kaplan prep

===Anita Dunn.  She was Barack Obama’s campaign

and White House communications director. Having helped get Obama

elected, Dunn then was hired by Kaplan, one of the biggest for-profit

colleges, to undermine Obama’s effort to hold predatory schools

accountable.

==Donald Graham. He turned his fabled Graham family’s

Washington Post Company into an enterprise dominated by the troubled

Kaplan for-profit college. He has used his D.C. power and prestige to

take the lead in pressuring the Obama administration to gut the gainful

employment rule. Four state AGs are probing possible wrongdoing at

Kaplan schools.==
http://www.republicreport.org/2014/law-enforcement-for-profit-colleges/
Kaplan Higher Education, Graham Holdings (Kaplan University)

<ul><li>Delaware attorney general investigation of Kaplan</li></ul>

Washington Post Company SEC 10-K, 02-29-12:

“On July 20, 2011, Kaplan Higher Education Corporation received a

subpoena from the Office of the Attorney General of the State of

Delaware. The demand primarily sought information pertaining to Kaplan

University’s online and KHE Campuses’ students who are residents of

Delaware. KHE has cooperated with the Delaware Attorney General and

provided the information requested in the subpoena. KHE also may receive

further requests for information from the Delaware Attorney General.”

<a href="http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/104889/000010488912000006/d10k.htm">http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/104889/000010488912000006/d10k.htm</a>

<ul><li>Florida attorney general investigation of Kaplan</li></ul>

Washington Post Company SEC 10-K, 02-29-12:

“On October 21, 2010, Kaplan Higher

Education Corporation received a subpoena from the office of the

Florida Attorney General. The subpoena sought information pertaining to

the online and on-campus schools operated by KHE in and outside of

Florida. KHE has cooperated with the Florida Attorney General and

provided the information requested in the subpoena. KHE also may receive

further requests for information from the Florida Attorney General. The

Company cannot predict the outcome of this inquiry.”

<a style="line-height: 1.5em;" href="http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2012-10-31/news/fl-keiser-attorney-general-20121031_1_federal-student-kaplan-university-keiser-university">http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/104889/000010488912000006/d10k.htm</a> <a style="line-height: 1.5em;" href="http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2012-10-31/news/fl-keiser-attorney-general-20121031_1_federal-student-kaplan-university-keiser-university">http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2012-10-31/news/fl-keiser-attorney-general-20121031_1_federal-student-kaplan-university-keiser-university</a> (10-31-12)

Florida Attorney General News Release, June 17, 2014:

“Attorney General Pam Bondi today announced that her office has

entered an Assurance of Voluntary Compliance (AVC) with Kaplan Higher

Education, Kaplan Higher Education Campuses, and Kaplan University. The

agreement follows the office’s investigation, with which Kaplan

cooperated, into the school’s enrollment and marketing practices and

allegations that students were misled by marketing claims. Under the

agreement, the school must clearly and conspicuously disclose true and

accurate information relating to the school’s accreditation, program

costs (including the cost of taking any licensing or certification exams

required to practice in Florida), financial aid and the scope and

nature of employment services they provide. During the course of the

investigation, Kaplan voluntarily waived tuition and fees for more than

2,400 Florida students at a cost of more than $6,000,000. Kaplan has

also agreed to offer retraining to eligible students and establish an

expedited arbitration process for students who have asserted claims

against the school. The AVC details and requires Kaplan to reimburse the

Attorney General’s Office for attorney’s fees and costs.”

<a href="http://www.myfloridalegal.com/newsrel.nsf/newsreleases/89E733424AECF53985257CFA00690F74">http://www.myfloridalegal.com/newsrel.nsf/newsreleases/89E733424AECF53985257CFA00690F74</a>

<a href="http://myfloridalegal.com/webfiles.nsf/WF/JMEE-9L6QDA/$file/KaplanAVC.pdf">http://myfloridalegal.com/webfiles.nsf/WF/JMEE-9L6QDA/$file/KaplanAVC.pdf </a>

<ul><li>Illinois  attorney general investigation of Kaplan</li></ul>

Washington Post Company SEC 10-K, 03-02-11:

“On February 7, 2011, Kaplan Higher Education Corporation received a

Civil Investigative Demand from the Office of the Attorney General of

the State of Illinois. The demand primarily seeks information pertaining

to Kaplan University online students who are residents of the State of

Illinois. Kaplan Higher Education is currently reviewing the demand and

intends to cooperate with the inquiry.”

