Purdue University Global, Inc. (Purdue Global) is a public online university that is a separately accredited part of the Purdue University system. Its primary focus is educating working adults.
Purdue Global was created in 2018 by Purdue University's acquisition and rebranding of for-profit Kaplan University. Kaplan Higher Education, a division of Graham Holdings Company (GHC), provides non-academic support services such as recruitment, admissions, human resources, marketing, and technology support. As such, GHC maintains an ongoing financial interest in the success of Purdue Global.
The university specializes in educating working adults who have life experience and often some college credits. Its programs focus on career-oriented fields of study at the certificate, associate, bachelor's, master's, and doctoral levels. Purdue Global serves about 10,000 military-affiliated students consisting of uniformed personnel, veterans, and eligible dependents.
Purdue Global is led by an emeritus Purdue faculty member and administrator, and is overseen by the Purdue system's leadership, specifically the university president and five members of the system's board of trustees. Its main campus (for accreditation purposes) is in West Lafayette, Indiana, and its online law school is based out of California.
History
Founding Prior to Purdue's acquisition, Kaplan University had undergone enrollment decline from 39,800 students in 2015 to just 32,000 students enrolled in April 2017. By the time Kaplan University became Purdue University Global in April 2018, enrollment was "approximately 30,000".
Following several years of government scrutiny, media criticism, and significant enrollment decline, Graham Holdings Company sold Kaplan University to the Purdue University system for one dollar in March 2018. Purdue rebranded the institution as Purdue University Global and agreed to employ Kaplan, Inc., a subsidiary of GHC, as the exclusive provider of nonacademic functions. Kaplan, Inc. agreed to assume responsibility for liabilities resulting before the transaction. According to the contract terms, Kaplan would receive 12.5-13 percent of the university's revenue, in addition to reimbursement for its costs of providing support to the school, as long as funds are available after all operating expenses and guaranteed payments to Purdue have been covered.
Purdue University president Mitch Daniels announced the intent to acquire Kaplan University in April 2017. From 2017 to January 2018, the school's temporary placeholder name was NewU. Purdue University Global's lineage is rooted in a series of for-profit colleges: American Institute of Commerce (1937–1999), Quest College (1999–2000), and Kaplan College (2000–2004), later renamed Kaplan University (2004–2017). In the years prior to its sale to Purdue University, Kaplan University's parent company, Kaplan Inc., closed or sold several schools, including Kaplan College (a primarily brick and mortar vocational school, not to be confused with the online university that became Kaplan University in 2004), and Kaplan Career Institute, which were purchased by Education Corporation of America in 2015. Kaplan University was the last accredited higher education institution owned by Kaplan, Inc.
In 2017, Daniels stated that the Purdue University deal with Kaplan incurred "virtually no financial risk", and had a "strong upside potential". Critics and analysts disagreed with Daniels' assessment, and in order to obtain regulatory approval, the U.S. Department of Education required Purdue to assume responsibility for Kaplan University's debt and liability "whether they are known or unknown, and whether they accrue prior to, or after the closing of the transaction" noting the debts and liabilities backed by Purdue "constitute an instrumentality of the state of Indiana for the purpose of the department's regulations". In the acquisition agreement Kaplan agreed to assume responsibility for liabilities resulting before the transaction, however the U.S. Department of Education "ultimately holds Purdue and the state of Indiana responsible for liabilities resulting from the operation of Kaplan University". Through the acquisition, Kaplan guaranteed Purdue priority payments of $10 million a year for the first five years following the transaction, of which $20 million was paid upon closing.
Daniels also said in 2017 that the contrast between the typical Purdue West Lafayette student and the targeted Purdue Global student was "stark". According to Purdue Global, 60 percent of Kaplan's students were over age 30, and the mean student income at enrollment was $22,323. For 55 percent of the students, neither parent had attended college.
According to Purdue University, Purdue Global had an $18 million loss in FY 2018, its first year of operation. Purdue University Treasurer Bill Sullivan said in regards to the 2018 finances, "losses are likely to continue another year, maybe two" and this was "a deliberate strategic choice and was, importantly, prefunded by Kaplan Higher Education (KHE) through the assets it brought to Purdue at acquisition" valued at more than $66 million in cash. Sullivan also stated that he expected "elevated startup costs to continue into 2019 and more modestly in 2020".
As predicted, following a $130 million marketing spend, in 2020 the university reversed the enrollment decline, growing 5 percent or 1,422 students to a total of 31,042 enrolled with 11 percent growth for bachelor's and graduate students, along with a 17 percent decline in certificate students, and a 5 percent decline in associate degree students. By fiscal year 2021, the impact of the enrollment growth put the university in a financially positive position for the first time with a reported gain of $5.25 million and $10 million in fiscal 2022.
