Creating a Corporate University

Let’s take a look at how to create a corporate university. The corporate university includes employees, managers and stakeholders outside the company, including community colleges, universities, high schools, and grade schools. Creating a corporate university from scratch involves several steps. First senior managers and business managers form a governing body with the responsibility of developing a vision for the university. Second, this vision is fleshed out, and the vision statement is linked to the business strategy. Third, the company decides how to fund the university. The university can be funded by charging fees to business units and/or by monies allocated directly from the corporate budget. Fourth, the company determines the degree to which all training will be centralized. Fifth, it is important to identify the needs of university “customers,” including employees, managers, suppliers, and external customers. Sixth, products and services are developed. Seventh, the company chooses learning partners, including suppliers, consultants, colleges, and companies specializing in education. Eighth, the company develops a strategy for using technology to train more employees and do so more frequently and more cost-effectively than instructor-led training. Ninth, learning that occurs as a result of a corporate university is linked to performance improvement. This involves identifying how performance improvement will be measured (tests, sales data, etc.).