IRVINE, Calif., May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Purdue University in Indiana will acquire Kaplan University, a provider of higher education offering degree programs online as well as on-ground through its 15 campuses. Purdue University is a public non-profit land-grant university and Kaplan University is a for-profit higher education system.
This is the second transaction in 2017 between a non-profit and a for-profit higher education entity. Earlier this year, the Dream Center Foundation in Los Angeles, California announced its acquisition of Education Management Corporation, a for-profit higher education system that operates Argosy University, The Art Institutes, and South University.
Fardad Fateri, President & Chief Executive Officer of International Education Corporation, an operator of a post-secondary career education system of colleges across the United States said, "It is uncertain whether these two recent acquisitions mark the beginning of a potential trend in American higher education but these transactions certainly do very loudly counter the unfavorable voice of political extremists against the viability of for-profit education." He added, "In fact, it is abundantly clear that Purdue University and The Dream Center Foundation have a contrary perspective to that of the political far left as they do see the significant value and contribution of for-profit education to American higher education as a whole."
Fateri contends that for-profit education's ability to offer timely, current, and relevant curricula that prepare students for careers in high demand marketplace industry verticals have materially influenced online and on-ground higher education in the past few decades. For-profit higher education's innovative approaches to teaching and learning continue to enhance service, quality, measurable student outcomes, and meaningful student achievement in all of higher education in the United States. Therefore, non-profit higher education's attraction to join forces with for-profit colleges and universities is indeed warranted and a natural progression in the evolution of American higher education.
"Several have called the Purdue and Kaplan transaction a disruption in higher education; calling this deal a disruption is a significant stretch," Fateri says. "Uber disrupted the transportation industry, and VRBO as well as AirBnB disrupted the hospitality industry. A public non-profit public land-grant university acquiring a for-profit university does not disrupt higher education or student learning," Fateri adds.
Fateri asserts, "We are used to so little change in our dogmatic and stagnant ecosystem in higher education that even a transaction appears to be disruptive. The deal is admittedly unusual but not disruptive."
According to Fateri, this is a smart, and a mutually beneficial strategic business transaction. Fateri concludes, "I applaud Purdue and Kaplan for developing a prudent solution to address several complicated business, regulatory, academic, and management problems while concurrently creating opportunities for multiple stakeholders."