Early leaders In March 2020, Frank Dooley replaced Betty Vandenbosch as chancellor of Purdue University Global. In May 2020, Jon Harbor took over as provost of Purdue Global and Marilyn Wideman, dean of the School of Nursing, announced her retirement. In January 2025, Jon Harbor assumed the role of interim chancellor of Purdue University Global, following the retirement of former chancellor Frank Dooley.
In February 2020, Purdue University announced that Purdue Global would be holding a virtual reality component to its Los Angeles graduation ceremony.
Campus and learning site locations Purdue University Global operates primarily online. The university's main office is located in West Lafayette, Indiana. Residents of Indiana are offered discounted tuition and Purdue employees and their families are offered free tuition.
Organization and Administration Academic relationship to the Purdue University System Purdue Global operates as a separately accredited institution within the Purdue University system, is the only institution in the system operating as a public-benefit corporation, and the only in which 12.5-13 percent of operating revenue are redirected to its prior for-profit owner Graham Holdings Company.
Each campus of the Purdue University system has its own accreditation, leadership, faculty, programs, and admissions policies. As a result, transfers between the campuses are highly limited. Purdue Global is classified by the U.S. Department of Education as a four-year public university but it does not receive state tax dollars due to its public benefit corporation status, and it is exempt from some of the public records disclosure requirements of public universities in Indiana. According to the 2017 law that enabled Purdue or any other Indiana university to create an affiliated education institution, it still must report financial, academic and student success data to Indiana regulators, and any decisions made by the traditional side of Purdue or emails received by Purdue's administration remain eligible to the open records law, even if they pertain to Purdue Global.
With the exception of Purdue Global, all degrees from all Purdue University campuses and Purdue degree programs offered through Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis (now named Purdue University in Indianapolis) and Purdue Polytechnic Institute share a similar diploma bearing the name of the institution granting the degree and the city in which it is given. Purdue Global graduates receive a diploma that uses the name "Purdue University Global" instead of the system name, and bears the Purdue Global logo in place of the Purdue University seal. Purdue University and Purdue University Global share the same alumni association.
In July 2019, Purdue Polytechnic Institute announced it had received a $12 million grant from the US Department of Labor to enable 5,000 students to go through a cybersecurity apprenticeship program over the next four years. The Polytechnic Institute will partner with Purdue Global to offer online instruction nationwide for "nontraditional students" seeking work in the cybersecurity industry.
Relationship to Graham Holdings and Kaplan Higher Education As a requirement of the purchase of Kaplan University from Graham Holdings, Purdue University Global is required to employ Kaplan Higher Education, Inc., for 30 years as the exclusive provider of "marketing and advertising, front-end student advising, admissions support, financial aid and student finance, international student recruitment, test preparation, business office, technology support, human resources, finance and accounting functions". The Purdue trustees retain management control and responsibility over these areas.
According to the contract terms, Kaplan would receive 12.5-13 percent of the university's revenue, and reimbursement for its costs of providing support to the school as long as funds were available after all operating expenses and guaranteed payments to Purdue have been covered. Kaplan guaranteed Purdue $10 million every year for the first five years. Kaplan would make up the difference if PG revenues were insufficient. At the time of purchase, Kaplan's owners paid $20 million to Purdue, pursuant to that agreement. The agreement also stipulated that if Purdue altered the university's operations in a way that significantly reduces the school's revenues, Kaplan could seek reimbursement for 12.5 percent of the lost revenue. An independent financial analyst would be tasked to adjudicate the issue. Since the acquisition, Purdue's leadership made several changes including closing several physical locations where Kaplan University had operated.
If Purdue Global were to incur $25 million in cash operating losses for three consecutive years, or total cash operating losses of more than $75 million at any point, either Purdue or Kaplan Higher Education could terminate the contract.
According to Graham Holdings Company, "After the sixth year, Purdue Global has the right to terminate the agreement upon payment of an early termination fee equal to 125% of Purdue Global's total revenue earned during the preceding 12-month period..."
Upon termination, Purdue University Global would retain the assets that Kaplan contributed, but would also assume responsibility for any liability arising from the operation of the institution.
Kaplan Higher Education is also an online program manager (OPM) of the Purdue University system.
Finances Global receives revenues from student tuition, tuition from corporate partners, grant or scholarship aid, Title IV funds, GI Bill funds, and Department of Defense Tuition Assistance. Title IV funds include Pell Grants and federal student loans.