The Washington Post’s embattled education unit laid off 770 employees, or 5 percent of its work force, as enrollment at its for-profit colleges slows down. Kaplan University officials announced the cuts on Tuesday, then let the ax fall on Wednesday.
“These are difficult decisions to make, but necessary if we are to maintain the same high-quality education and support services our students expect,” said Jeff Conlon, chief executive officer of Kaplan Higher Education.
A spokesman for the company said the layoffs were not connected to litigation pending against Kaplan and other for-profit colleges.
The U.S. Department of Education proposed strict regulations last month after a federal probe of for-profits discovered low graduation rates, misleading recruitment practices, and in some cases, encouragement to forge federal aid applications to qualify for Pell Grants. For-profits received $24 billion in federal loans and grants last year.
Last week, a former Kaplan dean said in a federal jury trial against cyber-harassment charges that Kaplan committed fraud to get student aid dollars.
Bennie Wilcox, a former dean of law and legal studies, said Kaplan executives ran “multiple schemes” that defrauded $1 billion from taxpayers.
Kaplan has consistently denied the allegations. The Government Accountability Office revised its investigatory report on Nov. 30, largely watering down examples of specific frauds, but maintaining that many for-profit colleges had committed fraud and misled potential students.
The Senate plans to hold its fourth hearing on for-profit colleges early next year.
Washington Post shares have dropped 27 percent over the past eight months as scrutiny from the federal government heated up. Melinda Gates announced her resignation from the company’s board of directors on Nov. 12.
Just weeks ago, reports surfaced that Kaplan is expanding its online-only law school to a physical campus in Southeast D.C. “They’ve been down here looking at multiple sites,” said Michael Stevens, executive director of the Capitol Riverfront Business Improvement District.
Of Kaplan’s 75,000 students, more than 68,000 take online courses exclusively. Just 30 percent of two-year students and 33 percent of four-year students graduate from Kaplan University.
