Higher Ed Commission OKs New Public University
Purdue President Mitch Daniels says he believes the acquisition of Kaplan University will also benefit Purdue financially.
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowThe state’s next online public university has taken another step toward its launch. NewU, as it’s tentatively being called, has received approval from the Indiana Commission for Higher Education. The school is a Purdue University creation built on its April acquisition of Kaplan University. NewU will be independently run by its own board of directors selected by Purdue.
The new university will be funded through tuition and fundraising, not state dollars says Purdue.
Purdue President Mitch Daniels says:
This is a crucial step toward enabling us to meet our obligation – particularly to Hoosier families – of increasing access to education and improving lives. We appreciate the commission’s resounding endorsement. The ICHE has challenged all of Indiana higher ed to work on the task of bringing college credentials to those hundreds of thousands of working adults who missed their earlier opportunity to obtain them. Through NewU, Purdue accepts and welcomes this important challenge.
NewU still needs approval from the U.S. Department of Education and the Higher Learning Commission, an independent, post-secondary education accreditation organization.
Though controlled by Purdue, NewU’s own board will oversee and approve all academic, budgetary, marketing and operational functions.