A very natural marriage occurred between higher education and corporations which greatly expanded in the 1980's. It started out as a desire for corporations to have an employee benefits package that would increase retention and loyalty of high performing employees. Some have tied this to the 1980's when corporations began to realize the mobility of the population and the phenomena of multiple careers within a lifetime. No longer were employees staying in one place, combined with substantial changes in organizational structure resulting in "right sizing" "downsizing" and "outsourcing." The question for employers was "How do I keep the right employees in the company?"

Higher education was more than willing to become the partner, but it was going to be on its terms. Structured and inflexible degree programs were tied to faculty-driven universities. Internally within higher education there was little motivation to change and be innovative. After all, faculty had tenure, and catering to corporations changed nothing in their landscape except to make more work - seen as unnecessary.

During the late 1980's and through the 1990's we saw some interesting changes. Corporations began to see educational attainment as a significant driver and benchmark for qualifying employees for certain positions as well as for marking individual promotions. Instead of being an employee bonus and retention tool, educational attainment became a tool for employee advancement.

During this same period, corporations began to make demands of higher education for more flexibility, evening courses, and eventually technologically driven elearning by the end of the 1990's. Many corporate- education partnerships could not handle the stress in the marriage and it ended in relationship disaster with both shaking their heads in confusion.

New partners, however, were waiting in the wings. These educational partners were a very different breed. They were considered the renegades within higher education because they took on a business model of agility, flexibility and customer - client service. Usually these came in the form of proprietary higher education, workforce development units within community colleges, and continuing education divisions often within small entrepreneurial colleges and universities. This came at a great price. These renegades were considered traitors to traditional education. They were accused of having a profit motive in place of an altruistic motive. Oh yes, the traditional parts of the organization loved the money they brought in, but publicly displayed their distrust.

Corporations gravitated to these renegades during this period, but often were burned as well. The 1990's brought on a slew of non-accredited, or limitedly accredited institutions and in the confusion of marketing would often partner with higher education in disastrous ways due to lack of knowledge in the learning space.

In this first decade in the 21st century there seems to be a large market correction in the way universities and corporations interact. Corporations are becoming much more intelligent in establishing partnerships. They know exactly what they are looking for and that is flexible curriculum that produces changed behavior on the job. It is the corporate entity that is driving the relationship, even the creation of new degrees. The currency and language of the marriage is money. If you follow the money trail, you will find out who is in the driver seat.

Higher education, even within large public institutions, has now seen the reason for change. Technological innovations in learning such as the Internet, blackberries and palm handheld units have redefined how information can be effectively distributed and new learning models emerged.

Yes, the language sets are still very different. But corporations have clearly defined what it is that they require from higher education. Entrepreneurial higher education, once thought of as renegades, have stepped up to fill the gap. Together they are now in uncharted territory and I believe have only scratched the surface of potential.

One truth that has become self evident to me. Like in any successful partnership, each party needs a clear line of sight to the value the other provides - and then be willing to compromise and change with agility to meet those expectations. There are clear examples to be found such as Wharton Business School designing a complete graduate curriculum for Chief Learning Officers, and Delta Air Lines negotiating tuition discounts from preferred providers. For higher education this means that not only is the learner the client, but the corporation is as well.