Kaplan in the News

[marianne202]

So my Mom sent me this link about a story on Kaplan. A student basically spent a year and $15,000 at Kaplan taking courses with the intention of transferring to Arizona State Univ. She has a transcript of a chat session with the Kaplan employee guaranteeing her the credits will transfer. Fast forward to now and she finds out ASU won't take any of the credits. She never talked with ASU first, nor did she verify the info with anyone. Now Kaplan is saying her chat log transcript is fake and their copy doesn't show any such statement of guarantee. Kaplan won't help her. The news channel did get ASU to agree to take some of the courses in transfer, but not all. I was shocked they took any credits.

It gets me mad that these schools advertise everywhere as accredited schools that will get you a degree that is real and accepted everywhere. I don't know how they can get away with that. I know when I was looking for grad schools I got all these "private" schools popping up even though they didn't offer what I was searching for. They practically own all the search engines so they are all the come up...U of P, Kaplan, Capella etc regardless of what search term you put in. It it weren't for forums like this one a lot of people would be taken advantage of and not get the degree they think they are getting.

I have a friend in a similar boat and I tried to warn her early on, but she figures she has so much money invested now she has to stay with her existing school, but her degree won't be worth anything, let alone all the money she is spending for it.

I'm thankful that these types of forums are available to offer support and educate people on how to make wise decision regarding their educational planning. Keep up the great work!

Here is a link to the story for anyone who may want to see it. Glendale woman having uphill battle with local college | Phoenix News | Arizona News | azfamily.com | 3 On Your Side

[Andy1979]

Just keep on doing what you’re doing. Advocacy for what you know is right can be tough, but it is also very rewarding.

I do it every day to as an admissions representative for a not-for-profit regionally accredited university. What nationally accredited schools (especially the for-profit ones) do is just disturbing on so many levels.

Your friend needs to get out of that school even if it costs her money. I have witnessed the despair of someone wanting to go to grad school with us after graduating from a nationally accredited college. We told that person that they need to go back for 60, yes SIXTY, hours of undergrad work with us or another regionally accredited school first before we would consider them as a graduate candidate.

What’s worse is that the employers are getting wise to all of these nationally accredited schools and may consider the degree to be garbage regardless of whether it was actually worthwhile to the student. Caveat emptor to those attending those schools.

I have posted before that there are schools out there that are perfect for working adults. They will offer online and/or live classes, be regionally accredited, be priced reasonably, will take CLEP/DSST and not charge to transcribe it. My school is certainly not the only one out there that fits this description. Most of us who are on here regularly know this, but we all need to be advocates for getting the appropriate education and not being sold snake oil.

[Chebasaz]

I agree that this particular situation is a bad one, but I'd caution against labeling all nationally accredited schools as snake oil salesmen. Regional accreditation may be the gold standards in the US, but there is a place for other standards (National and DETC accreditation) as well. It depends on what your path is going to be.

If you plan on pursuing a graduate degree from a regionally accredited school, you'll need to go after a regionally accredited undergraduate degree.

If you plan on teaching after your graduate degree, you probably want to pursue one at a regionally accredited school.

However, if you just want the knowledge and an accredited degree, there is nothing wrong with National and DETC accreditation.

Speaking as someone who is in the labor force and personally hires degree holders; as long as they are recognized as accredited by the US Department of Education, regardless of the type of accreditation (Regional, National and DETC), then I'm fine with hiring them on against any position that requires the candidate to have a degree. Considering the Department of Defense is the one who holds me accountable for my hiring decisions, they're okay with any DoE recognized accreditation as well. After all, why wouldn't they be? It's the same government.

Here's a list of accrediting agencies from the DoE:

College Accreditation in the United States-- Pg 6

As I pointed out above, it all depends on what you plan on using the degree for and for future educational goals. Just as an FYI - This is not the first time Kaplan has landed in the news for similar issues:

Kaplan, Inc. - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The thing to take away from all of this, at least in my opinion, is to be educated about your goals and how your choices will affect reaching them. My heart goes out to the woman in this story, but I wouldn't have taken Kaplan's word if I was in her situation. I would have checked with ASU first and gotten it in writing from them.

Edit: Spelling errors for the win!

[marianne202]

Justin, I totally agree with you that other schools have a place, but they need to be honest with students about what they are not and what they can't do. That was why I posted this info so members wouldn't get blinded by the "Big 3" and will take the time to verify the info they receive and make sure it will work for their long-term goals. I feel terrible for the gal in the story, but like you I wouldn't have taken their word, but many would figure they know the system and know what works. As with most things in life, be responsible for your own destiny!