Purdue's decision to acquire Kaplan a 'high-risk, high-reward' move - Hayleigh Colombo, Indianapolis Business Journal

“It’s very surprising,” said Robert Kelchen, an assistant professor of higher education at Seton Hall University. “I think it’s a fairly high-risk, high-reward strategy." “Purdue gets essentially all of Kaplan’s students,” Kelchen said. “They get a lot of national attention and they get a ready-made online or adult student infrastructure that they didn’t really have. The question then becomes, was it better for them to essentially acquire Kaplan, or start something on their own?” Lumina Foundation CEO Jamie Merisotis said the deal is interesting because it bucks a trend of for-profit universities acquiring not-for-profit, private colleges. Merisotis said Purdue’s big jump into online is a bit of a coming-of-age moment for adults in higher education and a “big signal about the market.” https://www.ibj.com/articles/63603-purdues-decision-to-acquire-kaplan-a-high-risk-high-reward-move