Adam Eisenstat

"Things are moving so rapidly that a lot of high-tech products are based on designs less than a year or a year-and-a-half old," says Adam Eisenstat of Corporate University Xchange."It's more necessary than ever to have employees up to speed on the latest technologies-and it's literally impossible to shuffle a worldwide workforce in and out of classrooms to keep up."
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"They certainly see the possibility of profiting from their courseware," says Eisenstat, who quotes the old line-"anything worth doing is worth making money at"-to explain the interest of at least some corporate universities in taking the next step and actually entering the education business.
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"Really, the competition to universities is not corporate universities," says Eisenstat, "but these other for-profit education firms vying for corporate education dollars.

And a company's growth parallels the burgeoning technological development and innovations , which are incredibly fast , says Adam Eisenstat , director of research and communications for Corporate University Xchange Inc. , a New York-based education and research consulting firm.

As a result , corporate universities are beginning to replace traditional training departments.The traditional training departments are...not proactive.When training and educational programs are strategically aligned with a company's business plan , employees are privy to that plan and become business partners , not training bureaucrats.They must know what business they're in , Eisenstat says.

And it's the business implication that companies such as Cox Communications Inc. had in mind when it recently launched Cox University , a leading-edge leap into the uncharted waters of corporate training and education , blended with the company's overall business strategy.

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Says Eisenstat : When a company is in a technology-related field , the shelf-life of the technical knowledge needed to do business can be short.It's fiscally and physically not possible to train people fast enough to keep up with developing technologies.The issue is developing human capital.It comes down to what you know..

What a growing number of companies already know is that knowledge is king.

Yes, says Adam Eisenstat, director of communications at Corporate University Xchange.

"A corporate university is a state of mind," says Eisenstat.

And a company's growth parallels the burgeoning technological development and innovations, which are incredibly fast," says Adam Eisenstat, director of research and communications for Corporate University Xchange Inc., a New York-based education and research consulting firm.

As a result, corporate universities are beginning to replace traditional training departments."The traditional training departments are...not proactive.When training and educational programs are strategically aligned with a company's business plan, employees are privy to that plan and become business partners, not training bureaucrats.They must know what business they're in," Eisenstat says.
...
Says Eisenstat: "When a company is in a technology-related field, the shelf-life of the technical knowledge needed to do business can be short.

And a company's growth parallels the burgeoning technological development and innovations, which are incredibly fast," says Adam Eisenstat, director of research and communications for Corporate University Xchange Inc., a New York-based education and research consulting firm.

As a result, corporate universities are beginning to replace traditional training departments."The traditional training departments are...not proactive.When training and educational programs are strategically aligned with a company's business plan, employees are privy to that plan and become business partners, not training bureaucrats.They must know what business they're in," Eisenstat says.

And it's the business implication that companies such as Cox Communications Inc. had in mind when it recently launched Cox University, a leading-edge leap into the uncharted waters of corporate training and education, blended with the company's overall business strategy.

...
Says Eisenstat: "When a company is in a technology-related field, the shelf-life of the technical knowledge needed to do business can be short.It's fiscally and physically not possible to train people fast enough to keep up with developing technologies.The issue is developing human capital.It comes down to what you know."

What a growing number of companies already know is that knowledge is king.

And a company's growth parallels the burgeoning technological development and innovations, which are incredibly fast," says Adam Eisenstat, director of research and communications for Corporate University Xchange Inc., a New York-based education and research consulting firm.

As a result, corporate universities are beginning to replace traditional training departments."The traditional training departments are ... not proactive.When training and educational programs are strategically aligned with a company's business plan, employees are privy to that plan and become business partners, not training bureaucrats.They must know what business they're in," Eisenstat says.
...
Says Eisenstat: "When a company is in a technology-related field, the shelf-life of the technical knowledge needed to do business can be short.

"Theres been a huge increase in the nontraditional, working adult student," said Adam Eisenstat, director of communications for Corporate University Xchange, an education research and consulting firm in New York.

Where are these nontraditional students hitting the books (or the Internet)?A hint: In the early 1980s, there were 400 U.S.-based corporate universities.Today, there are 1,600, with 40 percent of the Fortune 500 participating.

