Kaplan University and Veterans

http://www.futureofcapitalism.com/2010/11/kaplan-university-and-veterans

Bloomberg News has a long article by Daniel Golden about how the Washington Post Company's Kaplan University "ensnares" veterans in its "quest for profits at taxpayer expense." The article says Kaplan's admissions officers traded on the reputations of Washington Post Company directors Warren Buffett and Melinda Gates:

Robinson, the admissions adviser, told Melvin that Kaplan was connected through its parent company to such luminaries as Post directors Warren Buffett and Melinda Gates, Melvin said.

"I was more familiar with Jimmy Buffett than I was with Warren Buffett," he said. "I looked into it" and was impressed by Buffett's investment acumen.

Invoking Buffett, chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., and Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, is a common Kaplan tactic, Huff said.

"One of the things that I always said was, 'As you may know, Kaplan is owned by the Washington Post, a paper known for having really high ethics," he said. "'As you can imagine, the Washington Post would never involve itself in anything that would reflect poorly on its reputation.'"

While it's appropriate to inform students about Kaplan's ownership, mentioning Buffett and Gates isn't sanctioned or encouraged, and rarely happens, Kaplan spokeswoman Mack said.

"Kaplan University in no way supports this," she said.

Gates and Buffett didn't respond to requests for comment.

Second, a video that accompanies the article features Jim Chanos of Kynikos Associates talking "about his decision to short shares of for-profit education companies." But the article itself makes no mention of how the regulatory onslaught against the for-profit education companies is being pushed by a combination of the short-sellers and their "non-profit" or government-owned competitors.

by Ira Stoll  |  Nov 1, 2010 at 9:43 am Related Topics:  Education, Warren Buffett receive the latest by email: subscribe to the free futureofcapitalism.com mailing list