Niagara University is pleased to announce that its Office of Continuing Education will offer a two-month, online preparatory course that will provide the essential knowledge of sustainable building concepts necessary for anyone interested in challenging the LEED Green Associate Exam. 

The online course, entitled "Green Buildings & Preparing for the LEED Green Associate Exam," is scheduled to take place Jan. 31 through March 27, 2011, and will include instruction from United States Green Building Council LEED faculty. The cost of the course is $695.

Setting the foundation for a deeper understanding of the "green" building process, the course will furnish enrollees with an introduction to the benefits and integrative approach to eco-friendly building, and a brief background on the USGBC and LEED, including basics of the building certification process. Course materials present LEED intents and concepts at the credit category level -- across building types and rating systems -- and touch on strategies, synergies and specific examples that are reinforced by real project cases.

Participants who successfully complete this course are eligible to sit for the USGBC's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Green Associate Exam.

LEED is a third-party certification program and nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction, and operation of high performance green buildings.

For more information and/or to enroll, call Niagara University's Office of Continuing Education at 286-8181, or go online to www.niagara.edu/ce.