<a href="http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/104889/000119312511053497/d10k.htm">http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/104889/000119312511053497/d10k.htm</a>

<ul><li>Massachusetts attorney general investigation of Kaplan</li></ul>

Washington Post Company SEC 10-K, 03-02-11:

“On April 30, 2011, Kaplan Higher

Education Corporation received a Civil Investigative Demand from the

Office of the Attorney General of the State of Massachusetts. The demand

primarily sought information pertaining to KHE Campuses’ students who

are residents of Massachusetts. KHE has cooperated with the

Massachusetts Attorney General and provided the requested information.

KHE also may receive further requests for information from the

Massachusetts Attorney General.”

<a href="http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/104889/000119312511053497/d10k.htm">http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/104889/000119312511053497/d10k.htm</a> <a style="line-height: 1.5em;" href="http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/2013/02/04/attorney-general-martha-coakley-investigating-more-than-for-profit-schools-massachusetts/v5qTyei1UC1o2yHzKqVfXO/story.html">http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/2013/02/04/attorney-general-martha-coakley-investigating-more-than-for-profit-schools-massachusetts/v5qTyei1UC1o2yHzKqVfXO/story.html</a> (02-03-13)

Graham Holdings Company SEC 10-Q, 11-05-14:

“On April 30, 2011, Kaplan Higher Education Corporation received a

Civil Investigative Demand from the Office of the Attorney General of

the State of Massachusetts. The demand primarily sought information

pertaining to KHE’s nationally accredited campuses in Massachusetts

known as the Charlestown and Kenmore Square campuses. Both of those

campuses closed in 2013. KHE has cooperated with the Massachusetts

Attorney General and provided the requested information, as well as

additional information requested in 2012 and 2013. In October 2014, the

Attorney General’s office sent Kaplan a “notice of intention to file” a

lawsuit letter under section 93A of the Massachusetts consumer fraud

statue. The letter outlined 12 allegations against the Charlestown and

Kenmore Square campuses. The Company cannot predict the outcome of this

inquiry or any possible litigation.”

<a href="http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/104889/000010488914000054/d10q.htm">http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/104889/000010488914000054/d10q.htm</a>

Settlement –

Court filing, 07-23-15:

<a href="http://www.republicreport.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Kaplan-settlement.pdf">http://www.republicreport.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Kaplan-settlement.pdf</a>

Press release from Massachusetts attorney general Healey, 07-30-15:

“Under the settlement with Kaplan Higher Education, LLC – which owned

Kaplan Career Institute schools in Massachusetts – a total of $1.375

million will be distributed to eligible graduates of the school’s

medical vocational programs, through paying off a portion or all of the

students’ federal student loan debt. Kaplan has closed the school and no

longer operates any Kaplan Career Institute schools in Massachusetts.

Students who attended these programs largely entered them in hopes of

obtaining employment in the medical field. According to the AG’s

investigation, Kaplan induced enrollment of students at the school with

harassing sales tactics and misleading representations in its

recruitment materials concerning its educational program and employment.

Students reported to the Attorney General’s Office that the job

listings provided by Kaplan were from publicly available resources and

that Kaplan did not provide any special services or programs to assist

students and graduates in their job search.

As part of the settlement, Kaplan is also required to give notice to

the AG’s Office before attempting to open or re-open any for-profit

school campuses in Massachusetts.”

<a href="http://www.mass.gov/ago/news-and-updates/press-releases/2015/2015-07-30-for-profit-schools-settlements.html">http://www.mass.gov/ago/news-and-updates/press-releases/2015/2015-07-30-for-profit-schools-settlements.html</a>

<ul><li>North Carolina attorney general investigation of Kaplan</li></ul>

“Kaplan College’s Charlotte campus has surrendered its

license to operate a dental assistant program following allegations that

its officials lied to students about the credentials they’d receive

after graduating.”

