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    When Le Moyne College President Linda LeMura first learned of Gov. Andrew Cuomo's proposal to provide free tuition at New York's public colleges and universities, she thought it would be an opportunity for the state to strengthen the partnership between public and private schools. In the four months since Cuomo first detailed his plan and a few weeks removed from the 2017-18 state budget's adoption, LeMura doesn't see how the program — named the Excelsior Scholarship — will help the state's higher education institutions. Once fully phased in, the Excelsior Scholarship will be available for students who attend State University of New York colleges and universities and whose families earn no more than $125,000 annually. The program is more complex than just simply distributing free tuition to SUNY students. There are requirements. Before receiving the scholarship, students are required to apply for other federal and state aid. If they are awarded the scholarship, they must maintain an adequate grade point average and enroll in at least 30 credits each academic year. After graduating from a state institution, students who receive the scholarship must live and work in New York for a period equal to the duration of the scholarship. For example, if a student receives the scholarship for every year of their undergraduate studies, they must stay in the state for four years after commencement. Students who break this obligation will have their scholarship become a student loan they must pay back. The impact of the program won't be known until after it begins this fall. But LeMura and Wells College President Jonathan Gibralter have concerns about the free tuition benefit. For LeMura, the main issue is how the public and private schools will be pitted against each other. She also thinks the state's approach won't address the real driver of costs: the existing higher education business model. "Someone has to pay for the increasing costs and the business model itself is under immense pressure because the governme
    6 years ago by @prophe
     
      SUNYNYNew_YorkUSAFree_tuitionpublic-privatepublic-private_partnershipApr2017
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      Purdue University held its first classes on its Indiana campus in 1874 and was ranked as the sixtieth best undergraduate university and twentieth best public university in US News and World Report’s most recent list. The University particularly excels in science and engineering, supplying a substantial number of NASA’s past astronauts, including Neil Armstrong. Kaplan University began offering online courses in 2003 as part of The Washington Post Company’s growing education division. Kaplan was started as a test prep company in 1938 by Stanley Kaplan. When The Washington Post was making more money than it knew what to do with, it purchased Kaplan in 1984 and grew it to an education empire that included brick and mortar campuses, an online university, international schools, and test preparation materials. By 2010, Kaplan was doing $2.9 billion in revenue, but then the landscape dramatically changed for for-profit education companies as they became accused of aggressive sales techniques and poor educational quality. Donald Graham, the Post Company’s CEO, defended for-profit institutions in his 2010 letter to shareholders, by arguing that its student population was more likely to face challenges because Kaplan was providing access to at-risk student populations, but that adjusting for these risk factors, for-profit schools were often better than their non-profit counterparts. Whether or not he was right, it became clear as time passed that he had lost the war. After the Graham sold the namesake newspaper to Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, the name of the company owning Kaplan changed to The Graham Holdings Company. The deal allows Purdue to create a separate, online university with little investment in technology and infrastructure. The University will pay Graham Holdings $1 initially, but up to 12.5% of the university’s revenues. The deal also involves 32,000 students compared to the 40,000 currently enrolled at Purdue. After the deal closes, only The University of Maryland would have more online students among publi
      6 years ago by @prophe
       
        buyUSAfor-profitIndiana_public-privatepublic-private_partnershipApr2017English
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        How do you turn a for-profit college into a not-for-profit? Partner with a public university—and pay $50 million for the privilege. That’s basically what happened on Thursday, in a financial deal between the for-profit Kaplan higher-education chain and Purdue University, the flagship Indiana college run by Mitch Daniels, the state’s former governor. The arrangement may help Kaplan parent Graham Holdings Inc. shed the for-profit education sector’s tarnished reputation. Purdue—paying Graham only a symbolic $1—immediately enters the ranks of public universities expanding their reach with online degrees targeting older Americans—many of them minorities—who are unable to attend traditional schools. “We thought it would be a bad idea for us to build this on our own,” said Daniels, Purdue’s president. “We’ve seen a lot of schools throw a lot of money at online education without much result.” Under the contract, Graham will transfer Kaplan University’s online programs, as well as its 15 campuses and learning centers—with 32,000 students—to the Purdue-related non-for-profit. Kaplan will then operate them and guarantee that Purdue’s venture, for five years, receive at least $10 million a year from its revenues after expenses. After that payment, Kaplan is entitled to reimbursement for its own cost of providing services, plus a fee equal to 12.5 percent of the Purdue affiliate’s revenues. Kaplan Higher Education reported $617 in revenue last year and almost $67 million in operating income. Kaplan was once the crown jewel of Washington Post Co., as its fast-growing colleges helped support its financially struggling newspaper. In 2013, the company sold the Post to Amazon.com Inc. founder Jeff Bezos and then changed the name of the company to Graham Holdings, after the Washington family that had long controlled the paper. Donald Graham, then the Post Co. chief executive officer, is still the Graham Holdings chairman. For-profit colleges including Kaplan have seen their fortunes dim amid scrutiny from Congress and state
        6 years ago by @prophe
         
