Kaplan, Inc. is a for-profit corporation that provides educational services to colleges and universities and corporations and businesses, including higher education programs, professional training and certifications, test preparation and student support services. Headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Kaplan was founded in 1938 by Stanley Kaplan and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Graham Holdings Company, formerly known as The Washington Post Company.
Company
My Kaplan (Online) Course Review - My Kaplan Rating: 5/10.
Kaplan is a for-profit subsidiary of Graham Holdings Company. Its Chairman and CEO is Andrew Rosen. Its 2017 revenue was $1.5 billion.
Divisions
Kaplan Higher Education
Kaplan Higher Education provides non-academic support for Purdue University Global. In March 2018, Purdue University completed its announced acquisition of Kaplan University with the goal of creating a new public university to expand access to higher education for working adults. The institution is now known as Purdue University Global and offers multiple credentials from certificates to doctoral degrees primarly online but also through fourteen campus locations.
Kaplan Professional assists professionals' career development by obtaining professional licenses, designations, and certifications, including the insurance, securities, mortgage and appraisal licensing exams, and for advanced designations, such as CFA® and CPA exams. Kaplan Professional serves more than 10,000 business-to-business clients worldwide, offering professional development services tailored to their individual needs. In 2017, approximately 491,000 students used Kaplan Professional’s’s exam preparation offerings.
Kaplan Schweser provides review materials for certification programs in finance, including the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), Financial Risk Manager (FRM) and Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) examinations. Through the Schweser Institute, Kaplan Schweser also offers certification programs of its own.
Kaplan International
Kaplan International operates businesses in Europe and the Asia Pacific region. A research report commissioned by NAFSA: Association of International Educators identified Kaplan Global Pathways as one of the eight third-party providers offering intensive English preparation programs with academic credit for international students in the United States.
In Europe, Kaplan International operates the following businesses, all of which are based in the U.K. and Ireland: Kaplan UK, Kaplan International English, and a set of higher education institutions.
- Kaplan UK provides training, test preparation services and degrees for accounting and financial services professionals, including those studying for ACCA, CIMA and ICAEW qualifications. In addition, Kaplan UK provides legal and professional training, including the operation of a law school in collaboration with Nottingham Trent University. In 2013, Kaplan UK provided courses to approximately 52,000 students in accounting and financial services. Kaplan UK is headquartered in London, and has 22 training centers.
- Kaplan International English comprises a university pathways business and an English-language training business.
- The university pathways business offers academic preparation programs for international students who wish to study in English-speaking countries. In 2017, university preparation programs were being delivered in Australia, China, Japan, Nigeria, Singapore, the U.K. and the U.S., serving 12,000 students in partnership with over 40 universities.
- The KI English business provides English-language training, academic preparation programs and test preparation for English proficiency exams, principally for students wishing to study and travel in English-speaking countries. IT operates a total of 38 English-language schools, with 20 located in the U.K., Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and Canada, and 18 located in the U.S. During 2017, the English-language business served approximately 47,000 students for in-class English language instruction provided by Kaplan.
- Kaplan also operates two higher education institutions in Europe: Dublin Business School, in Ireland, and Kaplan Open Learning, in the UK. At the end of 2015, these institutions enrolled an aggregate of approximately 4,900 students.
In the Asia Pacific region, Kaplan operates businesses primarily in Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong and China:
- In Singapore, Kaplan operates three business units: Kaplan Higher Education, Kaplan Financial and Kaplan Professional. During 2017, the Higher Education and Financial divisions served more than 14,000 students from Singapore and 3,000 students from other countries throughout Asia. Kaplan Professional provided short courses to approximately 37,000 professionals, managers, executives, and businesspeople in 2015.
- In Australia, Kaplan delivers financial services education and professional development courses, as well as higher education programs in business, accounting, hospitality, and tourism and management through Kaplan Business School. In 2017, this business provided courses to approximately 1,800 students through classroom programs and to approximately 43,000 students through online or distance-learning programs.
- In Hong Kong, Kaplan offers programs ranging from language education and standardized test preparation to corporate and financial training and higher education degree courses. During 2017, Kaplan’s Hong Kong business provided courses to approximately 12,000 students.
- In South Korea, in addition to university preparation programs, Kaplan delivers A-Level programs and cooperates with several Chinese universities to provide ACCA training programs to students.
