THE KAPLAN SCANDAL: EXPOSING DECEPTIVE PRACTICES AND
UNFULFILLED PROMISES
An Urgent Appeal for Justice Following Kaplan’s Pattern of Misrepresentation and Exploitation
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This white paper will show why debt held by students who attended Kaplan University (KU) should be canceled. Kaplan University, a subsidiary of Graham Holdings Company, was a privately owned for-profit university established in the year 2000. Approximately 60% of its student enrollment were conducted exclusively through online platforms. Kaplan University offered degrees or diplomas with little or no academic value at an inflated price. The school prioritized profit over educational quality and academic integrity. Kaplan University had higher tuition rates than traditional universities, putting students at risk of accumulating significant debt without providing a high-quality education. Kaplan University broke the law then it failed to provide students with promised career services. The school made exaggerated claims about job placement rates and potential earnings after graduation, then it failed to provide students with promised career services. School officials acted immorally as well as illegally. They were aggressive and misleading when recruiting prospective students, and they targeted vulnerable populations like low-income individuals, veterans, and minorities, with the goal of profiting from federal student aid. This white paper will demonstrate that KU engaged in predatory practices by misleading students into enrolling in costly degree programs that failed to advance their careers or provide notable degrees recognized by employers.
This report has been prepared by members of the Kaplan Borrower Offense Project Group and is supported by participants of The Project on Predatory Student Lending, as well as Class and Post-Class members of The Sweet v Cardona lawsuit. The report includes research conducted by the members of The Kaplan Borrower Offense Project Group and data obtained from lawsuits related to consumer protection violations, price fixing or anticompetitive practices, false claims, tax violations, and wage and hourly violations. These violations have resulted in significant fines and penalties. This report was written to provide data that KU has faced various legal challenges and investigations over the years related to issues such as student recruitment practices, financial aid, accreditation, and quality of education.
READ THE REPORT
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WRITTEN BY:
Lea Kelly – Kaplan Borrower/Organizer
BORROWER OFFENSE TO CANCELATION
What is Borrower Offense?
Borrower Offense is an aggressive plan to appeal to the Department of Education for student loan cancellation for a number of proven bad actor For-profit schools as quickly as possible.
OUR ASK LETTER TO THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
U.S. Department of Education
400 Maryland Avenue SW
Washington, DC, 20202
Re: Kaplan University Evidence of Fraud,
Debt Cancellation Sign-On Letter
Dear Secretary Cardona,
We commend the Department and the Biden Administration for canceling loans borrowers took out to attend Corinthian College, ITT Tech, and the Art Institute. We are grateful that the Administration has taken action to cancel additional student loans. However, we are deeply concerned that the Department presently has evidence in its possession that demonstrates other schools engaged in misconduct and yet those borrowers’ loans are still outstanding. We ask that the department promptly implement broad cancellation for Kaplan University borrowers, a school that sold to Purdue Global for $1.00 in 2018, for which the department has a robust record of misconduct.
Kaplan University owned by Graham Holdings was a for-profit school with a staggering default rate on both federal and private loans. Although hundreds of borrowers will see relief through the Sweet v. Cardona settlement, thousands more are stuck in the borrowers defense pipeline or unaware of their rights to borrowers defense discharge and have not yet applied for relief.
The Kaplan White Paper: A Borrowers Investigation details the specifics of the predatory nature of the school, including pages of evidence they have collected against Kaplan by the borrowers themselves. The evidence comes from lawsuits and settlements, congressional testimony and federal investigations.
Borrowers have continuously had to deal with lifelong repercussions from a school that:
• Lied about graduation rates, job placement rates, and potential salaries on graduation
• Lied about available grants, scholarships, and financial aid.
• Enrolling students regardless of their qualifications and ability
• Failing to properly inform students about loan options available and the difference between
Federal and private loans:
• Misleading students about the actual cost of education at Kaplan:
• Misleading students about accreditation and the transferability of credits
It is clear: Kaplan University was a fraudulent school.
The Undersigned XXX organizations request that the Department of Education do the right thing and cancel this life crushing debt for all borrowers who attended Kaplan University by the end of the year.
These borrowers have already waited too long for the relief they deserve under federal law, and it is crucial that the Department moves quickly, lest thousands of Kaplan borrowers remain saddled by these loans for the rest of their lives.
Sincerely,
Lisa Harle, Kaplan Borrower -Organizer for Kaplan BDTR
Lea Serrecchia Kelly, Kaplan Borrower – Organizer for BDTR
Casandra McDonald, Kaplan Borrower Organizer for Kaplan BDTR
Katie Essex, Kaplan Borrower- Organizer for Kaplan BDTR
Jessie Stepper, Kaplan Borrower- Organizer for Kaplan BDTR
Kaydee Conticelli, Kaplan Borrower- Organizer for Kaplan BDTR
Dee Foster, Kaplan Borrower – Organizer for Kaplan BDTR
Kevin Kraft, Kaplan Borrower – Organizer for Kaplan BDTR