With technology comes the question of whether or not a physical space is still needed to house a corporate university. Most learning leaders seem to acknowledge there is something symbolic about bringing people together. Gandarilla said it depends on the size, geography and scope of the business. He argues that it’s not necessary to have a physical space, but it is helpful in providing a place to bring employees together to share ideas. At Texas Health, the furthest employees are only 2.5 hours from the organization’s headquarters, so the firm is in the process of building a conference center to host training.

At Northwell Health, they do both virtual and in-house training. A lot of knowledge training that used to be done in-person is now done online, and the in-person training focuses on applying what’s been learned. “In healthcare, safety is dependent on teamwork,” Gallo said. “Trust is key, and we can only facilitate that in person.”

However, at the multinational AT&T, Palmer said the need for a physical space will lessen as technologies continue to advance. “We’re driving a lot of our curriculums to the virtual space so we can be more nimble and flexible and drive a lot more velocity into getting curriculums out to the masses, when it comes to the size and scope of our workforce,” he said.

Similarly, the global Caterpillar never had a physical building for its corporate university, and Vance said there’s never been a need for one. However, he said when it comes to leadership development and performance management there will always be a need for live instruction versus virtual.

As the delivery methods of learning have become more engaging, whether it be through online learning, gamification or virtual reality, Gallo said staying relevant by helping the organization thrive as it changes in response to the marketplace should be the most important goal of the corporate university. She said the corporate university will only become more important and will be a competitive advantage in the future.

“It keeps the company on their toes,” she said. “As you develop your employees, they are good prospects for the competition. It forces the company to be the employer that these high-performing individuals want to stay with.” 

(May 3, 2018 https://www.chieflearningofficer.com/2018/05/03/future-corporate-un...)

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What a Corporate University Is and Is Not By Kathryn Tyler

“There is a general lack of understanding of what a corporate university is,” says Mark Allen, Ph.D., a professor at Pepperdine University. “It is not a place, a building or a gimmick. A corporate university is an educational entity that is a strategic tool designed to assist its parent organization in achieving its mission by conducting activities that cultivate individual and organizational learning, knowledge, and wisdom.”

Here are differences between …

A corporate university and a training department. “A training department is tactical or operational, whereas a corporate university is positioned at a strategic level. A good training program helps you do your job better. A corporate university helps the organization achieve its mission,” Allen says.

A corporate university and a traditional university. Traditional universities conduct scientific research and grant degrees in a variety of disciplines. Corporate universities focus primarily—though not exclusively—on on-the-job skills, company-specific proprietary knowledge and branding, and certification. “At a corporate university, you are focusing on learning that will benefit the organization, not just the individual,” Allen says.

The author is a freelance writer and former HR generalist and trainer in Wixom, Mich.(https://www.shrm.org/hr-today/news/hr-magazine/pages/0412tyler2.aspx)