Kaplan, Inc., a global provider of educational programs and services, is offering a variety of free professional training and test prep webinars as well as working with Purdue University Global to offer free college courses to help assist individuals who may have been laid off or furloughed from their places of employment due to the current coronavirus crisis.
“This free offering is our way to help provide additional resources to companies for their employees during this extremely challenging time when many are forced to cut back on employee hours and the size of their workforce,” explained Gregory Marino, CEO of Kaplan Higher Education. “As the business world is turned upside down, we see the purposeful role education can play to help people prepare themselves and gain skills and knowledge that will help them re-emerge in the workforce faster. Helping people succeed has always been Kaplan’s mission.”
Included in the offer are 25 courses offered by Purdue University Global, a public, non-profit institution and one of the nation’s largest online universities. Single for-credit courses will be offered at no-cost and include skill-building curriculum in a range of subjects including career and professional development, health and wellness, business and management, information technology, data literacy, and cyber security. This free course benefit begins immediately and will be available through June 10. Depending on course choice, credits earned in the free course may be used toward degree and certificate programs, short-duration course-bundles or micro-credentials, or stackable degrees—at normal tuition rates--or simply used to gain specific knowledge in a field of interest. Kaplan Higher Education has a long-term managed services provider arrangement with Purdue Global.
Other programs are being made available through Kaplan’s Test Prep division, a leader in helping students for more than 80 years prepare for high school, college, and graduate admissions exams as well as professional licensure tests. SAT® Prep On Demand provides a flexible, expert-led course, over 50 instructional videos and more than 1,000 practice questions and quizzes throughout each lesson. Full access for one month is being offered. Additional free seminars include an overview of the ACT®, GED®, HiSET® and TASC® tests and how to apply for high school equivalency and a guide for applying to graduate school for individuals thinking of earning an advanced degree. Kaplan Test Prep’s data science training unit, Metis, is offering a free corporate training series, Introduction to Python, and Kaplan’s iHuman Patients® unit is making a virtual simulation COVID-19 case study available for free for physicians, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners in training.
Additionally, Kaplan has created a series of Digital Classroom Resources—including articles, videos, and webinars—aimed at helping students, parents, and teachers navigate this period of online learning and working, available at its digital classroom hub.
Kaplan is also offering free online programs that lead to two financial industry-recognized credentials--SIE (Security Industry Essentials, a new, introductory level FINRA exam for prospective industry professionals), and WMSSM (Wealth Management Specialist), which offers individuals an overview of the most critical concepts in financial planning and wealth management.
Companies that choose to direct their employees to these free resources should include this self-service website opportunity.kaplan.com, which will enable individuals to sign up. Trained Kaplan advisors can also be consulted through the portal, if individuals need assistance in finding the best options for themselves.
*Test names are the property of the respective trademark holders, none of whom endorse or are affiliated with Kaplan, with the exceptions of ACT and GED. Kaplan is the official partner for live online prep for the ACT and the GED.
About Kaplan
Kaplan, Inc. serves over one million students globally each year through its array of higher education, test preparation, professional education, English-language training, and university preparation programs, and offerings to individuals, institutions, and businesses. Across its 80-plus year history, first as a small test-prep pioneer and then an early online education leader and now a global education provider, Kaplan has been recognized for expanding educational access and using technology and learning science innovations to continually improve outcomes for its students and partners. Kaplan has operations in nearly 30 countries, employs more than 12,000 full- and part-time professionals, and maintains relationships and partnerships with more than 1,000 school districts, colleges, and universities, and about 10,000 corporations and businesses. Kaplan is a subsidiary of Graham Holdings Company (NYSE: GHC) and its largest division. For more information, please visit www.kaplan.com.
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