Education Dept. Confirms Initial Approval of Kaplan, EDMC Deals

By Paul Fain. The U.S. Department of Education on Wednesday confirmed that it has granted initial approval to acquisitions of Kaplan University and Education Management Corp., two large for-profits. The proposed transactions by Purdue University to acquire Kaplan and create a new online university, and by the Dream Center, a nonprofit missionary group, to buy EDMC and its for-profit campus chains, both have drawn controversy. Earlier this week Buzzfeed reported that the feds had signed off on the deals, citing emails the publication obtained. More...