<a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20120402031850/http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2012/02/01/2974937/college-reimburses-students-after.html">http://web.archive.org/web/20120402031850/http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2012/02/01/2974937/college-reimburses-students-after.html</a> (02-01-12)

<ul><li>Justice Department False Claims Act lawsuit against Kaplan</li></ul>

Justice Department statement, 01-05-15:

“Kaplan Higher Education (‘Kaplan’), a leading for-profit education

company with campuses located throughout the country, will pay roughly

$1.3 million under a civil settlement with the United States Department

of Justice.  The settlement resolves whistleblower allegations that the

company employed unqualified instructors at its campuses in Texas,

Acting U.S. Attorney Richard L. Durbin, Jr. announced today.”

<a href="http://www.justice.gov/usao-wdtx/pr/profit-college-kaplan-refund-federal-financial-aid-under-settlement-united-states">http://www.justice.gov/usao-wdtx/pr/profit-college-kaplan-refund-federal-financial-aid-under-settlement-united-states</a>

<ul><li>Department of Education actions re Kaplan</li></ul>

Graham Holdings Company SEC 10-Q, 11-05-15:

“In the third quarter of 2015, Kaplan submitted data to the ED

beginning with the 2008-2009 through the 2014-2015 award years, as

required under the GE [gainful employment] regulations. In October 2015,

Kaplan University received a letter from the ED indicating that that it

had failed to report data on a number of programs and that Kaplan

University cannot start any new programs until the matter is resolved.

Kaplan has submitted additional data to the ED and is awaiting a formal

response and resolution of the matter. Failure to properly resolve the

matter could result in administrative actions by the ED….

On October 9, 2015, Kaplan University received a letter from the ED

indicating that it failed to report data on a significant number of

programs that were listed as active in the ED’s system. The letter

states that until this issue is resolved, Kaplan University cannot start

any new programs and failure to resolve could result in material

administrative actions.”

ED Program Reviews.  The U.S. Department of

Education (ED) has undertaken program reviews at various KHE locations.

Currently, there are five open program reviews, four of which are at

campuses that were part of the KHE Campuses business, including the ED’s

final reports on the program reviews at KHE’s Broomall, PA, and

Pittsburgh, PA, locations. Kaplan retains responsibility for any

financial obligation resulting from the ED program reviews at the KHE

Campuses business.

The ED conducted a program review at Kaplan University in the first

quarter of 2015, covering all aspects of Kaplan University’s financial

aid systems and on the standards for determining student attendance in

online programs. A failure to properly determine student attendance

under the federal Title IV rules could result in a failure to refund the

proper amount of Title IV aid to the ED when a student withdraws from

the program.

The Company does not expect the open program reviews to have a

material impact on KHE; however, the results of open program reviews and

their impact on Kaplan’s operations are uncertain.

Graham Holdings Company SEC 8-K, 12-21-15:

<div>“Kaplan Inc., a subsidiary of Graham Holdings Company, operates

Kaplan University (“KU”). As a condition of participation in federal

Title IV student loan programs, KU must periodically execute a Program

Participation Agreement (“PPA”) with the U.S. Department of Education

(“ED”). In March 2015, KU applied for renewal of its then current PPA.

On December 17, 2015, KU received notice from the ED that it has placed

KU on provisional certification for ongoing Title IV participation until

September 30, 2018. Language in the PPA refers to an open and ongoing

ED program review. In response to an inquiry by the Company, the ED

informed KU that this is standard language for PPA renewals where there

is a concurrently open program review. The ED also informed KU that the

provisional status does not necessarily mean that there are any

deficiencies or liabilities identified as a result of the open program

review and to date, the ED has not notified KU of any negative findings

or concerns. However, at this time we cannot predict the outcome of the

program review.</div>

<div>Provisional certification does not by itself limit an institution’s

access to Title IV program funds, but may subject that institution to

closer ED review and possible summary adverse action if that institution

commits a material violation of Title IV program requirements or the

terms of the PPA. If the ED determines that a provisionally certified

institution is unable to meet its responsibilities under its PPA, it may

seek to revoke the institution’s certification to participate in Title

IV programs with fewer due process protections for the institution than

if it were fully certified, for example, without advance notice. During

the period of provisional certification, KU must comply with the

conditions included in its PPA including prior ED approval to open a new

location, add an educational program, acquire another school or make

any other significant change.”</div>

<div><a href="http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/104889/000010488915000079/d8k.htm">http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/104889/000010488915000079/d8k.htm</a></div>

