Stanley Kaplan was born  at the end of the first World War (in 1919) of migrant parents from Latvia and Belarus and grew up in Brooklyn, New York. He wished to study Medicine but was denied entry to all five medical schools in New York because the quotas for Jewish students were filled. Instead  he studied at the City College of New York and graduated with a Master of Science in Education in 1941.

His sense of injustice at being denied entry to the course of his choice on ethnic grounds influenced him to offer a tutoring service from the basement of his parents’ home, to assist applicants, particularly immigrant students, prepare for university studies.by passing the so-called Scholastic Aptitude Test.

From this humble beginning in 1938, his education based business grew steadily, aided at the end of World War 2, by the need of returning veterans to undergo further studies.

In 1944 a young executive from The Washington Post, Jonathan Grayer, was appointed CEO at the age of 29, and it was he who put together a talented management team, including some years later in 1992,  the current Chairman and CEO since 1997 Andrew S Rosen.

Some of the milestone developments for Kaplan have been:

• In 1984 Kaplan was purchased by The Washington Post newspaper, now Graham Holdings.
• In 1998, the Concord Law School became the first fully online law school in the USA
• In 2000, acquired Quest Education Corporation, a network of career colleges
• In 2001 it started offering online higher education programs, and now has over 100 courses
• In 2003 it acquired The Financial Training Company (UK & USA), and Dublin Business School.
• In 2006, the Kaplan Educational Foundation was launched
• In 2007 pre-University programs, and degrees from Western Universities were introduced to China

Kaplan now caters to over 1 million students in more than 35 countries including in excess of 100,000 students in Higher Education courses. It is the largest accountancy training organisation in the UK. Turnover is $2.3 billion per annum. In Australia Kaplan is the leading provider of professional education for financial services, real-estates, and accounting sectors.

Kaplan Professional  offers two subjects, each involving a term of ten weeks, of interest to investors and traders, on technical analysis leading to a Certified Financial Technician certificate issued by the International Federation of Technical Analysts. Each subject costs about $2-$2,500.

Stanley Kaplan died August 23, 2009 leaving an international legacy of lasting value. He has placed higher education within the reach of millions, using a modern medium of learning through internet courses. Although one might think that formal lectures, and interaction with fellow students are indispensable, the reality seems to prove otherwise. Course lecture notes, access to required texts, references, access to online assistance, assignments, and a supervised examination at the end of the course are the keys to successful self-directed learning with the internet the basic research tool.

Charles Browne. President of the South Australian Chapter of the Australian Technical Analysts Association, and former President of the Society has repeatedly encouraged those who wish to invest and trade the markets, to first invest in their own education. No other investment can provide as much reward as taking every opportunity of improving one’s knowledge of the markets. The objective is not to become a ‘know-all’ or a do it all yourself expert, but rather to know when and where to go for further information. and advice.

Although the courses lead to formal career qualifications, individual subjects can be studied as wished for pleasure or profit.

http://www.kaplan.edu.au/

Categories: Business, Investment