Brightwood College, formerly Kaplan College, was a system of

for-profit colleges Proprietary colleges are for-profit colleges and universities. They are operated by their owners or investors, rather than a not-for-profit institution, religious organization, or government. Because they are not funded by tax money, their long ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, owned and operated by Education Corporation of America. Main qualifications offered included health, business, criminal justice, information technology, nursing and professional training (trades) programs. On December 5, 2018, Brightwood's parent company, Education Corporation of America, announced unexpectedly via an email that all of its schools would be closing in two business days. Staff were terminated without legally required notice.

History

Before being acquired by Education Corporation of America (ECA) in September 2015, Kaplan College was part of Kaplan Higher Education, a subsidiary of

Kaplan, Inc Kaplan, Inc. is an American for-profit corporation that provides educational and training services to colleges, universities, businesses and individuals around the world. Founded in 1938 by Stanley Kaplan, the company offers a variety of test prep ...

. Kaplan, Inc., purchased the American Institute of Commerce, a business training school founded in 1937, and renamed it Kaplan College in 2000, later renaming it to

Kaplan University Kaplan University (KU) was a private online for-profit university owned by Kaplan, Inc., a subsidiary of Graham Holdings Company. It was predominantly a distance learning institution, maintaining 14 ground locations across the United States. The ...

in 2004. In 2000, Kaplan acquired

Quest Education Corporation Quest Education Corporation was a for-profit educational company in the United States, based in Georgia, which was acquired by Kaplan, Inc. in 2000 to become the "Kaplan Higher Education" division of that company. History Quest was founded by Ga ...

, which served 30 schools in 11 states. Quest Education Corporation was renamed Kaplan Higher Education in 2002. In April 2004, Kaplan Higher Education owned 64 campuses, including

Hesser College Mount Washington College was a for-profit college in New Hampshire, United States. Until 2013 it was known as Hesser College. It was owned by Kaplan, Inc., and offered associate and bachelor's degrees focused in business and information technol ...

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

, and

CEI College CEI may refer to: Companies and organizations * Competitive Enterprise Institute, a libertarian think-tank * Council of Engineering Institutions, later the Engineering Council * Cycle Engineers' Institute, a screw thread pattern, see British Stan ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. California locations operated under the Maric College brand from 2004-2008, then as Kaplan College. In June 2008, Las Vegas-based Heritage College was folded into the Kaplan College brand. In 2010, the Texas schools acquired as part of the Quest purchase were renamed Kaplan College. In October 2015, Kaplan College's

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Day ...

, campus was renamed Brightwood College. The remaining Kaplan College locations became Brightwood College in February–March 2016. On December 5, 2018, it was announced that Education Corporation of America was shutting down all Brightwood College locations nationwide, due to loss of accreditation from the US Department of Education.

Campuses

*Bakersfield, California (closed as of Friday 12/7/18) *Chula Vista, California *Fresno, California *Modesto, California *Los Angeles (Van Nuys), California (founded in 1982 as Modern Technology College) *Palm Springs, California (founded in 2004 as Maric College) *Riverside, California (founded in 1990 as Computer Education Institute) Kaplan Higher Education Acquires Ten Cei Campuses In Southern California
/ref> *Sacramento, California *San Diego, California (founded in 1976 as Maric College) *Vista, California *Hammond, Indiana *Indianapolis, Indiana *Baltimore, Maryland *Beltsville, Maryland *Towson, Maryland *Las Vegas, Nevada (founded in 1990 as Professional Careers, Inc., later Heritage College) *Charlotte, North Carolina *Dayton, Ohio (Closed as of 12/7/2018) *Nashville, Tennessee *Arlington, Texas *Beaumont, Texas *Brownsville, Texas *Corpus Christi, Texas *Dallas, Texas *El Paso, Texas *Fort Worth, Texas *Friendswood, Texas *Houston, Texas *Laredo, Texas *McAllen, Texas *San Antonio, Texas (two locations)

Accreditation

Brightwood College is accredited by the

Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools The Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS) is a non-profit education corporation that was recognized until 2021 by the United States Department of Education as an independent and autonomous national accrediting body. ...

(ACICS). On December 12, 2016, ACICS was derecognized by the

U.S. Department of Education The United States Department of Education is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government. It began operating on May 4, 1980, having been created after the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare was split into the Department ...

. April 2018, this action was under review, following a court ruling remanding the December 2016 decision to current Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos. Accreditation was finally lost December 2018.

Criticisms

Alleged improper recruiting

Kaplan College, while a part of Kaplan Inc, was one of 15 for-profit colleges cited by the

Government Accountability Office The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) is a legislative branch government agency that provides auditing, evaluative, and investigative services for the United States Congress. It is the supreme audit institution of the federal govern ...

(GAO) for deceptive or questionable statements that were made to undercover investigators posing as applicants. The

Pembroke Pines, Florida Pembroke Pines is a city in southern Broward County, Florida, United States. The city is located 22 miles (35 km) north of Miami. The population of Pembroke Pines is 171,178 as of the 2020 census. It is a suburb of and the fourth-most populous c ...

and

Riverside, California Riverside is a city in and the county seat of Riverside County, California, United States, in the Inland Empire metropolitan area. It is named for its location beside the Santa Ana River. It is the most populous city in the Inland Empire an ...

campuses were both cited in the GAO report. Andrew S. Rosen, President of Kaplan, Inc., described the tactics as "sickening" and promised to eliminate such conduct from Kaplan. On November 30, 2010, the GAO issued a revised report with several significant edits, altering key passages and softening several of the initial allegations. However it stood by its finding that the college had encouraged fraud and misled potential applicants. Five years later, Kaplan College was sold to Education Corp. and renamed Brightwood.

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control Former for-profit universities and colleges in the United States Educational institutions established in 1937 Educational institutions disestablished in 2018 1937 establishments in the United States