Lincoln Tech Institutehalperin
Schools: Kaplan University, Concord Law School, Dev Bootcamp, numerous overseas schools
Taxpayer aid (U.S. Department of Education funding) last year: $877 million
Current & recent law enforcement investigations or actions:
U.S. Department of Justice; U.S. Department of Education; attorneys general of Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, and North Carolina. Details.
Sample troubling behavior:
In 2015, Massachusetts attorney general Maura Healey announced settlement of an investigation of Kaplan for unfair and deceptive student recruiting practices. Kaplan agreed to pay $1.375 million to former students. According to Healey, Kaplan got students to enroll “with harassing sales tactics and misleading representations in its recruitment materials concerning its educational program and employment.” Healey found that Kaplan’s website and its recruiters claimed job placement rates for Kaplan’s Medical Assistant and Medical Billing and Coding programs as above 70 percent, when in fact the rates were significantly lower. Kaplan also promised to help students find jobs, but students told Healey’s office “that the job listings provided by Kaplan were from publicly available resources and that Kaplan did not provide any special services or programs to assist students and graduates in their job search.” Accordingly, Healey said in her court filing, “Kaplan unfairly or deceptively induced students to enroll…”  In the settlement papers, Healy noted that Kaplan no longer operates any Kaplan Career Institute schools in Massachusetts. Under the settlement, Kaplan must give the attorney general’s office notice “before attempting to open or re-open any for-profit school campuses in Massachusetts.” Kaplan admitted no wrongdoing in the Massachusetts settlements, and it publicly denied Healy’s allegations.In 2015, Kaplan agreed to pay about $1.3 million under a settlement with the Justice Department to resolve whistleblower allegations that it employed unqualified instructors at its campuses in Texas. Kaplan denied wrongdoing.An award-winning 2015 Miami Herald investigation of for-profit colleges led with the story of a Florida mom, Sara Pierce, who says she was misled by a recruiter for Kaplan into signing up for an online bachelor’s degree program in Nutrition Science. Pierce thought the program would directly qualify her to be a licensed nutritionist, when in fact it was not accredited by the appropriate agency. When, near the end of her studies, a professor let Pierce know that the degree would not make her eligible for the job she sought, and she complained, the school pointed her to fine print in a Kaplan manual. But it stands to reason that had Pierce actually known the low value of the degree, she would not have enrolled. There are other instances of Kaplan students feeling similarly misled about accreditation —  in Kaplan’s dental assistant program in Charlotte, in Kaplan’s online Concord law school — and left deep in debt, without the useful degree they sought.A Kaplan training document obtained by Senate investigators encouraged employees recruiting students to “Keep digging until you uncover their pain, fears and dreams” and to “Get to their emotions and you will create the urgency!” (Kaplan said the company stopped using the guide in 2010.)In 2011, the Huffington Post reported, based on accounts from Kaplan employees and students, that Kaplan managers pressured recruiters to engage in “guerrilla registration” —  enrolling students in classes they never took, without their permission, in order to increase federal aid.  (Kaplan denied the claims.)In 2014, Graham Holdings then-CEO (now chairman of the board) Donald Graham launched a college scholarship program for undocumented young people, obtained more than $80 million in donations from Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, Michael Bloomberg, and others, and, through the program’s director, who was placed on the Graham payroll, sent some five percent of the students and scholarship money to Kaplan and other for-profit colleges owned by Graham Holdings — a clear conflict of interest.Donald Graham, the heir to the family company that owned the Washington Post newspaper, and a pillar of the Washington DC business, political, and social establishment, has been, according to White House officials, the most influential and aggressive behind-the-scenes industry lobbyist working to weaken Administration initiatives to hold for-profit colleges accountable for abuses. In response to media reports about Kaplan abuses, Graham has explained that Kaplan “is a high-integrity place” that has a great record of success, is “bitterly sorry” for a few minor lapses, and has been unfairly attacked in the media. As to the time in 2010 that undercover Government Accountability Office investigators caught Kaplan recruiters engaging in blatant deceptive practices, Graham blames two rogue employees who “behaved like the worst kind of unethical used-car salesmen.”  He does admit that “Some for-profit colleges have behaved disgracefully to their students; I do not defend them.” But as to defunct Corinthian Colleges, which even some industry executives now say was one the worst actors in this sector, Graham may not defend them, but he owned them. His company owned as much as 8 percent of awful Corinthian before its demise.CEO:  Timothy J. O’Shaughnessy  (Graham Holdings[9]), Andrew S. Rosen (Kaplan subsidiary)
