Many instructors find themselves with the opportunity to manage an educational experience outside the realm of a traditional degree program, managing educational experiences for major trade associations, single companies, and corporate consortiums, government agencies, and philanthropic organizations. All such settings pose challenges and opportunities that stretch instructors in ways akin to, as well as dissimilar from, those rooted in managing a degree program. In this chapter we will focus on some of the unique aspects of managing a major educational relationship with a Fortune 500 client. It is fair to say that our institution essentially serves as the corporate university for this client, taking on a multifaceted set of responsibilities around the issue of people development.

Issues similar to degree programs

A number of nondegree educational program concerns have counterparts in typical degree programs. Program design issues that address integration, pace, balance, and quality continue to be of critical importance in nondegree educational programs – whether the program lasts two days, or spans several months. Similarly, students in nondegree programs are a part of a classroom affinity group and, in our environment, small-group learning teams. Developing the connections and cohesiveness of those groups is another priority. The principles discussed in the prior chapter regarding those themes, though tailored to the nondegree client, apply here as well.