Corporate University Review Survey Finds Dramatic Increase in Corporate Universities; CUs Gain Popularity With Smaller Companies; CUs Seen as Cost-Effective.

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 2, 1998--The number of corporate universities (CUs) will increase dramatically by the end of the century with smaller companies leading the charge, according to a survey conducted by Securities Data Publishing's Corporate University Review, Arizona State University, Fairleigh Dickinson University, and The Ohio State University.

The survey which is published in the November/December issue of Corporate University Review looks at companies that have an infrastructure for employee development that goes beyond the traditional training department. The survey found that 84% of the respondents have or are planning a corporate university. In fact, half as many CUs are being planned as are being operated today. Among the respondents, 72 are currently operating CUs and 46 said they are on the drawing board, 18 of which were said to be opening in 1998. The 140 survey respondents cited three primary factors for developing a CU:

--the need to link training to business (95%) --to convey corporate culture (82%) --to have a systematic curriculum (75%)

"I'm astounded by the rate at which corporate universities are coming up," remarks James F. Davis, associate provost and director, University Technology Services, The Ohio State University. "This is an indicator of the tremendous opportunity four-year academic institutions have to collaborate with business, and we need to find ways to be more responsive to companies' needs."

Significantly, the popularity of CUs with smaller companies is on the rise. 34% of the participants have fewer than 5,000 employees and 42% of the participants have fewer than 10,000. In fact, only 8% have more than 100,000 employees contradicting the often-expressed view that CUs are found primarily in the largest corporations.

"In the past, CUs were most commonly found in large organizations," noted Lynn Densford, Editor of Corporate University Review. "Looking at the survey results, smaller companies are beginning to recognize some of the benefits of CUs and have expressed their desire to develop programs relevant to real-life work experiences and to provide the best training resources to their employees."

Lastly, those companies with CUs don't necessarily spend far more on training, which supports the argument that a centralized training approach is more cost-effective. Approximately three-fourths of the respondents spend less than 3% of payroll on training, and only one in 10 spends 5% or more.

Complete details of Corporate University Review's survey, and charts, are available at their Web Site located at http://www.traininguniversity.com.

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Note to Editors: Lynn Densford, Editor of Corporate University Review, is available for interviews and can be reached by contacting Joe LoBello at 212-333-9419.