Cornell University is partnering with Fortune to offer a unique online program in business strategy.
Cornell’s online learning program, eCornell, is opening its doors to the public for the collaborative project. The program, called Mastering 21st Century Business Strategy, costs a total of $3,600. It includes six courses which are estimated to take between five and seven hours for about 18 weeks. Enrollment opened this week, and those who complete all six classes will receive a certificate from Cornell.
Paul Krause, CEO of eCornell, described the program’s purpose simply:
eCornell has always offered online programs that enable students to learn skills that they can apply. In this new program, we take it a step further with current events and Fortune’s in-depth analysis.
Topics include strategic positioning in markets, mergers and acquisitions strategy, competitive advantage and profitability, supply chain threats and opportunities, and the application of game theory to business, among other subjects.
The program was designed by Professor Justin Johnson of Cornell’s Johnson Graduate School of Management. Several Fortune journalists will be featured in videos, writes Claire Zillman of Fortune, providing students with access to business leaders. These include Senior Editor at Large Geoff Colvin, Editor at Large Shawn Tully, and writer Erin Griffith.
Business Wire quoted Alan Murray, Fortune’s editor, on the importance of mixing Cornell’s academic offerings with Fortune’s analysis:
Fortune has always been a critical resource for business leaders and will now extend its mission to support the next generation of talent. Technology is driving business change faster than ever before. Our program with Cornell will help students keep up with the broad implications of those changes by drawing on Fortune’s deep reporting and its access to top business leaders.
Time Inc., Fortune’s parent company, is following a trend of media companies getting involved in education endeavors, writes Molly Hensley-Clancy of BuzzFeed News. The New York Times created nytEducation for high school students earlier this month, and this July, Teen Vogue and the Parsons School of Design at The New School collaborated on an online fashion program.
Ashford University paid Forbes $45 million for the use of its name on its business school. Earlier this year, LinkedIn bought Lynda.com, and Udacity and Google paired up to teach Android development. Last year, Wired and the University of Southern California began offering a master’s in Integrated Business, Design, and Technology. Online education platforms like Coursera have been increasing their involvement in job training.
eCornell provides more than 30 certificate programs in subjects like marketing, finance and managerial accounting, healthcare, hospitality and food service management, human resources management, leadership and strategic management, supervisory skills, sales growth, project leadership and systems design, and plant-based nutrition. Its courses are self-paced, though start and end dates are fixed.
