Dive Brief:
- Kaplan Higher Education will pay $1.3 million to settle civil charges from the U.S. Department of Justice that it used unqualified instructors to teach medical assistant courses in the San Antonio, TX, area.
- The allegations, raised by a whistleblower lawsuit, were that the for-profit educator knowingly received federal financial aid for courses taught by instructors who didn’t meet minimum state requirements.
- About $1.1 million of the settlement will be tuition refunds to 289 students, who will have their student loan debt load decreased, the U.S Attorney’s office reported.
Dive Insight:
The Justice Department didn’t say how much the whistleblower received, but this settlement will probably encourage more whistleblower lawsuits against for-profit colleges. By agreeing to the settlement, Kaplan admits no wrongdoing. Kaplan has several Texas campuses, including Kaplan College – San Antonio (San Pedro) and Kaplan College – San Antonio (Ingram). The schools’ medical assistant diploma program teaches students looking to land entry-level jobs in health care.