Kaplan University (KU) is a for-profit college owned by Kaplan, Inc., a subsidiary of the Graham Holdings Company. The university is predominantly a distance learning institution, and also maintains 15 physical locations across the United States. It is regionally accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC), one of the nation's seven major accrediting bodies. Kaplan University was named in honor of Stanley H. Kaplan, who founded Kaplan Test Prep. In 2017, Indiana's Purdue University bought Kaplan University with the aim of making a nonprofit institution and a new online university, pending approval by the HLC.
History
Kaplan University 2017 Commencement Ceremony - On June 3, hundreds of Kaplan University's 10700 online graduates attended the 2017 Commencement Ceremony at the Rosemont Theatre near Chicago. University President Dr. Betty Vandenbosch...
The American Institute of Commerce (AIC) was established in 1937 in Davenport, Iowa as a workforce preparatory school. In 1999, after six decades of growth in Iowa, the U.S. Department of Education selected the school as 1 of 15 to receive a grant that would enable it to offer courses online. Around this time, AIC and four other Iowa colleges were acquired by Quest College and renamed accordingly. In November 2000, Kaplan Inc. purchased the Quest Education Corporation and changed its name to Kaplan College. Beginning in September 2004, Kaplan, Inc. divided its programs into two different offerings: Kaplan University which specializes in online bachelor's and graduate degrees and Kaplan College, which offered classroom-based instruction and was largely vocational in nature and focused on associate degrees and certificates. In 2015 Kaplan sold all 38 Kaplan College campuses to Education Corporation of America. Kaplan College is now known as Brightwood College.
In October 2007, all seven Iowa and Nebraska-based Hamilton College (Iowa) campuses merged with Kaplan University and are now operating under the Kaplan University brand.
Concord Law School merged with Kaplan University in October 2007, changing its name to Concord Law School of Kaplan University. Concord Law School was established in 1998 and was the first fully online law school in the United States. The American Bar Association does not accredit online programs but students with non-ABA-accredited law degrees are allowed to take California's bar examination and practice law once admitted to the bar.
On April 27, 2017, Purdue University announced plans to acquire Kaplan University and convert it to a public university in the state of Indiana, subject to multiple levels of approval. Terms of the acquisition were not initially announced.
Offerings and enrollment
The University, which has its main campus in Davenport, Iowa, and its headquarters in Chicago, Illinois, is accredited by The Higher Learning Commission. Kaplan University serves approximately 33,000 students. Roughly 75 percent are female, 60 percent are over age 30, and one-quarter are military affiliated. More than half are considered the first generation in their family to go to college. The University has 15 campuses and learning centers in Iowa, Indiana, Nebraska, Maryland, Maine, Missouri and Wisconsin.
Academics
Kaplan University is academically organized into eight schools.
- Business and Information Technology
- Concord Law School
- Education
- Health Sciences
- Nursing
- Open College
- Professional and Continuing Education
- Social and Behavioral Sciences
According to Kaplan's annual academic report, the University awards more than 12,000 degrees and certificates a year. More than 40 percent of its faculty have a Ph.D.
Many of Kaplan's offerings rely on Competency based education. This allows the University to offer credit to students who can demonstrate they have mastered certain learning outcomes through professional and military training.
The university’s school of nursing was awarded a national professional accreditation for its Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree in April 2006 from the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE). The School of Nursing was granted additional programmatic accreditations from the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) in June 2016, including for its doctoral and master’s programs. In addition, other schools have earned programmatic accreditation. For example, Kaplan University’s School of Business was granted accreditation by the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP) in 2013.
Learning Science Research
Kaplan University uses its access to a large and diverse pool of at-risk students to conduct teaching experiments that allows it to fine tune its online programs for the best results. It has partnered with researchers from Harvard and Stanford who have found that the online medium allow for better analyzation of learning outcomes and experimental teaching practices.
Admissions and financial aid
Kaplan University has an open admissions policy. Applicants are eligible for both Pell grants and federal student loans. The university offers members of the military discounted tuition rates as well as granting service members college credit for some of the military education they may have received while in the service.
Rankings
Each year, the U.S. News & World Report ranks 300 online degree programs. Kaplan University's ranking has ranged from number 56 to number 156 since 2013.
Criticisms
Criticisms of Kaplan College are documented in the entry for Brightwood College, the owner of Kaplan College since 2015.
