A family member just started classes with Kaplan University. I've found many negative comments about Kaplan on the internet. Your website sounds like you are truly a "fan" of this type of learning. Do you feel that you got a good education from Kaplan? Did you have any financial aid or billing problems with them? What does "regionally accredited" mean? Is this the same as an accredited brick & mortar university? These are all concerns found on other websites. Any feedback you can provide is appreciated.
Thanks for the inquiry! As far as finding negative comments on the Internet about Kaplan, the only thing I can say is that you will find opinions about everything on the Internet. You should consider it for what it is. They are “opinions”. They are not usually reflective of the overall experience. When a company has as many “customers” as Kaplan does, you will always be able to find negative things about the products.
As an example, search the Internet and tell me how easy it is to find negative comments about Dell, General Motors, Hewlett Packard, Comcast, Time Warner, Samsung, or any other large company with hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of customers. Finding negative feedback is not hard. With that said, take the comments for what they’re worth.
In my time at Kaplan, I had no issues with financial aid. I used FAFSA and my total out-of-pocket was minimal. I feel that I got a good education from Kaplan. I used it to “get my ticket punched” so to speak. That is I wanted a place to get an undergraduate degree that would get me into graduate school. Kaplan helped me achieve that as I was accepted into Norwich University.
Regionally accredited institution of higher education means a community college, college, or university which is a candidate for accreditation or is accredited by one of the following regional accrediting bodies:
Middle States, Association of Colleges and Schools
New England Association of Schools and Colleges
North Central Association of Colleges and Schools
Northwest Association of School and Colleges
Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
Western Association of Schools and Colleges
Ask the college/university to identify whether they are regionally accredited, and if so, by which accrediting body. Then visit the web site for the regional accrediting body and look up your college/university in their listing of accredited institutions.
To read more about why this is important to you, please read this web page. And yes, Kaplan and most other schools that offer distance programs is accredited by the same agencies that accredit Harvard, Yale, University of Texas, and other well known institutions.
Thanks for the mail. I hope this helps.
Do you have any questions about distance education
or anything in this post? Feel free to contact Scott anytime!