Corporate universities primarily or exclusively educate the employees within the organization that created them and should not be confused with for-profit institutions of higher education. Corporate universities come in many shapes and sizes. At one end of the spectrum, they resemble traditional institutions of higher education, with campus buildings and degree programs. At the other end of the spectrum, they look more like a robust training department, distinguishable mainly in orientation and branding.

Because of resource needs, corporate universities are not typically found in small organizations. Corporate universities tend to be more proactive in their delivery of training and development than traditional training departments. Maintaining a corporate university signals to employees that the organization values and encourages employee learning and development. While the extent of the curriculum within corporate universities varies, the level of control and standardization in delivery of content is greater in corporate universities than in many of the other instructional settings.

Curriculum generally encompasses the three Cs. Corporate citizenship involves teaching employees about the organization’s values, culture, history, and traditions. Contextual framework educates employees about how the organization interacts with its environment. Finally, core workplace competencies focus on the KSAs that will make employees more productive.