False Claims Act lawsuit
On August 17, 2011, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida issued a series of rulings in three related cases purportedly based on the federal False Claims Act. The federal government has repeatedly declined to pursue the claims. The cases included three separate complaints by three former Kaplan University employees, Messrs. Wilcox, Gillespie, and Diaz. The court dismissed the claims brought by Wilcox in their entirety. (Diaz v. Kaplan Univ., No. 09â€"20756â€"civ, 2011 WL 3627285, (S.D.Fla. Aug. 17, 2011). Wilcox was later, and separately, criminally convicted by a federal jury for making threats against Kaplan employees. (U.S. v. Wilcox, 1:08-cr-00256, U.S. District Court, Northern Division of Illinois (Chicago). The District Court also dismissed in part Gillespie’s complaint, severely limiting the scope and time frame of the allegations, and, on July 16, 2013, the Court entered summary judgment in favor of the Company on all remaining claims in the Gillespie complaint. (Diaz v. Kaplan Univ., No. 09â€"20756â€"civ, 2011 WL 3627285, (S.D.Fla. July 16, 2013). Gillespie appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Judicial Circuit and, on March 11, 2015, the Appellate Court issued a decision affirming the lower court’s dismissal of all of Gillespie’s claims. (Urquilla-Diaz v. Kaplan University, No. 13-13672 (11th Cir. 2015).
On Diaz’s compliant, the Court dismissed the entire False Claims Act claim and on October 31, 2012, the court entered summary judgment in favor of Kaplan as to the sole remaining employment claim in the Diaz complaint. Kaplan also received a judgment for costs against Diaz based on his frivolous employment claims. (Urquilla-Diaz v. Kaplan University (1:11-cv-23394). However, Diaz appealed and, on March 11, 2015, the Appellate Court affirmed the dismissal of three of the four Diaz claims, but reversed and remanded on the claim that incentive compensation for admissions representatives was improperly based on enrollment counts. (Urquilla-Diaz v. Kaplan University, No. 13-13672 (11th Cir. 2015). Kaplan filed an answer to Diaz’s amended complaint and a summary judgment briefing schedule has been set.
On July 7, 2011, the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada dismissed another False Claims Act case brought by another former employee of a Kaplan nationally accredited campus, Mr. Jajdelski, in its entirety and entered a final judgment in favor of Kaplan. (Jajdelski v. Kaplan, Inc., 834 F. Supp. 2d 1182 (D. Nev. 2011). Like the other cases, the federal government has repeatedly declined to intervene. On February 13, 2013, the U.S. Circuit Court for the Ninth Judicial Circuit affirmed the dismissal in part and reversed the dismissal on one allegation under the False Claims Act relating to eligibility for Title IV funding based on claims of false attendance. (CHARLES JAJDELSKI V. KAPLAN. INC., No. 11-16651 (9th Cir. 2013). The surviving claim was remanded to the District Court, where Kaplan was again granted summary judgment on March 9, 2015. (U.S. EX REL. JAJDELSKI v. KAPLAN, INC.) Plaintiff has appealed this judgment.
On March 22, 2017, a Ninth Circuit panel tossed out the False Claims Act case finding Jajdelski had failed to present evidence the company received student aid funds for "phantom students" upholding a lower court's ruling in favor of Kaplan.
Degree credibility and debt load
In 2010 Kaplan and other for-profit education companies came under scrutiny from the U.S. Congress due to concerns that the industry leaves too many students with heavy debts, and with credentials that are of little help in finding jobs. Much of the report focused on Kaplan College programs, which are no longer a part of Kaplan University. Although the report was critical of Kaplan Inc, Senator Tom Harkin, then chair of the investigating committee noted, "Kaplan stands alone among the large, for-profit education companies for having taken what are, in my opinion, real and significant steps to reduce high withdrawal rates and high default rates by implementing the Kaplan Commitment program."
Political influence
Anita Dunn, a former White House spokesperson, was hired by Kaplan .
Purchase by Purdue University
In April 2017, Purdue University announced its decision to acquire Kaplan University with the goal of creating a new public university to expand access to higher education for working adults. The institution, which will be named Purdue University Global when the acquisition is completed, will offer multiple credentials from certificates to doctoral degrees both online and at fourteen different campus locations. The rest of Kaplan Inc. will be under agreement to continue offering nonacademic support to the University for thirty years, with a six year buyout option. According to a company filing, Kaplan was not eligible for any reimbursement until the new university covered all operating costs and set aside $10 million in each of the first five years.
References
External links
- Official website