Alan Jenkins
Exec. Vice President
Kaplan Europe

Overview of Kaplan
Kaplan Europe
Benchmarking
University partners
Pathways
Open Learning

Kaplan is the largest division of The Washington Post and has grown from a small test prep provider to become one of the worlds largest diversified education companies
Overview of Kaplan

Kaplan serves over 1 million students each year from Certificates through to Masters programmes on -campus and online
•Established in 1938
•First European business in 2003
•30 Countries
•600 campus locations
•33, 000 employees
•150,000 students in Europe
Overview of Kaplan

Kaplan established a major presence in the UK in 2003.
We have evolved from a specialist accountancy trainer to become one of Europe's largest diversified education companies.
Vertical Customers Delivery Levels
Accountancy &
Tax
Business &
Management
English
Language
Domestic students
Major employers
University partnerships
Full time campus
Part time campus
Masters
Bachelors
Online training Professional awards
Principal
Countries
UK – England,
Scotland &
Wales
Europe
–
Ireland & Spain
Middle East –
Abu Dhabi
Law International students
Blended learning
CPD Other - US,
Australia, NZ
Engineering Government funded
Publishing Vocational training
Kaplan Europe

The way we benchmark is a function of the quality of data, the scale of our operations and our strategic aims
Sometimes it is easy….e.g. UK ACA training
Vertical
Accountancy
& Tax
Business &
Management
Major employers
English
Language
Law
Customers Delivery
Domestic students
University partnerships
International students
Engineering Government funded
Full time campus
Part time campus
Online training
Blended learning
Publishing
Levels
Masters
Bachelors
Professional awards
CPD
Vocational training
Principal
Countries
UK –
England,
Scotland &
Wales
Europe
–
Ireland &
Spain
Middle East
– Abu Dhabi
Other - US,
Australia, NZ
Aim
• To maintain our position as market leaders by achieving above average pass rates and high client satisfaction
External
• Pass rates
Internal
• Pass rates sliced and diced by office, tutor, employer and delivery
• Multiple student & employer satisfaction surveys
Benchmarking

In some other operations benchmarking is a challenge:
Lack of external data sources in sufficient depth
No confidence in external data sources
Available data does not meet our strategic aims
Measurement issues both externally and internally
Lack of scale for effective internal benchmarking
Benchmarking

Every business unit need some form of effective benchmarking to continually improve
React
Use rational thinking to evaluate
Rigorous data collection and integrity
Strategic aims
Measure against external and internal benchmarks
Share targets at all levels of the organisation
Benchmarks matching our strategic aims are wide ranging meeting a range of educational, social and commercial targets including:
• Best employer
• Highest student satisfaction
• Market share
•SEO ranking
Benchmarking

A good university partnership for
Kaplan means that the student, the university and Kaplan will benefit.
Kaplan will use some aspect of its expertise and scale to do something that meets student demand and the strategic aims of the university.
Before entering a partnership we seek to ensure: a) Strategic commitment at a senior level b) Collaborative and long term approach c) Desire to work together to maximise the student experience
University partnerships

Kaplan International Colleges partner with sixteen universities providing pathway programmes
UAE:
•Institute of Applied Technology
UK:
•Bournemouth University
•City University
•Cranfield University
•University of Glasgow
•University of Liverpool
•Nottingham Trent University
•University of Sheffield
•Brighton University
•Westminster University
US:
•North Eastern University
•University of Utah
China:
•Northern Consortium Partner
Australia:
•University of Adelaide
•Murdoch University
We have other University partnerships in the UK and globally on non pathway programmes
Pathways

KIC looks at a range of indicators – external and internal
Pathways

Our first UK partner was Nottingham Trent University which has been a success for the university, our students,
UK HE and UK plc
Growth in student numbers
– CAGR of 38% since 2005
Student mix
Nationalities have increased to 46 from 13
Progression rates
– CAGR of 72% - well ahead of intake growth
Offer to registration –
Now running at 85% - 90%
Pathways

Kaplan Open Learning is a partnership with the University of Essex – It is online, data rich with few opportunities for external benchmarking
Question
1. How do you rate your Student Adviser
2. How do you rate your Tutor
3. How do you rate the assessment feedback from your
Tutor
4. How do you rate the learning platform’s performance
5.How do you rate the quality of your online learning materials
6. How do you rate the quality of your textbooks
7. How do you rate the usefulness of the seminars
8. How do you rate the performance of WebEx
9. How do you rate your overall experience
10. Would you recommend KOL to a friend or colleague
Target
85%
85%
85%
85%
85%
85%
85%
85%
85%
85%
Excellent/
Good
95%
92%
88%
92%
88%
91%
66%
56%
86%
90%
Open Learning

Data is reviewed regularly and reported either daily, weekly or monthly but compared to targets not benchmarks
•Tutor response
•Student satisfaction
•Class size
Academic support
Academic s & student support •Visits
•Leads
•Student satisfaction
•Cost per lead
•Retention
•Conversion
•Progression
•Retention
•Class size
•Student mix
•Study speed
Marketing
Open Learning