According to Eisenstat, this growth in corporate universities has been driven by a number of forces, mainly the shortened "shelf life" of knowledge.Rapid technological change requires that firms provide ongoing education to employees in order to stay competitive."Firms that organize themselves for learning will benefit by creating a highly skilled, flexible workforce [who will be] able to create value in the marketplace and offer the company an enduring competitive advantage," he said.

A BRIEF DEFINITION

What exactly is a "corporate university"?And why the name?

A corporate university differs from a traditional training department.
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"Some more mature corporate universities are actually making money for their companies," said Eisenstat."Disney sells its customer service courseware to businesses in all different industries.Who is more experienced to teach customer service than Disney?"

One of the biggest trends is the explosion of alliances between corporations and colleges, as companies and nonprofits look for innovative ways to offer continual education.

A CHANGING EDUCATION MARKET
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"Convenience is the religion of this country," said Eisenstat."Working adults want accessible education.They dont want to work eight, 10, maybe 12 hours a day and then try to fit in a night class at a campus, all while trying to juggle a family life.Only 6 percent of employees have taken advantage of traditional tuition reimbursement programs for this very reason.Technology and distance learning are offering up new choices."

Colleges and universities are being cast into this marketplace, and its unfamiliar to them.
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"We discovered that corporate universities and traditional universities are partnering more and more," said Eisenstat, "and that this trend is definitely going to continue."

In the study titled, "Corporate-College Partnerships: A Best Practices Survey," they found that institutions of higher education are providing corporations with a wide range of training programs for their employees, ranging from traditional business courses to interpersonal development programs -- even to programs on how to use the Internet.

And more often, theyre using technology.Seven out of 10 corporate university academic partners use computer-based technologies to deliver programs, including the Web (Internet/intranets), CD-ROMs and videoconferencing.

The survey also showed that customized programs are growing.
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"Customization is driving many partnerships," said Eisenstat, "and some really creative programs are being developed."

NONPROFIT PARTNERS DESIGN MANAGEMENT PROGRAM

The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and Johns Hopkins Universitys School of Professional Studies in Business and Education have created an innovative program.They came together to design a certificate program in nonprofit business management, through Humane Society University.

The partnership was formed in response to an overwhelming need in animal shelters, protection organizations and municipalities to offer advanced learning opportunities to individuals in the animal protection field.
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Adam EisenstatDirector of CommunicationsCorporate University Xchange212.213.2828 Web Site

"There simply isn't enough time or money for companies to shuffle this many workers in and out of the classroom," says Adam Eisenstat, Director of Research & Communications for Corporate University XChange, "I think one of the most telling statistics is that of all the people eligible for tuition reimbursement from their employers, only some 7 percent actually take advantage of it.

"There's been a huge increase in the nontraditional, working adult student," said Adam Eisenstat, director of communications for Corporate University Xchange, an education research and consulting firm in New York.

Where are these nontraditional students hitting the books (or the Internet)?A hint: In the early 1980s, there were 400 U.S.-based corporate universities.Today, there are 1,600, with 40 percent of the Fortune 500 participating.

According to Eisenstat, this growth in corporate universities has been driven by a number of forces, mainly the shortened "shelf life" of knowledge.Rapid technological change requires that firms provide ongoing education to employees in order to stay competitive."Firms that organize themselves for learning will benefit by creating a highly skilled, flexible workforce [who will be] able to create value in the marketplace and offer the company an enduring competitive advantage," he said.
...
"Some more mature corporate universities are actually making money for their companies," said Eisenstat.
...
"Convenience is the religion of this country," said Eisenstat.
...
"We discovered that corporate universities and traditional universities are partnering more and more," said Eisenstat, "and that this trend is definitely going to continue."
...
"Customization is driving many partnerships," said Eisenstat, "and some really creative programs are being developed."

For review inquiries, contact : Adam Eisenstat, (212) 213-2828 or adame@corpu.com

SOURCE Corporate University Xchange, IncWeb Site : http : //www.corpu.com /

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