          Kaplanfor-profitpublic-privatepublic-private_partnershipApr2017EnglishUSA
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          Indiana public higher education institution eyes for-profit online provider’s technological expertise A for-profit online university will be converted into a “non-profit, public-benefit” organisation under the terms of its acquisition by a US public university. Kaplan University – which is owned by Kaplan Inc, a subsidiary of the Graham Holdings Company – is to be purchased by Purdue University, a statement from the Indiana-based institution confirmed on 27 April. Under the sale’s conditions, Purdue University will take on Kaplan University’s 32,000 students, 3,000 staff and 15 campuses and learning centres. KU will become a new non-profit university, connected to Purdue and bearing a version of its name. A corporate filing by Graham Holdings Company stated that the transfer of assets would create a “new, non-profit, public-benefit corporation affiliated with Purdue…[which] will operate as a new Indiana public university…focused on expanding access to education for non-traditional adult learners”. Mitch Daniels, Purdue’s president, said that KU's expertise in delivering online education had been attractive. “None of us knows how fast or in what direction online higher education will evolve, but we know that 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 we are very ill-equipped to build the necessary capabilities ourselves, and that the smart course would be to acquire them if we could. We were able to find exactly what we were looking for.” The new institution, which will consist of the seven schools and colleges comprising KU – save for the School of Professional and Continuing Education – will have its own institutional accreditation and will be governed by its own board of trustees, which will “fully control” its functions. Purdue, which will appoint the members to the board of trustees, will provide “key non-academic operations support” to the new university for an initial 30 years, with a buyout option after
          6 years ago by @prophe
           
            Kaplanfor-profitpublic-privatepublic-private_partnershipnon-profitApr2017EnglishUSA
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            With a surprise deal to acquire the for-profit Kaplan University, announced on Thursday, Purdue University has leapfrogged into the thick of the competitive online-education market. Purdue plans to oversee the institution as a new piece of its public-university system — a free-standing arm that will cater to working adults and other nontraditional students. The purchase, conceived and executed in just five and a half months, puts Purdue in position to become a major force in an online landscape increasingly dominated by nonprofit institutions. Until now, said Purdue’s president, Mitch Daniels, the university "has basically been a spectator to this growth" in distance education, with just a few online graduate programs. Mr. Daniels, a former Republican governor of Indiana, described the acquisition as adding a "third dimension" to Purdue, along with its research-rich flagship in West Lafayette, Ind., and its regional campuses. For Kaplan and its parent company, Graham Holdings, the deal offers a potentially profitable exit strategy for an operation that has seen its bottom line battered for several years by falling enrollments. (Kaplan now has 32,000 students.) The contrast between the typical Purdue student and the military veterans, lower-income students, and members of minority groups who make up much of the enrollment at the open-access Kaplan is "stark," said Mr. Daniels. But he said the university has a responsibility to serve such students. Millions of Americans have some or no college credits, and Purdue can’t fulfill its land-grant mission "while ignoring a need so plainly in sight," he noted while unveiling the deal at a Board of Trustees meeting on Thursday. The potential financial upsides were also clearly a factor. In an interview with The Chronicle, Mr. Daniels said it was "too soon" to talk about revenue projections. "We have hope and reason for hope" that Purdue’s new acquisition will do well, he said, alluding to the fast pace of online growth at other nonprofit institutions, like Western Gover
            6 years ago by @prophe
             