oshaughnessyWHOrosenwho
Prominent advocates & validators:
Bollingerwho
Lee C. Bollinger, the President of Columbia University, the longest current serving president of an Ivy League school, and an esteemed constitutional legal scholar, serves on the Graham Holdings board of directors. Bollinger’s $150,000 annual Graham Holdings compensation supplements an impressive income from Columbia; he is, according to the most recent Chronicle of Higher Education survey, the highest paid college president in the United States, with a $4.6 million package for 2013. Bollinger has stayed on the Graham board despite activism by Columbia students calling for him to resign because of Kaplan’s record.
sheltonwho
James H. Shelton served until May 2016 on the Graham Holdings board of directors, which he joined in November 2015, by which which time the company was facing multiple law enforcement probes, and it was clear that Kaplan had engaged in troubling practices. From 2013-14, Shelton served as the U.S. Deputy Secretary of Education, the number two official of the Department, and no doubt that credential would have been attractive to Donald Graham’s company as it sought to restore its credibility in the education field. On May 4, 2016, Shelton was named the head of the education component of the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, funded by Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Dr. Priscilla Chan. According to Zuckerberg’s announcement of Shelton’s appointment, “Jim will bring all of his own experience in improving personalized learning and helping underserved communities.” It was unclear whether that description was meant to include Shelton’s service on the board that oversees Kaplan University. On May 16, 2016, after I had published an article addressing this situation, Graham Holdings announced that Shelton had resigned from its board, effectively immediately. A source told me that Shelton already had planned to resign in connection with taking the Chan Zuckerberg job. But Shelton’s resignation doesn’t change the fact that he traded on his reputation and experience in the Obama Administration to validate and support the work of a company that has been under law enforcement investigation for abuses of students.
olsonwho
Ronald Olson. Another current Graham Holdings board member is prominent Los Angeles lawyer Ronald L. Olson, a name partner of the mega-firm Munger, Tolles & Olson, which was founded by Warren Buffett’s right-hand man Charles Munger. Olson’s law firm has represented in major fraud litigation the notorious predatory Corinthian Colleges, which is fitting since, as noted, Graham’s company owned a significant stake in Corinthian until its 2015 collapse.
Olson is a director of Buffett’s company Berkshire Hathaway and of non-profit organizations including the RAND Corporation, the Mayo Clinic, and the California Institute of Technology.  He was chairman of the American Bar Association’s Litigation Section from 1981 to 1982 and the ABA’s Standing Committee on Federal Judiciary from 1991 to 1992.
packerwho
Joel Packer. Packer spent 25 years as an advocate with the teachers union the National Education Association. Then he became a lobbyist with The Raben Group. Kaplan paid the Raben firm to lobby for several years, including $400,000 to hire Packer for the latest 16-month stint ending with a termination filing in April 2015, long after Kaplan’s conduct had led to law enforcement and media investigations. The declared mission on Packer’s federal registration form was to lobby on “Higher Education Act reauthorization,” which did not occur in that period, and on the Obama “gainful employment” regulations, which did. A Kaplan program flunked an initial test run of the gainful employment rule, which penalizes programs that leave former students with overwhelming debt.
Packer retired from the Raben Group in May 2016; he referred me for comment to Robert Raben, head of the firm. I have long liked and respected Raben, a former Assistant U.S. Attorney General for Legislative Affairs who works closely with the civil rights community. He responded:
 At the Raben Group we are honored to take on representatives where orgs/people feel like they are willing to move or compromise on issues and practices that are of concern to critics they care about.  That was the case with Mr. Graham/Kaplan; Don has great integrity and I am honored to have worked with him.