OT: Purdue buys for-profit Kaplan University, 32k students
This is fascinating. Purdue buys a troubled, for-profit university to get access to the adult education market and to expand the student base. I guess the assumption is that you buy capability that already knows how to reach and deliver into this segment since Purdue would take too long to build the capability internally. Granted, it can be debated how effective Kaplan was in actually educating its students, I would hope Purdue would bring more rigor. I am intrigued with how this may affect Purdue's brand or if they are able to tier their offering without brand dilution.
If they are successful, does that spur other collegiate M&A? What would be the best college merger in terms of awesomeness?
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/a-prestigious-public-university-wants-…
I think direct job training technicals schools would be a decent branchoff for universities, as in directly placing and training for jobs that companies are asking for, let them set the curriculms jointly.
Oh this is fabulous. Well done.
So the Purdue University Kaplan Education (P.U.K.E.) will be selling T-shirts soon. I will buy one.
That's what happens when you drink too many boiler makers
Go PUKE!
THE Hooked on Phonics?
Hooked on Phonics worked for me!
Was that before or after all the dope?
but math is a pretty impotant skill for a dope man to have if he's going to be a quality dope man.
I heard a rumor Cardale Jones was decline at U of P
TWITTER DEGREE?
BRO DONT EVEN PLAY!!!
I remember when I was 15 years old. I was also a total moron.
So you're saying... you're not anymore?
nobody goes there to play school...
I'm of the opinion that Purdue is thinking outside the box. Unless someone can figure out a way to drop the cost of attendance to affordable levels for way more people than it is right now, at some point, even large universities will start feeling the pinch. Online delivery of education is a very inexpensive way to teach a large number of people, at least in certain subject areas, and it offers some advantages and some disadvantages. If you know something, speed up the lecture; if not play it over until you figure it out.
I mean MSU College of Law)...
Some other school will just come along and take it away from them.
Most of those for profit schools are really scams to bilk money from students. They're especially good at targeting veterans for GI benefits. Which is fucked up and evil.
Purdue acquiring one is really weird. Hopefully they can reform that stuff and maybe provide some kind of public good.
Current Kaplan students won't get a Purdue degree. This acquisition was about Purdue getting the technology of a massive online infrastructure without having to develop it on their own.
They haven't laid out a transition plan yet though. I doubt that they wouldn't risk reputation and AAU membership. Then again, we've seen first-hand how inept leaders can get blinded by dollar signs.
The likes of Florida, Arizona State and Penn State are making some serious $$$ off of their virtual campuses.
There are definitely opportunities for other schools to enter this space -- but a robust infrastructure is an absolute prerequisite. May as well buy the infrastructure.
Kaplan also has a better football stadium
Make no mistake, schools like the University of Michigan are "for profit".
They just keep all of it for themselves.
There are no angels here.
Most "for profit" "schools" prey on underqualified and unsophisticated people hoping to better their lives. A large portion of the student body consists of people who are the first in their family to go to college. They offer a degree with little brand recognition, and usually charge laughably high tuition. The students either drop out in debt, with a minority graduating with a very expensive degree that is unlikely to significantly help their career. And they exist to maximize shareholder value.
Schools like Michigan are absolutely expensive and well-endowed (heh heh), but also offer a world-class education with some of the best professors in academia. The school does cutting edge research, and truly trains the leaders of the future. Does Michigan's endowment grow over time? Of course it does. But its mission is not to put money into the pockets of shareholders. Its mission is to serve its students and the State of Michigan. And it does a great job of that (I owe a lot of whatever success I've had professionally to Michigan, and going there has made me a more fulfilled person outside of my career).
The difference between the missions and organizational models of "for profit" "schools" and major research universities is night and day. Just because there are elements of large public schools that are imperfect, it does not make them the truly evil enterprises that are most "for profit" "schools".
(FTR, as much as I loathe "for profit" "schools", I love community colleges. The bang for the buck community colleges provide is fantastic, and they do a tremendous amount of good for their communities. The best advice you can give someone thinking about pissing away their hard-earned dollars at Gotyourbucks University - the one with the glossy ads - is go to your community college, take real classes there, and bank the money you saved knowing you are getting a superior education at 20% of the cost.)
Many of these for-profit "universities" are not properly accredited and the credits these students pay good money for and spend time earning are worthless. They don't transfer and are meaningless for admission to anything beyond, or even lateral, like transferring to a community college.
This makes zero sense. Who are 'they?" The Illuminati?
Most for-profit universities set tuition at the exact amount that the poorest qualify for for student financial aid. These students then have their entire financial aid (now debt) go to tuition, leaving no money for room, board, books, and daily expenses. They pick up a job on the side, but that still isn't enough to cover these expenses, so they then often drop out, now with massive debt because they took out the max.
As EveryoneMurders above said, the large majority of for-profit universities intentionally market to and prey upon very low-income.
delivery of education in favor of charging as much as they can.
Sure, the "non-profit" scheme causes the money to go to odd places, like Taj Mahal workout centers and $20 million rowing facilities.
Attending college was a slam-dunk decision in my day up-and-down Tiers 1-4.
Current students need to assess themselves and choose carefully. In my day, a poor decision was a missed opportunity. Today it can be a ball-and-chain of debt.
ND is still more expensive. Total cost of attendance is now estimated to be over $67K.