Kaplan Test Prep
Established in 1938, Kaplan Test Prep sells preparation materials for standardized tests through tutoring, on-site classes, asynchronous and live programs, print books, and digital products. With programs for individuals, schools, and businesses, Kaplan Test Prep offers preparation for more than 90 standardized tests. These include admissions tests for secondary school, college, and graduate school, such as the SAT, ACT, Law School Admission Test (LSAT), Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT), Graduate Record Examination (GRE), Dental Admission Test (DAT), Medical College Admission Test (MCAT), Optometry Admission Test (OAT), Pharmacy College Admission Test (PCAT) and others. Kaplan also provides preparation for professional licensing exams include state-specific and Multi-State Bar Review for attorneys, USMLE and COMLEX prep for physicians, and NCLEX prep for nurses. Printed materials are distributed by Simon & Schuster. Kaplan Test Prep also licenses material for some of its courses to third parties and a Kaplan affiliate, which, during 2015, offered courses at 63 locations in 35 countries outside the U.S. During 2017, KTP enrolled approximately 350,000 students in its courses, including more than 175,000 enrolled in online programs.
History
Kaplan was founded in 1938 by Stanley H. Kaplan, who started the business by tutoring students for the New York State Regents Exam in the basement of his parents' Brooklyn home. He eventually opened locations around the country. In 1984, Kaplan sold the company to The Washington Post Company, which centralized control. The company grew significantly in the 1990s by expanding its business and purchasing other test preparation and educational companies. The company's leader during this expansion period was Jonathan Grayer.
Acquisitions
Major acquisitions since 1995 include:
- 1995 - Thompson Institute, in Harrisburg, PA, becomes Kaplan Career Institute
- 1996 â€" Score, a network of after-school tutoring centers based in California with locations around the country
- 1998 â€" Dearborn Publishing, a publisher of professional training books in Chicago and owner of Anthony Schools in California
- 2000 â€" Quest Education Corporation, a network of for profit schools with 30 locations that brought Kaplan into the higher education industry
- 2003 â€" The Financial Training Company, a provider of accounting and financial service training based in London with operations in Asia
- 2003 â€" Dublin Business School, a university in Ireland that offers undergraduate and postgraduate business and liberal arts programs
- 2004 â€" Two Sawyer College campuses: Hammond, Indiana and Merrillville, Indiana.
- 2005 â€" Asia Pacific Management Institute (now Kaplan Singapore), a Higher Education company providing Diploma to Doctoral degrees offered by different universities.
- 2006 â€" Tribeca Learning, a financial services and real estate training provider based in Australia
- 2006 â€" Aspect Education, now Kaplan International English, a provider of English language instruction based in the U.K.
- 2007 â€" FINSIA Education, a provider of financial services training.
- 2007 â€" EduNeering Inc., a provider in compliance and knowledge management solutions.
- 2011 â€" Structuralia, a provider of training and education in Spain.
- 2011 â€" Carrick Education Group, a leading vocational and higher education provider in Australia.
- 2011 â€" Franklyn Scholar, a national provider of work-based vocational training in Australia.
- 2012 â€" Academy, a focused corporate training and organisational development services provider
- 2012 â€" BEO Japan, a Japanese study-abroad student recruitment agency
- 2012 â€" Hands On Education Consultants, a Thai study-abroad student recruitment agency
- 2014 â€" Dev Bootcamp, a web development bootcamp
- 2015 â€" SmartPros, a provider of accountancy continuing education.
- 2015 â€" Mander Portman Woodward (“MPWâ€), a group of private colleges based in the UK.
- 2017 â€" Genesis Institute, a provider of financial services training.
- 2017 â€" The College for Financial Planning, a provider of financial services training.
In 2013 and 2014, Kaplan partnered with TechStars to create the Kaplan EdTech Accelerator, which hosted, mentored, and funded startup companies focused on education technology and product innovation for a three-month program in New York City. The 22 startups that participated raised more than $15 million.
In 2015, Kaplan launched Metis, a data science training provider offering full-time immersive bootcamps, part-time professional development courses, online learning, and corporate programs, with locations in New York City, San Francisco, Seattle, and Chicago.
Lawsuit
In 2007 Kaplan agreed to settle a class-action lawsuit that had been brought against Kaplan and BarBri, a company offering a widely used bar exam preparation course. Among the allegations in the suit, which charged that BarBri had overcharged students, was an allegation of federal antitrust violation claiming that Kaplan had agreed not to compete in the bar review business while BarBri agreed it would not compete in the LSAT business. Both West Publishing Company (parent of BarBri) and Kaplan denied the allegations and the matter was resolved without any findings of wrongdoing, with BarBri and Kaplan paying $30 million to the class claimants.
In 2015, Kaplan settled with the United States Department of Justice regarding allegations that it hired instructors who were not qualified. 289 former students of Kaplan will receive tuition refunds as part of the settlement, in which Kaplan admitted no liability.
See also
- For-profit higher education in the United States
References
External links
- Kaplan, Inc.
- Article on history of Kaplan's founder by Malcolm Gladwell
