Purdue University has received final approval for its acquisition of Kaplan University, now known as Purdue University Global.
The Higher Learning Commission, the institution’s accrediting body, gave the okay Monday.
Purdue’s acquisition of for-profit Kaplan has been marked with controversy ever since it was announced last April.
Faculty members worry the deal will tarnish Purdue’s reputation and diminish the value of a Purdue degree. But Purdue President Mitch Daniels and other higher education officials have said the acquisition is a way to increase education access to a population of adults that desperately needs it.
Purdue University Global’s main campus will be in Indianapolis. Officials expect to launch the new program in April.
