Complaint Review: Kaplan University

It is the colleges duty as well as your academic advisor to make you aware of any discrepancies that may be at fault with your degree regarding accreditation in different states.  And the steps you need to take in order for you to be able to move on the correct path of your career.  I myself am going through a similar situation with this college.  $20,000 down the drain because they gave me the incorrect information regarding Kaplsn accreditation.  I have called many other colleges as well as the American Dietetic Association being that my degree was in nutrition.  They have all made it quite clear that it is Kaplans job to put the student on the right path.
  I have also found hundreds of lawsuits similar to mine against Kaplan University.  I urge you to seek a lawyer or look for a class action lawsuit.  These are the steps that Iam taking.  Also do some research on Kaplans fraudulent history as well.
  To the employee you also should research the many lawsuits against Kaplan from former employees. 

I am an employee of Kaplan University as of the date of my rebuttal as well as the original post. My rebuttal is not on behalf of, nor does it represent the opinion of, my employer.

My decision to write this rebuttal is to address a concern I have with both students and parents, alike. It has been my experience that people will arrive at a conclusion that is convenient regardless of whether that conclusion is supported by facts. The post I am rebutting reaches a conclusion unsupported by facts.

Accreditation affects the ability to transfer credits between schools and some restrictions apply ( http://www.degrees247.com/elearning/credit_transfer.asp ). As a former inter-state transfer student, it is my experience that, generally, schools are more willing to accept transfer credits when both schools are accredited by the same organizations. Each school sets its own policy regarding credits it will accept in transfer. There is no national standard and the accepting school may allow or deny credits as it sees fit.

Before any school will accept transfer credits, those credits must be earned at a school that meets two requirements. The credits must come from a school that is a member of the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) and that is also accredited by an organization recognized by the U.S. Department of Education (USDOE). Both elements must be present ( http://www.degrees247.com/elearning/credit_transfer.asp ). Kaplan University meets both requirements.

Kaplan University is a member of CHEA ( http://www.chea.org/search/actionInst.asp?CheaID=1033 ) and is accredited by an organization recognized by the USDOE ( http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/SearchResult.aspx?6d6f64653d5365617263684279496e737469747574696f6e267264743d332f31312f323031302031313a35393a313520504d ).

Kaplan University makes its accreditation information available to students, prospective students, and anyone searching the Internet ( http://online.kaplanuniversity.edu/Pages/KU_Accreditation.aspx ).

As mentioned above, where there is no national standard regarding the transfer of college credits, and where each school sets its own transfer credit acceptance policy, the burden of determining credit transferability rests squarely on the shoulders of the students. This affects the application process at both the original school and the transfer school.

The lack of standardization, and the burden this places on students, is not the fault of any credit granting institution including, but not limited to Kaplan University. It is the fault of the U.S. Department of Education. The schools, like the students, are unwitting victims of the USDOE's failure to act proactively to establish a "college credit portability act," or something of that sort.