THE EVOLUTION OF online education just took a different turn with
Purdue University’s April 27 announcement that it would acquire
for-profit Kaplan University in a bid to expand the public’s access to
higher education. The announcement noted that, with this purchase,
the university wants to create what it calls the “world’s next new
public university” to better serve nontraditional students, including
working adults and those who never have taken college courses.
According to an online FAQ page, this transaction “will not require
an upfront purchase price.” Instead, Purdue has entered into a revenue-
sharing agreement with Kaplan via its parent company, Graham
Holdings, with a buyout option in six years. Kaplan must guarantee
that the new university will “meet its mission to serve adult learners”
as it converts from a for-profit to a public higher education institution
that operates within the Purdue system.
The acquisition of Kaplan is a strategic move to strengthen Purdue’s position in the online higher
education market, said Mitch Daniels,
Purdue University’s president, in the
press release. “A careful analysis made
it clear that we are very ill-equipped to
build the necessary capabilities ourselves,
and that the smart course would
be to acquire [Kaplan] if we could.”
The new university will deliver its
curriculum primarily online. It will be
based on Kaplan University’s existing
operations, including its 15 campuses
and learning centers and seven schools
and colleges, through which it will
continue to deliver Kaplan’s more than
100 diploma, certificate, undergraduate,
and graduate degree programs. Kaplan’s
32,000 students and 3,000 employees
will transition to the new university,
whose name and brand will connect to
Purdue’s in a way yet to be determined.
However, while the two brands will
be linked, the new school will maintain
its own identity and operate separately
from the two arms of Purdue’s system,
which include its central campus in
West Lafayette, Indiana, and its regional
campuses. In effect, it will become
a third arm of the university’s system,
fully supported by its own tuition and
fundraising efforts. It will not accept
state appropriations. While it will maintain
an open admissions policy, it will
provide discounted tuition to Indiana
residents. A subsidiary of Kaplan Inc.
will provide nonacademic services.
What this means for the two
schools—or for the for-profit higher education
market—has yet to be seen, but
the announcement has gotten the industry’s
attention. The new institution will
be finalized within the next five months
and begin operations upon approval
from the U.S. Department of Education
and the Higher Learning Commission.
Its chancellor will be Betty Vandenbosch,
Kaplan’s current president.
Find additional information at
www.PurdueNewU.org.