Kaplan Educational Foundation Celebrates 10 Years of Helping Disadvantaged Community College Students Transfer and Successfully Earn University Degrees

Chancellor James Milliken, City University of New York, and Jonathan
Grayer, CEO, Weld North LLC Are Honored at New York City Event

NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–#CUNY–The Kaplan Educational Foundation (KEF), which helps disadvantaged black
and Latino community college students complete their associate’s degrees
and transfer to top U.S. colleges and universities, celebrated its 10
year anniversary at a dinner event last night in New York City.

James B. Milliken, Chancellor of The City University of New York, was
honored with the 2016 KEF College Partner Award in recognition of the
critical support and help provided by the leaders, administrators and
faculty at the University and its seven community colleges, from which
all KEF Scholars have graduated.

Jonathan Grayer, CEO of Weld North LLC, an investment firm focused on
educational technology businesses, was honored with the 2016 KEF
Leadership Award in recognition of his role as founder of the Foundation
when he was CEO of Kaplan, Inc. The KEF is an independent charity
created in 2006 and principally funded by employees of Kaplan, Inc., the
global educational services company and largest subsidiary of Graham
Holdings Company (NYSE: GHC).

For the past decade, the KEF’s Kaplan Leadership Program has been at the
vanguard of helping high-achieving community college students from
underrepresented communities successfully transfer to top colleges and
universities such as Brown, Stanford, Mount Holyoke, NYU, Morehouse,
Amherst, Cornell, and others. Through a combination of generous
financial support and wraparound counseling, tutoring and support
services, the Kaplan Leadership Scholars attain remarkable outcomes: 87%
earn an associate’s degree and 90% of them transfer to a four-year
college; all KEF alumni are employed in their field of study or are in
graduate school.

The Kaplan Leadership Program’s model seeks to fill a gap, ensuring
low-income, high-potential community college students of color
successfully complete their associate’s degree and go on to earn a
four-year college degree. In demographic terms, Kaplan Leadership
Scholars range in age from 18 to 37 years old and almost all are Pell
Grant eligible.

Nationally, the challenges facing low-income, first-generation students
are steep; only 12% of minority community college students transfer to a
four-year institution within four years of enrolling and only seven
percent complete a bachelor’s degree within 10 years. The Foundation’s
experience proves the effectiveness of financial resources and, more
importantly, comprehensive, high-touch support systems these students
may lack in their secondary education or home experiences.

There are currently nine cohorts of Kaplan Leadership Scholars. This
includes 17 active Scholars in the program and 35 alumni. Since the
program’s inception, 30 percent of program alumni have enrolled or
completed graduate degrees from schools such as the Kennedy School of
Government at Harvard University, the NYU Silver School of Social Work,
and Stanford University. Alumni are employed in various fields, from
education to medicine to scientific research to finance and marketing.

About the Kaplan Educational Foundation

The Kaplan Educational Foundation is a 501(c)(3) public charity launched
in 2006 with funding from Kaplan, Inc. executives. Its comprehensive
program provides financial aid, academic support, leadership skills
development, and cultural enrichment for low-income, high-potential,
underrepresented community college students seeking to transfer to
highly selective four-year schools. For more information about the
Foundation, which celebrates its 10th Anniversary this year, please
visit www.kaplanedfoundation.org.

Contacts

Kaplan Educational Foundation (KEF)
Mike Tague, 212-974-2785
Michael.Tague@kaplanedfoundation.org