[Jon Jack]

Having used Inventor, (and taken classes in both) Pro/E and SolidWorks I think you will learn very quickly that Pro/E is archaic and can often be a pain to use, I can honestly say it's the hardest CAD package I've had to work with...

I can see a reason for a beginners class not going into assemblies. Learning the basics of Pro/E and it's interface can take quite a while to learn. One of the Pro/E classes I took covered modeling, assemblies and drawings in one semester... We covered things so quickly it was sometimes tough for people to remember even the basics of the interface.

Don't be discouraged though. Knowing Pro/E is a useful skill. For one, many large companies (General Dynamics and Solar Turbines to name two off the top of my head) still use Pro/E. Secondly, SolidWorks (which is very popular these days, especially in smaller companies) are very similar.