Purdue acquires for-profit Kaplan

New university to be formed, pending approvals

Purdue University announced it has acquired for-profit Kaplan University based in Fort Lauderdale to extend its reach into online and adult education, an unusual move for a public institution.

Andrew Rosen, chairman and CEO of Kaplan, which employs about 2,000 in Fort Lauderdale, said the acquisition by Purdue will be an “opportunity” for Kaplan employees to be part of this new venture. “It’s exciting,” he said.

“No part of this deal was predicated on layoffs or cutbacks,” Rosen said Friday.

Kaplan will oversee the non-academic support of the new institution, Rosen said. Fort Lauderdale employees include those in marketing and finance. Faculty members already live all over the country.

Instead of folding the for-profit school into its operations, Purdue plans to form a new university comprised of all 15 campuses and learning centers of Kaplan University, as well as 32,000 students and 3,000 employees. All existing Kaplan students and faculty will transition to the new school that has yet to be named.

Purdue President Mitch Daniels said in a statement: “None of us knows how fast or in what direction online higher education will evolve, but we know its role will grow, and we intend that Purdue be positioned to be a leader as that happens.”

He said a “careful analysis made it clear” that Purdue was not equipped to build an online institution itself, and that the “smart course” would be to acquire Kaplan.

The newly formed school will rely on tuition and fundraising to cover operating expenses, not state appropriations. It will primarily operate online, with no plans to expand the physical footprint beyond the existing 15 locations. Indiana residents will receive discounted tuition.

“Kaplan and Purdue share the critical mission of expanding access to education,” Donald E. Graham, chairman of Graham Holdings Company, the parent company of Kaplan Inc. and Kaplan University, said in a statement. “Purdue takes its land-grant mission very seriously, and I’m deeply impressed by this great university’s commitment to meeting the needs of non-traditional students.”

Purdue must receive approval from the Education Department and its accrediting agency, the Higher Learning Commission.

Like other for-profit schools, Kaplan has seen its enrollment slide recently, with a 22 percent drop in the last year. Revenue at Kaplan Higher Education also fell 27 percent during that time, according to Graham Holdings’ annual report.