Washington Post 2012 Annual Report Download - page 24

Each Tier 4 license holder is also required to have Highly Trusted Sponsor (HTS) status and Educational Oversight
accreditation. Without HTS status, effective April 2012, Kaplan’s schools would not be permitted to issue a Confirmation
of Acceptance of Studies (CAS) to potential incoming international students, which is a prerequisite to a student obtaining
a Tier 4 student visa. The revised immigration rules also require all private institutions to obtain Educational Oversight
accreditation by the end of 2012. Educational Oversight requires a current and satisfactory full inspection, audit or
review by the appropriate academic standards body. Failure to comply with these new rules has the potential to
adversely impact the number of international students studying at Kaplan UK.
For Kaplan UK, both Kaplan Financial Limited and Holborn College Limited now have HTS status and Educational
Oversight accreditation. A renewal of the underlying Tier 4 License for Kaplan Financial has been submitted and is
undergoing review. A backlog at the UKBA means that it has expired without formal renewal, but Kaplan Financial has
received assurances in writing that the license remains valid. The Holborn College underlying Tier 4 license is due for
renewal in March 2013.
On December 15, 2011, the UKBA conducted a compliance review at Kaplan UK’s Borough High Street Centre in
London, England. The review focused on Kaplan UK’s compliance with regulations regarding Tier 4 students, who are
non-EEA adult students, seeking to study in the U.K. Kaplan UK fully cooperated with this inquiry, and on October 18,
2012, the UKBA revisited the site to ensure that the changes that Kaplan UK had stated were being implemented had
taken place. The UKBA provided verbal communication that the agency was satisfied with the changes that had been
made and with the information reviewed. The UKBA also confirmed that its compliance review was complete.
With respect to KIC in the U.K., all of its colleges have HTS and Educational Oversight. The two most recent embedded
pathways colleges within the University of Brighton and the University of West of England are currently under the host
university’s Tier 4 sponsor license and HTS status. KIC was the first multiple group to undergo and achieve educational
oversight in April 2012. KIC has continued to maintain a favorable track record in their HTS renewals, maintaining high
scores in the core measurable requirements. Twelve of the colleges completed their HTS renewals in summer 2012. Three
other colleges will undergo their HTS renewals in February 2013. In addition, further renewal applications were made for
the core Tier 4 licenses in January 2013 (these licenses are on a four-year cycle). In connection with these applications,
six of the colleges had UKBA visits in the fourth quarter of 2012, and no compliance concerns were raised.
Recent changes to U.K. immigration rules have served to tighten the regulations around sponsoring students from outside
the EEA and Switzerland. These changes include the introduction of a five-year rule that restricts to five years the time a
sponsored student can spend studying at or above degree level in the U.K. The post-study work visa, which permitted
postgraduate students to work in the U.K. without being sponsored, has also been closed to new applicants. In addition,
sponsored students who do not attend an institution that qualifies as a Higher Educational Institution (HEI), which includes
students attending Kaplan UK’s colleges, are no longer permitted to work part time while studying. Since the introduction
of the new rules, sponsored students are also monitored in terms of their attendance and course progression, and failure
to meet thresholds set by the UKBA obliges Kaplan UK to withdraw sponsorship and report the students to the UKBA. The
introduction of revised immigration rules has, therefore, negatively impacted Kaplan UK’s enrollment rate in relation to
students from outside the EEA and Switzerland.
No assurance can be given that each Kaplan business in the U.K. will be able to maintain its HTS status and Educational
Oversight accreditation. Maintenance of each of these approvals requires compliance with several core metrics that may
be difficult to attain. Loss of either HTS status or Educational Oversight accreditation would have a material adverse effect
on Kaplan Europe’s operating results.
Asia Pacific. In the Asia Pacific region, Kaplan operates businesses primarily in Singapore, Australia, Hong Kong and
China.
In Singapore, Kaplan operates three business units, Higher Education, Financial and Professional, which serve more than
16,700 students from various countries throughout Asia.
Kaplan Singapore’s Higher Education business provides students with the opportunity to earn bachelor’s and
postgraduate degrees in various fields on either a part-time or full-time basis. Kaplan Singapore’s students receive degrees
from affiliated educational institutions in Australia, the U.K. and the U.S. In addition, this division offers pre-university and
diploma programs.
Kaplan Singapore’s Financial business provides preparatory courses for professional qualifications in accountancy and
finance, such as the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) and the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA).
Kaplan Singapore’s Professional business, which is an authorized Workforce Development Agency Continuing Education
Training (CET) Centre, provides professionals with various skills training in order for them to re-join the workforce, shift to
new careers, or catch up with changes that occur in the workplace.
12 THE WASHINGTON POST COMPANY