Kaplan University

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Kaplan University
Established	1937 as the American Institute of Commerce
Type	For-profit online university
President	Andrew S. Rosen
Faculty	2,800
Students	48,000
Location	Davenport, IA, USA
Campus	Fort Lauderdale, Iowa and Nebraska Online courses
Mascot	Owl
Affiliations	Kaplan Higher Education Corporation, The Washington Post Company, accredited by The Higher Learning Commission and a member of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools
Website	www.kaplan.edu/ku/

Kaplan University is the "doing business as" name^[1] of the Iowa College Acquisition Corporation, a company that owns and operates independent, private, for-profit colleges. Kaplan University is predominantly a distance learning institution of higher education that is regionally accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and is a member of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCA). The name comes from Stanley Kaplan, who founded Kaplan Test Prep. [1]

Kaplan University offers associate's, bachelor's, and master's degrees as well as certificates in such fields as education, business, information technology, arts and sciences, healthcare, nursing, criminal justice, and law. Kaplan serves more than 48,000 online and on-campus students. While Kaplan University is based in Davenport, Iowa, the main administration building is located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.^[2] In addition to eight campuses in Iowa and Nebraska, Kaplan has online student support centers in Florida, Illinois and Arizona. Kaplan has more than 2,200 instructors, professors and administrators.

[edit] History

The American Institute of Commerce was established in 1937 before changing its name to Quest College. In November 2000, Quest College's name was changed to Kaplan College after Kaplan, Inc. acquired it with the purchase of Quest Education Corporation. In September 2004, Kaplan College officially changed its name to Kaplan University after it was granted permission to offer graduate-level degree programs.^[3]

The University’s School of Nursing was awarded a national professional accreditation for its Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree in April 2006 from the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE). In October 2007, all seven Iowa and Nebraska-based Hamilton College (Iowa) campuses merged with Kaplan University and are now operating under the Kaplan University brand. Concord Law School merged with Kaplan University in October 2007 changing its name to Concord Law School of Kaplan University. Concord is not recognized by the American Bar Association, which does not accredit online institutions, although students with non-ABA-accredited law degrees are allowed to take California's bar examination and practice law once admitted to the bar.^[4][5]

[edit] Academics

Kaplan University is academically organized into ten schools.^[6][7]

• Arts and Sciences
• Business
• Criminal Justice
• Education
• Health Sciences
• Information Systems and Technology
• Legal Studies
• Nursing
• Kaplan Continuing Education
• Concord Law School of Kaplan University

[edit] Course format

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Online instructors and professors are required to hold two online office hours per week, and are also available via email and have to respond within 24 hours on weekdays and 48 hours on weekends if a student emails them. Also, weekly discussion boards are a part of each class curriculum, with a specific discussion topic required weekly for student/peers and student/instructor interaction in order to learn and grow within the student's field. In addition, scheduled weekly seminar sessions are held online once a week in each class with audio chat capabilities available for most classes which is highly advised to attend but is not mandatory . Completing option 2, or an pre-expected and additional assignment, is left an option if life makes it impossible for the student to attend the scheduled weekly seminar session. Major core classes have required weekly exams which must be completed within the week in order to receive credit for taking the class, along with required weekly assignments that must be completed. Research papers are expected along with other types of writing papers and all students are fully required and expected to cite using APA format in order to avoid copy writing.

Many courses also have a complete series of pre-recorded video sessions which are designed to replace the course textbook as the primary source of information. The video sessions are also available in text form, as notes and transcripts are posted for students to download and study. Within this context, the course text becomes a supplemental source of information to back up and reinforce what the students learn during the video sessions.

[edit] Group activity

Students are given open access to a course lounge where they can meet informally and form study groups. In addition, Kaplan offers the use of a course chatroom, where help sessions are held prior to exams and special projects. Students may also use the course chatroom for group sessions on their own.

All Seminars and Groups Study sessions are archived so that students who are too busy to attend may review them in text form later.

[edit] Virtual future

The Kaplan School of Arts and Sciences has recently purchased a virtual island Second Life, intending to have Group Help Sessions and Virtual Laboratory Exercises available for students who obtain avatars.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Official website
• KU Second Life

Coordinates: 26°8′N 80°12′W / 26.133°N 80.2°W / 26.133; -80.2