Although learning foundations for adult learning are almost the same whether in a corporate environment or in higher education, the design approach for a course differs. 

In higher education, the course design in many cases focuses on the sequence of the course, departmental needs, the instructor's training and view of what the students need, and adhering to the specific number of weeks to cover the content. On the other hand, when Instructional design (ID) for corporate or NGO or small business, the focus is on solving a problem. It could be a training gap or seeking more efficiency in delivering a product. 

Another difference is the focus on ID on activating prior knowledge as one of Merrill's five principles of Instruction. This may not be emphasized as much in higher education unless the instructor is aware of Culturally Responsive Teaching and other inclusive pedagogies that view learners' prior knowledge valuable and a step towards learning more new material. 

In future posts, I will be exploring more differences and similarities between the design approach difference in higher education versus ID.