BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--AARP’s Life Reimagined has teamed up with Kaplan to create an important new online resource to help Americans find learning opportunities to enhance their current skills, realize their career aspirations, support life changes such as encore or second careers and build a better, more meaningful life.
Today, as part of the partnership, the two organizations unveiled LearningAdvisor, a suite of online resources and learning opportunities designed to help users address continuous learning issues that many Americans are facing as they explore and discover encore careers. The announcement was made at AARP’s Life@50+ National Event & Expo in Boston.
“Americans are living longer and juggling more competing responsibilities than ever before. That reality is especially true for trailing-edge Baby Boomers and members of Generation X approaching 50 who are often caring for their own parents as well as their own children while trying to manage, plan for and enjoy their careers and lives on their own terms,” said Emilio Pardo, AARP Executive Vice President and President of Life Reimagined. “At the same time, they’re also excited by ‘what’s next’ and see lifelong learning and ongoing education as being incredibly important and powerful as they reimagine their lives.”
According to a MetLife Foundation/Civic Ventures Report, as many as nine million people aged 44-70 have made major career changes after reaching 40, noted Pardo, which account for nearly nine percent of all Americans of that age in 2011 when the data was calculated. This large segment of the population either made major career changes or returned from retirement to work in a range of social purpose fields. Another 31 million of that age group were reportedly interested in finding encore careers.
“Now more than ever, tens of millions of Americans in their 40’s, 50’s and 60’s are looking for purpose and passion as they explore encore careers. One-in-four are especially interested in starting a business or nonprofit venture. Many are also part of the 37 million Americans who have some college experience, including college credit, but don’t have a college degree. They are re-assessing, re-directing and re-claiming their lives, and returning to education to finish what they started to make their ‘Life Reimagined’ a reality,” said Sophie Vlessing, Senior Vice President for Strategy and Innovation at Kaplan Higher Education Group. “These individuals are also looking for help finding new opportunities where experience is valued and respected,” added Vlessing.
Introducing LearningAdvisor
Created by Kaplan in collaboration with Life Reimagined, LearningAdvisor provides a valuable resource with a variety of free and paid offerings to help people advance their careers, gain insights and explore possibilities.
LearningAdvisor features an easy-to-use database of open online learning opportunities from a variety of universities and publishers that is fully searchable. Users can search using keywords, subjects, publisher, school, rating and ACE accreditation status.
The site also features unique offerings from Kaplan University, such as Documenting your Experiences for College Credit. This course provides context for learners to create an experiential learning portfolio in which knowledge acquired through work, volunteer and other life experiences is evaluated for college level credit. In addition, learning opportunities include Kaplan University degree, certificate and continuing education programs in high growth areas such as nursing, health care, business and information technology.
LearningAdvisor also includes original content on career pathing, online learning, scholarships and individual student success stories.
LearningAdvisor has been integrated into the Life Reimagined and AARP website experience. A Learn tab has been added to the Life Reimagined site. AARP.org also links to LearningAdvisor on the homepage as part of Learning Resources.
“For seven decades and counting, AARP has been serving the interests of older Americans. No other organization understands the issues and their members’ evolving needs better. For decades, Kaplan has been delivering a highly personalized learning experience to students, many of whom are adult learners pursuing higher education to improve their lives. We’re absolutely delighted to be innovating and partnering with AARP’s Life Reimagined to further serve the needs of a segment of Americans we are passionate about helping,” said Gregory Marino, CEO of Kaplan Higher Education.
A video demonstration of LearningAdvisor is available at http://bit.ly/learningadvisor
50/50/50 Grant To Be Awarded to Kaplan University
To celebrate today’s announcement, Kaplan University also announced that it will award up to 50 grants to applicants 50 years or older. The special 50/50/50 grants will cover 50 percent of tuition for individuals who enroll through LearningAdvisor.com to pursue a Kaplan University degree or credit bearing certificate program. More information about the grants can be found at learningadvisor.com/grants
Founding Learning Partner for Life Reimagined
Life Reimagined and Kaplan also announced a partnership whereby they will work together on ongoing research into the challenges and solutions confronting aging Americans and the transformative role lifelong learning can play.
About Life Reimagined
Launched by AARP in 2013, Life Reimagined is a first-of-its-kind single source of online and offline experiences that guide people through life transitions by helping them discover new possibilities and connect with a community of people pursuing similar passions and goals. The purpose of Life Reimagined is to provide a guidance system to help people navigate transitions and live to their fullest. The Life Reimagined online tool centers on an exclusive, customizable roadmap available at www.lifereimagined.org that helps people understand where they are in their journey to achieve their goals and dreams, reflect, and make decisions in planning their next steps. Life Reimagined is powered by the Life Reimagined Institute for Innovation, a world-class group of thought leaders in the areas of life and career coaching, psychology, personal development, health and entrepreneurship.
About Kaplan
Kaplan, Inc. is a leading international provider of educational and career services for individuals, schools, and businesses. Kaplan serves students of all ages through a wide array of offerings including higher education, test preparation, professional training, and programs for kids in grades K through 12. Kaplan is a subsidiary of Graham Holdings Company (NYSE: GHC) and its largest division. For more information, please visit www.kaplan.com.
Kaplan University offers a different school of thought for higher education. It strives to help adult students unlock their talent by providing a practical, student-centered education that prepares them for careers in some of the fastest-growing industries. The University, which has its main campus in Davenport, Iowa, and its headquarters in Chicago, is accredited by The Higher Learning Commission (www.ncahlc.org) and is a member of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. Kaplan University serves approximately 43,000 online and campus-based students. The University has 11 campuses in Iowa, Nebraska, Maryland and Maine, and Kaplan University Learning Centers in Maryland, Wisconsin, Indiana, and Missouri. Kaplan University is part of Kaplan Higher Education Group and Kaplan, Inc.