Press Release
March 3, 2023
The Creating Pathways and Access for Student Success Foundation™ Partners with Kaplan to Boost the Number of Underrepresented Illinois Students in STEM Fields
New York, NY (March 2, 2023) — The Creating Pathways and Access for Student Success Foundation (CPASS) announces that it has partnered with global educational services provider Kaplan to offer comprehensive prep courses for the admissions exams to get into medical school — the MCAT® — and dental school — the DAT® — and also the licensing exam for doctors, the USMLE® to their scholars. CPASS, a health profession pipeline non-profit with programs for underrepresented students in fourth grade through medical school, is awarding the courses to aspiring professionals who meet certain academic and socioeconomic criteria, among them that they graduated from a high school in Illinois and show great promise of succeeding in their intended career field.
“CPASS was created to attract, encourage, educate, guide, and increase the number of promising, yet underrepresented Illinois students in science, technology, engineering, and math related fields and partnering with Kaplan to offer these courses to these talented aspiring young professionals is an important part of our efforts,” said Dr. Stephen Martin, executive director of CPASS. “We have already seen high interest in this new program and we are reviewing how to expand this summer to reach even more students interested in STEM careers.”
Kaplan course recipients also receive academic support with a series of CPASS-provided classroom sessions, including in the areas of chemistry, biology, and physics — all topics that are key to succeeding on the pre-med and medical academic tracks. Additionally, CPASS offers its scholars professional development workshops and mentoring.
“We’re incredibly proud to support the important pipeline work that CPASS is doing to create a health care workforce that is as diverse as the patients they serve,” said Jessica Peterson, director of institutional partnerships, Kaplan. “We look forward to seeing the great things that these inaugural course recipients achieve.”
Chicago Medical School at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science in North Chicago, Illinois, has partnered with CPASS to provide resources to prepare for the USMLE examinations to students underrepresented in medicine. According to Archana Chatterjee, MD, PhD, dean of Chicago Medical School at Rosalind Franklin University, “This underscores the school’s longstanding commitment to educational access and success, utilizing mentorship, academic support, and community outreach.”
Colleges, universities, graduate schools, and private organizations looking to partner with Kaplan can learn more about its All Access programs. And for reporters interested in covering this growing sector of Kaplan’s portfolio, contact Russell Schaffer at russell.schaffer@kaplan.com or 917.822.8190.
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About CPASS
CPASS Foundation, the successor of the Chicago Area Health and Medical Careers Program™, is a groundbreaking diversity initiative founded in 1979 with a mission to introduce STEM health careers to underrepresented Illinois middle, high and college scholars and expose them to careers they may have not known about as well as knowledge and access to early training programs that can increase their chances for success. We are committed to providing a holistic educational foundation and exclusive access to career development resources for our scholars to persist in STEM careers. Learn more atwww.cpassfoundation.org. Inquiries can be sent to info@cpassfoundation.org.
About Kaplan
Kaplan, Inc. is a global educational services company that helps individuals and institutions advance their goals in an ever-changing world. Our broad portfolio of solutions helps students and professionals further their education and careers, universities and educational institutions attract and support students, and businesses maximize employee recruitment and development. Stanley Kaplan founded our company in 1938 with a mission to expand educational opportunities for students of all backgrounds. Today, all of our employees across 27 countries continue Stanley’s mission, working with hundreds of thousands of students and professionals and 12,000 corporate and 4,000 school and university clients worldwide. Kaplan is a subsidiary of Graham Holdings Company (NYSE: GHC). Learn more at kaplan.com.
Press Contact
Russell Schaffer
russell.schaffer@kaplan.com
(917) 822-8190
Twitter: @KaplanEdNews
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