Kaplan University (KU) was a private online for-profit university owned by Kaplan, Inc., a subsidiary of Graham Holdings Company. 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, 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 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 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 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 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 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.
2017 purchase by Purdue University
Following several years of significant enrollment decline, Graham Holdings 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 and its headquarters in Chicago, Illinois, was accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. 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.