WEST LAFAYETTE — An already long list of questions concerning the details of the "NewU" that will emerge from Purdue University's recent Kaplan University purchase continues to grow as people ponder what this means for Purdue and higher education.

Will the NewU degree be equivalent to a Purdue degree? Will there be a process for online students to transfer into one of Purdue's existing campuses? In what ways will Purdue be able to utilize Kaplan's online resources?

Purdue, however, has a long way to go before it will be able to answer all of these questions.

It has been about two weeks since Purdue announced the acquisition of the for-profit online university. Since then, the unexpected deal continues to be discussed, scrutinized and picked apart by national media outlets, higher education experts and the general public.

At Purdue, faculty passed a resolution that called out the university for failing to seek their input on the plan and requested inclusion in future decisions made about the new online university. The resolution came after a special University Senate meeting in which faculty grilled Purdue President Mitch Daniels and other officials on the deal.

The Indiana Conference of the American Association of University Professors also released a statement that said it "objects strenuously" to the deal, while another statement opposing the deal was penned by faculty members from Indiana public universities.

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