through the process of taking the interactive Practice Exam provided with your Study Materials. Identify the top three modules where you got the most questions wrong. Read those modules and retake the Practice Exam. Identify the top three modules that you got the most questions wrong and read those chapters. I did this until I got a score of at least 90% on the Practice Exam.
5. As you work through step 4, identify the content that you haven’t mastered. Mark that content. About 45 minutes prior to taking the actual CEBS exam, review that content one last time to get it into your short-term memory.
6. When taking the CEBS exam, read all the instructions. You may know what they say already. However, taking the time to read them all in a deliberate manner before starting will help reduce your anxiety.
7. Upon starting the CEBS exam, read each question and all the potential answers very carefully. If you do not know the answer, don’t linger long. Mark it and come back to it once you have made your way through the entire exam.
8. Take the full time allotted for the CEBS exam. Just keep going through the marked questions until you feel confident enough to submit an answer, you complete all questions or the time runs out.

I used this method, and I passed all my CEBS exams the first time.

Why would you encourage benefits professionals to earn the CEBS designation?

I’ve had a few students reach out to tell me they passed their exam and got a promotion. That is a major thing we strive for. Even more so, I enjoy the stories where students pass a CEBS exam, and they gain a personal sense of achievement and an increase to their confidence. The CEBS designation is not an easy accomplishment. For that reason, it’s a powerful testament of the character of the holder. CEBS designees are driven to succeed, committed, persistent and have improved business acumen. They can manage multiple projects (CEBS courses, work, family, etc.). All these attributes are what organizations seek in their benefits professionals to move them forward. It’s a distinction that sets a CEBS designation holder apart from those who don’t hold the credential.

The 12-week summer session of the U.S. Online Study Groups With Instructor Support runs from May 12-August 1, 2025. Jump in anytime and get access to materials from previous weeks.

Do you need additional guidance on your CEBS journey? Whether you’re about to take your first step or getting close to reaching your designation, we’re here to help! Give us a call at (800) 449-2327, option 3, or email [email protected].