Brightwood College, formerly Kaplan College, was a system of for-profit colleges in the United States, owned and operated by Education Corporation of America. Main qualifications offered included health, business, criminal justice, information technology, nursing and professional training (trades) programs.[1]
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.[2]
History
Before being acquired by Education Corporation of America (ECA) in September 2015,[3][4] Kaplan College was part of Kaplan Higher Education, a subsidiary of Kaplan, Inc.
In 2000, Kaplan acquired Quest Education Corporation, which served 30 schools in 11 states.[6] Quest Education Corporation was renamed Kaplan Higher Education in 2002.[7]
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, campus was renamed Brightwood College.[9] The remaining Kaplan College locations became Brightwood College in February–March 2016.[10][11]
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.[12][13]
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)[14]
Riverside, California (founded in 1990 as Computer Education Institute)[15][16]
Sacramento, California
San Diego, California (founded in 1976 as Maric College)[17][16]
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)[18][19]
Kaplan College, while a part of Kaplan Inc, was one of 15 for-profit colleges cited by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) for deceptive or questionable statements that were made to undercover investigators posing as applicants.[22] The Pembroke Pines, Florida and Riverside, California campuses were both cited in the GAO report.[23] Andrew S. Rosen, President of Kaplan, Inc., described the tactics as "sickening" and promised to eliminate such conduct from Kaplan.[24] 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.[25] Five years later, Kaplan College was sold to Education Corp. and renamed Brightwood.
Alleged Fraud Regarding Student Loans
Brightwood College was one of 153 institutions included in student loan cancellation due to alleged fraud. The class action was brought by a group of more than 200,000 student borrowers, assisted by the Project on Predatory Student Lending, part of the Legal Services Center of Harvard Law School. A settlement was approved in August of 2022, stating that the schools on the list were included "substantial misconduct by the listed schools, whether credibly alleged or in some instances proven."[26][27] In April of 2023, the Supreme Court rejected a challenge to the settlement and allowed to proceed the debt cancellation due to alleged fraud.[28]
