ESOP Fundamentals

A Web-Based Educational Program

Try a Working Demo or Download the Course Outline (PDF)

Created by the National Center for Employee Ownership, ESOP Fundamentals is an educational program designed to give a comprehensive overview of the various aspects of employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs). Adapted from NCEO texts such as The ESOP Reader, An Introduction to ESOPs, and Selling to an ESOP, ESOP Fundamentals is an entirely Web-based course, designed with modules to cover the mechanics, management, environment, and special issues (such as S corporation ESOPs) of employee stock ownership plans. (Please refer to the course outline for a complete directory of topics.)

ESOP Fundamentals is a subscription-based course; it is the perfect Web-based learning tool to give ESOP participants a user-friendly resource and to enable ESOP consultants receive an overview. We believe this course will make your ESOP company more dynamic, or will be able to learn about ESOPs from a range of perspectives.

Course Structure

Each module presents the student with relevant information on a variety of ESOP topics, followed by a multiple-choice quiz. ESOP Fundamentals has a built-in ESOP glossary. Some employees will not want to read the more technical articles or take quizzes. The course accommodates them by allowing you to mark such a student as a "beginner" in the control panel. These "beginner" students will see only the more basic articles and will not see any mention of quizzes.

Each student (except those marked as "beginners") must pass every quiz, answering each question correctly, to generate a certificate of completion. It will usually about three to four weeks for a regular student to complete this course.

Who Should Take This Course?

ESOP Fundamentals is intended for the following audiences:

Executives, financial officers, operating officers, human resources personnel, ESOP committee members, and employees at ESOP companies.
Professional advisors and service providers, such as consultants, lenders, accountants, fiduciaries, and employees at third-party administration firms.

What Users Are Saying

"We all thought we were pretty knowledgeable about ESOPs, but we found that the NCEO modules gave us a lot of information we didn't know. They are a great learning tool for anyone at any level of understanding.": Sid Scott, VP-Human Resources, Woodward Communications, Inc.
"The ESOP training program is really helpful. No prior knowledge of ESOPs is required. It is written in plain, simple language that everyone can understand. We found it very informative. The NCEO took a technical topic and made it easy to understand using examples of real companies and down-to-earth language.": Tom Gale, ESOP Committee Chairman, Colovos Company

Price and Terms of Access

A one-year subscription costs $300 for NCEO members and $400 for nonmembers. If you are an NCEO member, the course fee covers an unlimited number of employees at your company (if you are an ESOP company) or anyone covered by your NCEO membership if you are a service provider. (If you are not a member, the course fee covers you only, but since it is cheaper to join and buy access at the member rate, generally anyone who takes this is a member.) The person or people who are in charge of the training at your company (or office) receive a private control panel where students can be added or deleted and the progress of each student can be monitored as he or she passes tests and completes the course.

Note: for service providers, NCEO membership, and thus access to this program, covers a single person unless they belong to our Referral Service, in which case everyone at that person's location is covered. Of course, individuals as well as organizations are welcome to take this course. The same prices apply to individuals as to organizations.

After using ESOP Fundamentals for one year, you will be given the opportunity to renew your subscription for unlimited use, as long as the course remains in its current form. The renewal price is $300 for NCEO members and $400 for nonmembers.

To order online, click here for our order form; for more information or to order over the phone, contact the NCEO at 510-208-1300.

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