Purdue to acquire largely online Kaplan University

The Purdue Board of Trustees on Thursday morning unanimously approved a plan to acquire Kaplan University, a largely online institution that has 15 campuses across the country, including a site in Indianapolis.

"A public university coming together with an established online university I think is by any definition a national first," Purdue President Mitch Daniels said.

The emerging institution, which Purdue is referring to as "NewU" for the time being, will maintain all of Kaplan's current programs and employees, but will be part of the Purdue system and will include its name.

Daniels said the agreement with Kaplan — an affiliate of Graham Holdings Company — both allows Purdue to fully break into the growing online education sector, which the university wasn't prepared to do on its own, and to serve more nontraditional students who are unlikely to attend a residential campus.