Washington Post 2013 Annual Report Download - page 29

The English-language business provides English-language training, academic preparation programs and test
preparation for English proficiency exams, principally for students wishing to study and travel in English-speaking
countries. KIC operates a total of 42 English-language schools, with 21 located in the U.K., Ireland, Australia,
New Zealand and Canada, and 21 located in the U.S., where they operate under the name Kaplan International
Centers. During 2013, the English-language business served approximately 59,000 students for in-class English-
language instruction provided by Kaplan.
Kaplan also operates three higher education institutions in Europe, located in the U.K. and Ireland. These institutions are
Dublin Business School, Holborn College and Kaplan Open Learning. At the end of 2013, these institutions enrolled an
aggregate of approximately 7,100 students.
Certain Kaplan International businesses serve a significant number of international students; therefore, the ability to
sponsor students from outside the European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland to come to the U.K. is critical to these
businesses. Pursuant to regulations administered by the United Kingdom Visa and Immigration Department (UKVI), KIC’s
university pathways business, Holborn College and Kaplan Financial Limited are required to hold or operate Tier 4
sponsorship licenses to permit international students to come to the U.K. to study the courses they deliver. All of KIC’s
English-language schools also have Tier 4 licenses to enable them to teach international students, although, generally,
students studying the English language can choose to enter the U.K. on a student visitor visa as opposed to a Tier 4 visa.
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 International’s schools would not be permitted to issue
a Confirmation for 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. 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 through Kaplan International.
For Kaplan UK, both Kaplan Financial Limited and Holborn College now have HTS status and Educational Oversight
accreditation. Holborn gained “commendable progress” status in The Educational Oversight Annual Monitoring. Kaplan
Financial Limited gained “acceptable progress” in the same review. Both Kaplan Financial and Holborn College have
successfully renewed their underlying Tier 4 licenses for the period 2013 to 2017.
On December 15, 2011, the U.K. Border Authority (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. Kaplan UK, therefore, has continued to meet the UKVI requirements throughout 2013.
With respect to KIC’s businesses in the U.K., the pathways group of colleges continues to retain HTS and Educational
Oversight and all gained the status of “commendable progress” in the QAA Educational Oversight Annual Monitoring. The
English-language schools also all have HTS status and have completed annual monitoring achieving “exceeded expectations”
from ISI. One of the most recent embedded pathways colleges within the University of West of England is currently under
the host university’s Tier 4 sponsor license and HTS status, but will move toward obtaining Educational Oversight in summer
2014. The pathway college at the University of Brighton now issues its own CAS as a branch of KIC. 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 its HTS renewals, maintaining high scores in the core measurable requirements. Twelve of the colleges completed
their HTS renewals in summer 2013. Three other colleges will undergo their HTS renewals in February 2014 and have met
core HTS measurable requirements. In addition, additional 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, eleven of the colleges had
UKBA visits in the fourth quarter of 2013, and no compliance concerns were raised. All Tier 4 licenses were granted with
expiry in 2017.
Changes continue to be made to U.K. immigration rules. The UKVI continues to tighten the regulations around sponsoring
students from outside the EEA and Switzerland. Changes over the past three years have included the introduction of a 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 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
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