Press Release

September 21, 2021

Kaplan Launches First Shared Career Services Offering In Partnership With Wake Forest University, Leading Higher Ed Institutions to Promote Work Readiness

Russell Schaffer

Kaplan

Note to editors: Kaplan is a subsidiary of Graham Holdings Company (NYSE: GHC)

Press Contact: Russell Schaffer, russell.schaffer@kaplan.com, 917.822.8190

New York, NY (September 21, 2021) ⁠— Kaplan, a diversified, global education provider, has collaborated with pioneering university partners to launch Career Core™, an innovative career-services provider that helps students prepare for their first jobs and ongoing career success. This first-of-its-kind initiative uses a shared model to provide valuable services and resources that are difficult for an individual university to offer at scale: student access to industry- and role-specific advisors; world-class, academically-rigorous, asynchronous career course curriculum; and opportunities to earn industry-recognized credentials during college. The select group of leading higher education institutions and organizations that have joined Career Core as founding members are: Adelphi University, Florida International University, Point Loma Nazarene University, University of Arizona, University of Montana, Wake Forest University, Alpha Tau Omega, and Kappa Alpha Order.

Amidst a backdrop of waning confidence in the work readiness of college graduates and the challenging budgets brought on by pandemic-related cuts, the innovative new model will enable student-serving organizations to provide their constituencies with much-needed career development support and skills for immediate application in today’s workforce. Career Core includes access for students to connect with industry- and role-specific advisors across a broad range of high-demand industries such as data science, technology, finance, marketing, healthcare, engineering and management, among others. It also includes rigorous and engaging career development content and activities designed in partnership with Wake Forest’s nationally recognized career services office.

Career Core will help extend and scale the capabilities of even the most cutting-edge career service offices, especially to students with diverse backgrounds and needs. For campuses looking to address budget and operational efficiencies, Career Core can also serve as an affordable means to motivate and equip every student to be career ready. In researching the unique career development needs and experiences of college students today, Kaplan conducted extensive interviews of college presidents, provosts, career services leaders, employers and students to identify key elements of a successful career services experience and designed Career Core accordingly.

“Wake Forest is proud to have become a recognized leader in career development,” said Andy Chan, vice president, innovation and career development at Wake Forest University. “We are delighted to partner with Kaplan to design this innovative offering for Wake and for every other institution that wants all of their students to be truly career and life ready.”

“The opportunity to design and launch a breakthrough model for career services alongside forward-thinking leaders and institutions in this area has been a real honor for Kaplan. It’s testament to what innovative partnerships can bring to higher education, and we can’t wait to grow this service in partnership with committed higher education institutions,” said Brandon Busteed, chief partnership officer and global head of learn-work innovation at Kaplan.

Kaplan, which provides individuals, institutions of higher learning and businesses around the world with a diverse array of services, currently generates more than $1 billion in economic impact for its university partners across the globe as a multi-purpose strategic partner. Its services for university partners include international student recruitment, online degree management and white-labeling of industry-recognized credential courses. In recent years, Kaplan has also expanded its menu of work-readiness offerings. Earlier this year, Kaplan announced the launch of Credegree™ solutions for universities, enabling them to combine degree programs with opportunities for students to also obtain valuable industry-recognized credentials and skills. The launch of Career Core builds on its portfolio of offerings for higher education institutions seeking to improve their students’ work readiness.

Here’s What Founding Partners Are Saying About Career Core:

“As a nationally recognized and award-winning institution for career services, Adelphi University is proud to be a founding member of the Kaplan Career Core Program. By joining forces with Kaplan and other distinguished founding members, we are shaping the future of programming in career services and workforce development. This innovative partnership demonstrates our commitment to and leadership in student success.” — Christine M. Riordan, PhD, president, Adelphi University

“Career Core is an innovative way that will help our members think more strategically about matching their natural abilities and skill sets with a career that makes sense for them and provides a greater sense of fulfillment. This is an important initiative that fits perfectly with our mission of personal development.” — Wynn Smiley, CEO, Alpha Tau Omega

“Kappa Alpha Order is proud to be a founding fraternity partner with Kaplan’s Career Core program. Kaplan Career Core will help prepare KA brothers for their first jobs and ongoing success throughout their careers. It provides both industry- and role-specific career coaching and development in non-timebound, asynchronous training. As a moral compass for the modern gentleman, KA is committed to investing in our members’ early professional development to help them succeed.” — Larry Stanton Wiese, executive director, Kappa Alpha Order

“Point Loma Nazarene University is proud to partner with Kaplan’s Career Core as a leading higher education institution committed to our students answering the question – Who are you called to be? Through this innovative partnership, we scale our career services, expand career readiness across campus and beyond, and impact students in ways that are more equitable and sustainable.” — Bob Brower, president, Point Loma Nazarene University

“The University of Montana is adapting to meet our nation’s most pressing education and workforce challenges. Partnering with Kaplan on Career Core is our institution’s next step towards expanding career readiness and workplace training. University of Montana initiatives, such as ElevateU and Accelerate Montana, are helping ensure every student who steps foot on our campus has skills and job training that employers are looking for. With a global economy that is rapidly changing, it is time for institutions of higher education to use the Career Core framework to collaborate with industries to meet the needs of our students and address the growing workforce demands in Montana and across the nation.” — Seth Bodnar, president, University of Montana

The service is set to launch for the 2021-22 academic year. Interested partners can learn more here or email careercore@kaplan.com for more information.

Reporters interested in covering this growing sector of the higher education landscape can contact Russell Schaffer at russell.schaffer@kaplan.com or 917.822.8190.

About Kaplan

Kaplan is a global educational services company that provides individuals, universities, and businesses with a diverse array of services, including higher and professional education, test preparation, language training, corporate and leadership training, student recruitment, online enablement and other university support services. With operations in nearly 30 countries, Kaplan serves nearly 1.1 million students each year and has partnerships with 2,000-plus universities, colleges, schools/school districts and more than 4,000 businesses globally. Kaplan is a subsidiary of Graham Holdings Company (NYSE: GHC). For more information, please visit www.kaplan.com.

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