The courses offered by the consortium range from half-hour refresher sessions on operating computers and using software to master's degree business classes using curricula adapted from Stanford University, the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business, Carnegie Mellon University and the London School of Economics. The courses, used by all 13 companies, are also being marketed to others. United Parcel Service and CNA Insurance recently signed on, Webster said. The consortium uses seven e-learning providers with varying areas of expertise. UNext, of Deerfield, Ill., was brought in, for example, to provide MBA courses for GM's 88,000 executive, management, professional and technical employees through the automaker's General Motors University training facility.
Typical offerings involve Web training on managing conflict, team-building and sales techniques.
Ninth House, a San Francisco e-learning provider used by the consortium, develops multimedia, interactive training programs that use games and videos to develop executives.