WHISTLEBLOWER: Kaplan University Cheats Low-income Students and the Washington Post Benefits

Kaplan University Cheats Low-income Students and the Washington Post Benefits
Validated Independent News


Private Vocational College—Kaplan operates vocational training programs that over enroll students using Federal loans that leave low-income student indebted and unemployed. A whistleblower source has come forward to expose how CHI/Kaplin, in Broomsall, Pennsylvania overenrolled students by the hundreds and then abandoned them before externship placement.

Students were enrolled in the CHI/Kaplan Surgical Technology Program year after year, but they were purposefully not being told by Kaplan and their personnel that in all likelihood internship sites, required for the SurgTech program would not be availableCHI/Kaplan upper management, well aware of the lack of internship sites needed to permit students to complete their program, continued for years to recruit and enroll students in a program whose tuition costs approached nearly $24 thousand a year. When the fraud was detected, the college then engaged in illegal practices designed to reduce the number of enrollees by forcing students out on technicalities. Hundreds of student were unable to finish their programs and had their personal lives and credit history ruined. 1,140 names of students that were ‘dropped’ and 25% of those on the list defaulted on their loans. The other 75% were simply ‘deliquesced’, meaning they vanished from the roles.

The Washington Post, deriving 58% of its entire revenue stream from Kaplan and its various subsidiaries. SurgTech was one of CHI/Kaplan’s most profitable programs. Kaplan raked in millions of dollars from the program. They signed up mostly minority students and immediately got them set up with Title IV funding

In 2007 the Department of Education (DOE) began looking into the allegations of Title IV fraud on behalf of CHI/Kaplan. Suddenly, in late 2008, SurgeTech program disappeared from CHI/Kaplan’s degree offerings even though it was one of the college’s most popular programs.

http://www.mediafreedominternational.org/2010/08/19/kaplan-university-cheats-low-income-students-and-the-washington-post-benefits/

Whistleblower Exposes How Kaplan University Cheats Low-income Minority students and The Washington Post Benefits

Written by Danny Weil Education, Media Aug 18, 2010

...

A whistleblower source has come forward to expose how CHI/Kaplan, in Broomsall, Pennsylvania over-enrolled students by the hundreds and then abandoned them before internship placement.

...

Students were enrolled in the CHI/Kaplan Surgical Technology Program year after year, but they were purposefully not being told by Kaplan and their personnel that in all likelihood externship sites, required for the SurgTech program would not be available. If verified from further investigations the practices amounts to concealment fraud, overt misrepresentation and possible theft of Title IV funds. CHI/Kaplan upper management, well aware of the lack of externship sites needed to permit students to complete their program, continued for years to recruit and enroll students in a program whose tuition costs approached nearly $24 thousand a year. When the fraud was detected, the college then engaged in illegal practices designed to reduce the number of enrollees by forcing students out on technicalities. Hundreds of students were unable to finish their programs and had their personal lives and credit history ruined.

...

Kaplan University is owned by The Washington Post, which derives 58% of its entire revenue stream from Kaplan and its various subsidiaries and is well aware of the issues.

Essentially, Kaplan University uses Title IV funds from the government for student loans to pay for tuition — 90% of their revenues flow from Title IV. Kaplan then over-enrolled students in a Surgical Tech program in Pennsylvania during 1996-2007. Surgical Technology is a certificate program that required an extensive externship in order to finish. Kaplan officials knew there were inadequate externships for the students when they had enrolled. They used unethical if not illegal methods for weaning out an over-enrolled student population. One method, was to ’FedX’ students out to different states to complete the externships. Hundreds of students were negatively impacted.

...

http://dailycensored.com/2010/08/18/14478/

Capitalism as applied to education, whudda thunk?

... it disgusted me that we were charging students up to $30k for a crappy education not much better than a GED. They got crappy books, crappy teachers and were no better prepared for a job interview/the job market than when they first walked in the door. But the President and CEO (and his 2 sons who were also execs at the 'school') had multi-million dollar estates, condos in South Beach, and treated the rest of the company's staff (NOT the teachers, mind you) to lavish parties and outings several times a year.

I lasted about 7 months there before I quit in disgust. And it disgusts me that Prez O had that 'summit' last week praising 2-year community colleges which will legitimize these con artists and feed their egos and greed even more.

Is there nothing that can be done about this fraud? Because ultimately, they're defrauding the federal gov't of student aid money, or defrauding/falsely advertising to the students who end up with this enormous debt that they're likely never going to be able to pay off.

:mad:

U.S. of K.

these people must have had a good education...sheesh... :grr: K&R