              Kaplannon-profitfor-profitpublic-privatepublic-private_partnershipbuyUSAIndianaEnglishApr2017
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              Purdue University in Indiana announced plans Thursday to start a new online school by acquiring for-profit Kaplan University, one of the top destinations for military students and veterans. The unlikely relationship between a public land-grant university and a for-profit school stems from “mutual interests and goals” and a shared desire to expand access to education, according to the terms of the agreement between Purdue and Kaplan’s parent company, Graham Holdings. “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,” Purdue President Mitch Daniels said in a statement. “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 them if we could. We were able to find exactly what we were looking for.” According to information provided by Purdue, the university’s feasibility studies indicated it would take 36 months to create a single degree program and much longer to create an online school of the magnitude it is acquiring with Kaplan. With Kaplan comes 32,000 students, 3,000 employees and 15 campuses and learning centers throughout the Midwest and East Coast that will fall under Purdue when the acquisition becomes official. The process could take several months, according to Kaplan Inc. spokesman Mark Harrad, as the U.S. Department of Education, state agencies and the institutions’ accreditor agencies still need to sign off. A Military Times analysis of fiscal year 2015 federal data show Kaplan Higher Education Corp. was the 11th most popular destination for active-duty service members using tuition assistance benefits and the 18th most popular school for Post-9/11 GI Bill users. That corporation consisted of Kaplan University, which Purdue acquired, as well as several smaller schools that are no longer part of the company and weren't part of the deal. But Kaplan University acc
              6 years ago by @prophe
               
                for-profitnon-profitKaplanpublic-privatepublic-private_partnershipbuyApr2017EnglishUSAIndiana
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                In a move that has raised eyebrows with higher education experts, a well-regarded public university has forged a deal with a for-profit college. Purdue University announced Thursday that it has paid $1 up front to acquire assets from Kaplan University in an attempt to expand its offerings in online education targeted toward adult learners. Purdue President Mitch Daniels said at a Board of Trustees meeting Thursday that the Indiana university wants to be a leader as online education continues to grow, but that it wasn’t capable of doing that on its own. “Today’s agreement moves us from a standing start to a leading position,” Daniels said in a statement. Purdue will turn Kaplan into a yet-to-be-named new public university that will, for the time being, continue offering the same set of academic programs. Kaplan’s 3,000 employees will be transferred, as will its 32,000 students. Purdue says it will take over the academic side of the operation, while Kaplan will continue non-academic services, including marketing and student recruitment. The new university will be self-sufficient and run off of tuition revenue and fundraising. Students will pay Kaplan's existing tuition and fees, although Purdue said Indiana students may receive an in-state discount. Trouble-Plagued Industry While Kaplan has one of the stronger names in for-profit education, the industry has faced years of declining enrollment, heightened regulations, legal battles, and broad criticism for loading students up with debt and providing meaningless degrees. At Kaplan itself, enrollment fell 22% in 2016 and its revenue is down 40% from 2014, according to an annual report from Graham Holdings, which owns Kaplan. As David Halperin, a policy analyst who writes about for-profit colleges, points out in a piece on Huffington Post, Kaplan has been investigated by or settled cases -- some for more than $1 million -- with attorneys general in Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, and North Carolina, as well as with the U.S. Departments of Education and Just
                6 years ago by @prophe
                 
                  for-profitnon-profitbuypublic-privatepublic-private_partnershipEnglishUSAIndianaApr2017
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                  For-profit universities in the US have a record of aggressive marketing practices, poor completion rates, and producing graduates with uncertain job prospects and high levels of debt. So why would Purdue University, a state university in Indiana founded in 1869, buy Kaplan University, a for-profit institution with a record of federal investigations and lawsuits from former students? Purdue is eager to offer online education, and acquiring Kaplan was cheaper that building a new system form scratch, Purdue president Mitch Daniels said in a statement. The school doesn’t have to pay anything upfront, and “will enter into a long-term transition and support agreement, with a buy-out option after year six,” according to a FAQ page. For-profit universities in the US have a record of aggressive marketing practices, poor completion rates, and producing graduates with uncertain job prospects and high levels of debt. So why would Purdue University, a state university in Indiana founded in 1869, buy Kaplan University, a for-profit institution with a record of federal investigations and lawsuits from former students? Purdue is eager to offer online education, and acquiring Kaplan was cheaper that building a new system form scratch, Purdue president Mitch Daniels said in a statement. The school doesn’t have to pay anything upfront, and “will enter into a long-term transition and support agreement, with a buy-out option after year six,” according to a FAQ page. Public universities have been forced to become more entrepreneurial as states have dramatically cut funding. It’s no surprise that Daniels, the former Republican governor of Indiana who slashed the state’s higher-ed budget, would be pushing Purdue to find new sources of revenue. Still, it’s an unexpected turn in American higher education, with a market-driven disruptor swallowed by the stodgy old incumbents. But it may be that the for-profit executives just misread the market signals: Students, it seems, didn’t just want convenient education; they also wanted it to be p
                  6 years ago by @prophe
                   
                    for-profitnon-profitbuyKaplanIndianaApr2017USAEnglishpublic-privatepublic-private_partnership
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