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Note to editors: Kaplan is a subsidiary of Graham Holdings Company (NYSE: GHC)
Press Contact: Russell Schaffer, russell.schaffer@kaplan.com, 917.822.8190

Twitter: @KapEdNews, @KaplanSATACT

New York, NY (April 12, 2021) ⁠— College students and parents hoping to pay lower tuition than they normally would because classroom instruction has largely gone online due to the COVID-19 pandemic are going to be disappointed, according to Kaplan’s latest college admissions officers survey*. Of the admissions officers polled, 73 percent said their school has no plans to cut tuition, even as only 36 percent of them believe that the quality of learning students are getting online is the same as the in-person experience. These results are released as more colleges announce their tentative fall 2021 plans, with many pledging to “get back to normal” quickly, while others say that a return to in-person instruction will depend on several factors, most notably the level of infections in their local area. This also comes as applicants begin to receive acceptance letters from colleges and ponder where to attend, with cost a critically important deciding factor.

Admissions officers who said no tuition cuts are on the way shared the following reasons, which may surprise students and parents:

• “With colleges moving from a brick and mortar institution to all virtual, I believe people are forgetting the costs universities are experiencing to invest in needed virtual technology. If anything, universities are having to spend more than normally budgeted to meet student and faculty needs…I wish they understood that universities are being strapped with the added pressure that if not doing well fiscally, they will have to cut staff or programs.”
• “Our students experience face-to-face experiences with our professors via Zoom classes. This is different from asynchronous courses where students can log in at their own time and interact with professors only via email, phone calls and pre-recorded lectures. The synchronous courses provide students with similar face-to-face instruction.”
• “While I understand the frustration from students and parents surrounding tuition rates not being lowered due to online classes, I also am aware of the reality that many colleges that lack the large endowments and reserve funds would not be able to survive a drastic cut to tuition. Drastic cuts to tuition would mean cuts to student services and lower quality learning and social experience at most colleges.”
• “I personally feel that we should lower tuition, since the ‘product’ that our students are paying for this year is not the same as what it is in a normal year, so it seems unfair that the prices remain the same…my immediate, common sense thinking is ‘Why should our students pay the same amount for less?’”

Kaplan’s takeaway: Families hoping for lower college tuition were likely depending on two interwoven, but different impetuses. One, many guessed that online delivery was a lot less expensive than in-person instruction, but at least according to admissions officers, the rapid and substantial investment in online education likely drained their financial resources, making it harder for them to lower tuition across the board. Second, some families were hoping that colleges would recognize that the struggling economy, caused by the pandemic, was taking a deep financial toll on them, which would lead them to lower sticker prices for everyone. But that’s not the case either. Colleges are still looking at students’ financial situations one family at a time.

To help make test prep available to as many students as possible, Kaplan, through a partnership with ACT, continues to provide free comprehensive ACT® prep to those who qualify for a test fee waiver. 

To schedule an interview about the survey results, contact Russell Schaffer at 917.822.8190 or russell.schaffer@kaplan.com. 

*366 admissions officers from the nation’s top national, regional and liberal arts colleges and universities – as compiled from U.S. News & World Report – were polled by e-mail between September 16 and September 29, 2020. Percentages are rolled up to the nearest whole number.

ACT® is a registered trademark of ACT, Inc. Kaplan is the official partner for live online prep for the ACT.

About Kaplan

Kaplan is a global educational services company that provides individuals, universities, and businesses with a diverse array of services, including higher and professional education, test preparation, language training, corporate and leadership training, and student recruitment, online enablement and other university support services. With operations in nearly 30 countries, Kaplan serves nearly 1.1 million students each year and has partnerships with 2,000-plus universities, colleges, and schools/school districts, and more than 4,000 businesses globally. Kaplan is a subsidiary of Graham Holdings Company (NYSE: GHC). For more information, please visit www.kaptest.com.   

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Move Strengthens Kaplan’s Position as a Multi-Purpose Strategic Partner to Universities and Employers

Note to editors: Kaplan is a subsidiary of Graham Holdings Company (NYSE: GHC)

Press Contact: Carina Wong, carina.wong@kaplan.com, 646.467.2241
Twitter: @KapEdNews

Fort Lauderdale, FL (March 24, 2021) ⁠— To address growing demand for its workforce readiness solutions, Kaplan has integrated its university and employer partnerships teams, combining these into a single unit and tapping veteran industry leader Brandon Busteed to lead the consolidated unit as Chief Partnership Officer, Universities and Employers. He will also retain his existing title of Global Head, Learn-Work Innovation.

A prolific writer and thought leader on innovation and education trends, Busteed has been a driving force behind Kaplan’s expansion into work-readiness and work relevance since joining the organization in 2018. His new role establishes a single strategic unit bringing together collective capabilities in support of a growing roster of university and employer partners.

“With accelerating interest in our career-readiness and career-relevance solutions, and with both universities and employers embarking on talent development and human capital transformations, it became clear we needed to establish a dedicated unit in support of our partners, and Brandon’s vision and leadership are exactly what’s needed as we look to deliver value as a multi-purpose strategic partner to universities and employers,” said Gregory Marino, Chief Executive Officer of Kaplan’s North American operations.

The move follows a series of partnership initiatives that underscore Kaplan’s growth in the university and employer space. While the global educational services provider has an established history in test preparation, higher education, language training and professional education and training, in recent years it has expanded its product portfolio to support universities to include online enablement, pathways programs,  and a broad array of work-readiness solutions including bootcamps, career services support, industry-recognized credentialing initiatives and a digital clinical simulation platform. Kaplan has established new partnerships with Purdue University, Wake Forest University, Brandeis University, Case Western Reserve University, University of Rochester, The New School’s Parsons Paris, as well as the University of Essex and the University of Liverpool in the UK. Kaplan also partners with more than 34 universities in the US, UK and Australia to run highly successful pathways programs that help students from across the globe matriculate into degree programs.

“Brandon Busteed and his colleagues at Kaplan have been enormously creative partners in our efforts to innovate at Wake Forest. They have been valued partners in course delivery, in rethinking career development, in innovative programs for high school students, and in launching our new School for Professional Studies,” said Nathan Hatch, President, Wake Forest University.

A leader in training programs for financial services, health care and legal professionals seeking certification in the U.S., U.K. and Australia, Kaplan has more recently further parlayed its strength in outcomes-based learning into new workforce readiness offerings. Its new Credegree^TM programs, which bundle bachelor degrees with industry-recognized credentials, will soon be available to students at the University of Montana. Career Core^TM, an innovative new model for shared career services launched in partnership with Wake Forest University, enables institutions to expand career services to help prepare their students for their first jobs and on-going career successes. Kaplan additionally partners with a number of companies to provide education as a benefit.

About Kaplan

Kaplan is a global educational services company that provides individuals, universities, and businesses with a diverse array of services, including higher and professional education, test preparation, language training, corporate and leadership training, and student recruitment, online enablement and other university support services. With operations in nearly 30 countries, Kaplan serves nearly 1.1 million students each year and has partnerships with 2,000-plus universities, colleges, and schools/school districts, and more than 4,000 businesses globally. Kaplan is a subsidiary of Graham Holdings Company (NYSE: GHC). For more information, please visit www.kaptest.com.

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