After nearly seven years at KU as a faculty member, I experienced an increasing amount of pressure from non-academic types to pass student who were unprepared and unable to meet the demands of higher education. Faculty are micro-managed, their discussion board postings counted not qualified, and they are forced to change grades for students who are not passing courses. Evaluations are based on the number of students who pass a course rather than what they learn.
Initially, Kaplan College was focused on teaching students what they would need to know to be successful within their respective career. Shortly after the university designation, business types who were disinterested in education and profit driven operated the newly defined KU. Do not misunderstand; profit is GOOD and necessary for all institutions and entities. However, creating a hostile work environment that rewards those who pass students rather than those who actually care about education is the wrong direction for any institution of higher-education.
Kaplan University engages in cold-calling potential students and makes promises that they cannot keep. For example, I have had student enrolled that when contacted telephonically, they stated that they did not own a computer. It seems odd that those without a computer would be enrolled in an online program. They further indicated that the KU employee promised them financial aid money and a free computer. After enrollment, the tens of thousands of dollars owed to KU did not justify student loans that were an artifact of their naivet. It was heart breaking to speak with student (mostly single-mothers with children) who wanted to change their life and set an example for their children, but were faced with mounting KU related bills and an auto-enrollment system that did not allow them to dis-enroll without incurring thousands of dollars of debt that they could not re-pay. Do not worry, however, taxpayers WILL pay for those defaulted student loans, and KU will continue to profit!
Do not view these statements as sour-grapes, I left KU on my own terms as it became impossible for me to reconcile ethical principles that had drawn me originally to education. I still believe in online education, it is an important and necessary part of any legitimate academic institution. My hope and motivation for posting this information is to warn the would-be students who can become armed with information and make choices that do not include Kaplan University, the school of non-educations.
Jolei
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