(FORTUNE Magazine) – Call it what you want--Boardrooms for Dummies, Boot Camp for Directors, or the more euphemistic official title, "Beyond the Boardroom: Understanding the Energy Industry." But whatever phrase you prefer, one thing is clear: Remedial education has arrived at the apex of American businesses. Two trade groups, the Edison Electric Institute (EEI) and the American Gas Association (AGA), have begun holding seminars designed to educate boards of directors on the industry those sage souls are overseeing.

The idea for what sounds a lot like Energy 101 just kind of "bubbled up," recalls Bill Brier, the vice president of policy and public affairs at the EEI. Clearly, he says, it had a lot to do with the, um, unpleasant events of the past few years. The EEI and AGA thought, quite sensibly, that if board members had a better grasp of the industry, they might have a better shot at preventing the next Enron.

These seminars are not exactly glam events (especially compared with the free-spending glory days at Enron). The first one was hosted by the AGA last spring at its Washington, D.C., headquarters; the second meeting was held last fall at the EEI's offices. The roughly two dozen board members to attend so far from companies like Xcel and Public Service Co. of New Mexico, have heard everything from S&P's industry outlook to a "basic explanation of the primary federal agencies" that regulate energy. At the first gathering an insurance underwriter gave a midmorning speech, the subject of which (if not the title) was guaranteed to wake up any would-be napper: "Lessons From Recent D&O [Directors and Officers] Litigation (What Every Director Should Know)."

Ron Seeholzer, the EEI's finance director, says that the seminars have been "very well received" by board members. And the idea has won the imprimatur of good-governance advocate Institutional Shareholder Services. Would a better-educated board really have prevented the Enron disaster? Who knows? But at least its members would have had a better shot at asking the right questions.

--Bethany McLean