Kaplan University
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Kaplan University (KU) was a
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for-profit university owned by Kaplan, Inc., a subsidiary of
Graham Holdings Company Graham Holdings Company (formerly The Washington Post Company) is a diversified American conglomerate holding company. Headquartered in Arlington County, Virginia, and incorporated in Delaware, it was formerly the owner of ''The Washington Po ...
. It was predominantly a distance learning institution, maintaining 14 ground locations across the United States. The university was named in honor of Stanley H. Kaplan, who founded Kaplan Test Prep. It was regionally accredited by the
Higher Learning Commission The Higher Learning Commission (HLC) is an institutional accreditor in the United States. It has historically accredited post-secondary education institutions in the central United States: Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa ...
, one of seven major accrediting bodies in the U.S., but some programs did not have the field-specific accreditation needed for graduates to obtain certification. In 2017, Graham sold Kaplan University to
Purdue University Purdue University is a Public university#United States, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded ...
for $1, with the aim of changing it into a nonprofit online institution now known as Purdue University Global. The acquisition, announced in April 2017, was completed in March 2018.


History

The American Institute of Commerce (AIC) was established in 1937 in
Davenport, Iowa Davenport ( ) is a city in Scott County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat. It is situated along the Mississippi River on the eastern border of the state. Davenport had a population of 101,724 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 cen ...
as a workforce preparatory school. In 1999, after six decades of growth in Iowa, the
U.S. Department of Education The United States Department of Education is a United States Cabinet, cabinet-level department of the federal government of the United States, United States government, originating in 1980. The department began operating on May 4, 1980, havin ...
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 to Quest Education Corporation. In November 2000, Kaplan, Inc. purchased the college, and changed its name to Kaplan College. Beginning in September 2004, Kaplan, Inc. divided its programs into two different offerings: Kaplan University which specialized 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, Inc. 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 Hamilton College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Clinton, Oneida County, New York, Clinton, New York. It was established as the Hamilton-Oneida Academy in 1793 and received its c ...
campuses merged with and began 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. The school, established in 1998, was the first fully online law school in the United States. The
American Bar Association The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary association, voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students in the United States; national in scope, it is not specific to any single jurisdiction. Founded in 1878, the ABA's stated acti ...
(ABA) 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 An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...
.


2017 purchase by Purdue University

Following several years of significant enrollment decline,
Graham Holdings Graham Holdings Company (formerly The Washington Post Company) is a diversified American conglomerate holding company. Headquartered in Arlington County, Virginia, and incorporated in Delaware, it was formerly the owner of ''The Washington Po ...
sold Kaplan University to the Purdue University system for one dollar in March 2018, who rebranded the institution as Purdue University Global. In exchange, Purdue agreed to employ Kaplan, Inc. as the exclusive provider of nonacademic functions for thirty years, with a six year buyout option, and Kaplan, Inc. agreed to assume responsibility for liabilities resulting before the transaction. According to the contract terms, Kaplan receives 12.5 percent of the university's revenue, as long as funds are available after all operating expenses and guaranteed payments to Purdue have been covered.


Offerings and admissions

The university, which had its main campus in
Davenport, Iowa Davenport ( ) is a city in Scott County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat. It is situated along the Mississippi River on the eastern border of the state. Davenport had a population of 101,724 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 cen ...
and its headquarters in
Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
, was accredited by the
Higher Learning Commission The Higher Learning Commission (HLC) is an institutional accreditor in the United States. It has historically accredited post-secondary education institutions in the central United States: Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa ...
. At the time of its acquisition by Purdue, it served approximately 33,000 students: roughly 75% female, 60% over age 30, and 25% who are military affiliated. More than 50% are the first generation in their family to go to college. Kaplan University had an open admissions policy. Applicants were eligible for both Pell grants and federal student loans. The university offered members of the military discounted tuition rates as well as college credit for some of the military education they may have received while in the service.


Academics

Kaplan University was 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 awarded more than 12,000 degrees and certificates a year. More than 40 percent of its faculty have a Ph.D. Many of its offerings relied on competency based education to offer credits 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 The Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) is a nursing education accrediting agency in the United States. The CCNE is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. The commission's headquarters are in Washington, D.C. CCNE acc ...
(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, its other schools 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 used its access to a large and diverse pool of at-risk students to conduct teaching experiments to adjust its online programs. It partnered with researchers from Harvard and Stanford who found that the online medium allowed for better analysis of learning outcomes and experimental teaching practices.


Criticisms


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 based on the federal False Claims Act. 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. 09–20756–civ, 2011 WL 3627285, (S.D.Fla. Aug. 17, 2011)). Wilcox was later, and separately, convicted for making threats against Kaplan employees. (''U.S. v. Wilcox'', 1:08-cr-00256, U.S. District Court, Northern Division of Illinois (Chicago)). The court also dismissed in part Gillespie's complaint, 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. 09–20756–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, Charles Jajdelski, in its entirety and entered a final judgment in favor of Kaplan. The claim found that Jajdelski had failed to present evidence the company received student aid funds for "phantom students". (''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.'') The plaintiff appealed, and on March 22, 2017, a Ninth Circuit panel upheld a lower court's ruling in favor of Kaplan.


Degree credibility and debt load

In 2010 Kaplan and other
for-profit education For-profit education (also known as the education services industry or proprietary education) refers to educational institutions operated by private, Profit (economics), profit-seeking businesses. For-profit education is common in many parts of the ...
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 Thomas Richard Harkin (born November 19, 1939) is an American lawyer, author, and politician who served as a United States Senate, United States senator from Iowa from 1985 to 2015. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Pa ...
, 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."


References


External links

* {{Coord, 26, 8, N, 80, 12, W, display=title Online universities and colleges in the United States American companies established in 1937 Universities and colleges established in 1937 Former for-profit universities and colleges in the United States Distance education institutions based in the United States 1937 establishments in Iowa Kaplan University Private universities and colleges in Iowa