WEST LAFAYETTE – Just days ahead of what might be final approval for Purdue President Mitch Daniels’ landmark deal to add Kaplan University programs to Purdue’s portfolio, faculty members made it clear that they intended to protest the move until the end.
As Daniels sat a few feet away, Alberto Rodriguez, University Senate chairman, told the faculty representatives in the Deans Auditorium in Pfendler Hall that a contingent will go to Chicago for Thursday’s Higher Learning Commission hearing.
The Higher Learning Commission, which accredits universities in 19 states, including in Indiana, is Purdue’s final regulatory stop before finalizing the deal to buy the online education giant and launching the rebranded Purdue University Global.
It’s where Purdue will need to make its case and then wait two to three weeks for an answer, according to a timeline provided at Monday’s University Senate meeting.
New name: Purdue gives new name to Kaplan deal: Purdue Global
Purdue-Kaplan: 300+ faculty petition against NewU deal, say it will hurt Purdue's name
Stay current on Purdue: Get one year of full digital access to J&C for only $9.99
It’s also faculty’s last ditch effort to derail a deal that has rubbed them the wrong way from the start.