Thoughts & Analysis on Purdue-Kaplan

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by Gabe F., May 4, 2017.

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  1. Gabe F.

    Gabe F. Active Member

  2. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    I assume you mean the one who managed to plug her book? :wink:

    As an aside, Matt Reed and Josh Kim both blog on IHE and both blogs are worth reading.
     
  3. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

  4. Gabe F.

    Gabe F. Active Member

    My first ever car was a 1993 Ford Probe GT that was built by Mazda. This whole Purdue-Kaplan thing is beginning to look kinda like that.

    "Steve Schultz, Purdue’s legal counsel, said the exemptions were put into the bill intentionally to be clear that the new online university will be a different animal that Purdue and its regional campuses.

    First, Schultz said, it won’t receive state money. And second, the New U will operate more like a nonprofit corporation and will not, he said, “meet the definition of a ‘public agency’” under state open records or open meetings laws.

    “By design,” Schultz said, “it will be autonomous, be separately funded, have separate and distinct operations, and have the ability to remain nimble and innovate in the sector it serves.”"


    My translation of this is: "Well, yeah it's part of Purdue but not really". It's getting the Purdue badge and apparently little else.
     
  5. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

    So it will remain for-profit but it will be operated like a non-profit. I'm guessing that what that means is that any profits that are generated will just go to support Purdue (as opposed to into someone's pockets).
     
  6. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    Oh, no no no... regardless of the tax status of that particular entity, if it's publicly owned then it will be great fun to remind the Tressie McMillan Cottoms of the world that dreaded Kaplan is now a public institution. Moreover, we'll see whether this "we're not public, we're a for profit that's owned by the state" baloney will survive the inevitable court challenge when it comes to open records, etc.

    Purdue is someone. Or at least whoever runs it is.
     
  7. decimon

    decimon Well-Known Member

    They are all confused but only Matt Reed recognizes the confusion.
     
  8. jonlevy

    jonlevy Active Member

    One thing for sure, there will be a wholesale purge of faculty and staff at KU. A number of the programs will likely be axed and they surely will not want the top heavy administration. Graham Holdings has likely been trying to liquidate since it sold the Washinton Post a few years back, so no surprises they unloaded KU and took whatever they could get.
     
  9. bceagles

    bceagles Member

    Sorry, I'm a little late to this conversation. Why would Purdue want to get involved with Kaplan? Don't get me wrong, Kaplan is not (in my opinion) one of the evil for profits. Kaplan offers a handful of career related programs and test prep courses that are adequate, as far as I can tell anyways. Is Purdue looking to enter this market and the acquisition of Kaplan was a better strategy vs starting from scratch? Will Kaplan alum be able to use Purdue on their resume?
     
  10. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    [video=youtube;aGWRAa5uTUQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGWRAa5uTUQ[/video]

    That's the general presumption.

    Only if they never want another donation from their alumni base ever again.
     
  11. sanantone

    sanantone Well-Known Member

  12. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    "There is a precedent for this in the Purdue system which currently has three campuses—Purdue West Lafayette, IPFW and Purdue Northwest. Each university has a distinct mission and serves different types of students. The new university will similarly carry the Purdue name, while creating its own distinct identity."

    Okay, wow. They're going even further than I thought.
     
  13. decimon

    decimon Well-Known Member

    PurKapita University should be a good subject for scrutiny, scorn and, dare say, scholastic sycophancy in this and other fora.

    I think I like it. The current model is as apt to produce lunatic drones as 'critical thinkers' or productive innovators so something has to give.
     
  14. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    [​IMG]
     
  15. heirophant

    heirophant Well-Known Member

    Presumably because Kaplan already possesses the DL provision infrastructure. Purchasing Kaplan provides the Purdue system with kind of a turn-key entry into the world of DL.

    Test preparation? Maybe that's part of it. This thing might end up offering lots of non-degree short courses and certificates in on-demand subjects (such as various software packages and stuff). I expect them to offer more substantial degree programs as well. Probably whatever the state feels that working non-traditional-age students in Indiana need, provided that it's consistent with the DL provision format. (Lab-intensive programs wouldn't be.)

    It won't be Kaplan any more. Individuals who graduated from Kaplan when it was Kaplan almost certainly won't. They will still be Kaplan graduates.

    After the changeover, graduates of the new university will presumably have as much right to use the 'Purdue' name as graduate of 'Purdue University - Norhwest'. If they are ethical, I'd say that they will need to specify the branch of the multi-institution system that they graduated from and not try to mislead employers that they attended the more prestigious flagship branch.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: May 30, 2017
  16. TEKMAN

    TEKMAN Semper Fi!

  17. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

  18. TEKMAN

    TEKMAN Semper Fi!

  19. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

  20. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    If Mitch Daniels can get Concord's JD to be bar-qualifying in Indiana, that would be quite a coup.
     

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