Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield Delaware turned to Wilmington University’s College of Online and Experiential Learning to provide online Microsoft Excel courses for their employees in an accelerated, non-credit format.

In response, COEL shared their non-credit Fundamentals of Excel course, originally created by Adam Voyton, WilmU’s educational technology systems manager. COEL Dean Dr. Sallie Reissman and Voyton met with Highmark and created a plan to offer two modified Excel learning experiences, including a beginner and intermediate course. Voyton taught the courses to 13 Highmark employees from April 16 to May 1, 2021.

This kind of targeted skill development is the hallmark of effective “skilling up” instruction, where the instructor tailors the course content to the specific context of the employees. COEL looks forward to providing more of these types of professional development opportunities.

Based on employee feedback, the course was a great success. One employee remarked, “Adam was great about walking through each item using examples that were specifically applicable to our team.” Another employee reflected: “Very interactive. The instructor took the time to listen to questions about what we do and came up with ways to help us, tailored specifically to our jobs.”

Learn more about the College of Online and Experiential Learning here.