TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (Legal Newsline) - Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi announced an agreement on Tuesday with multiple related for-profit schools that allegedly employed misleading marketing to enroll more students.
Kaplan Higher Education, Kaplan Higher Education Campuses and Kaplan University allegedly violated Florida's Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act by making misrepresentations and misleading statements and omitting or failing to disclose material information related to marketing their schools and programs to prospective students.
Kaplan cooperated with Bondi's office and agreed to an assurance of voluntary compliance. Under the terms of the agreement, Kaplan must clearly and conspicuously disclose true and accurate information relating to the school's accreditation, program costs, financial aid, and the scope and nature of employment services they provide. Disclosed program costs must include the cost of taking any certification or licensing exams that are required to practice certain careers in Florida.
During Bondi's inquiry into Kaplan's practices, the school voluntarily waived $6 million in tuition and fees for more than 2,400 Florida students.
Kaplan agreed to offer retraining to eligible students and establish an expedited arbitration process for students who asserted claims against the school. Eligible students will be notified by Kaplan of their options during the next 60 days.
Kaplan will also reimburse Bondi's office for attorney costs.