NEWS RELEASE
Kaplan and CGFNS Announce Plans to Provide Online and Offline
Nursing Education and Test Preparation Products and Services
Yokohama, Japan—May 30, 2007—Kaplan, a leading international
provider of educational and career services, and the Commission
on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools (CGFNS International), a
leading provider of nursing certification and professional
development, today announced a preliminary agreement to create a
strategic alliance to develop online and offline nursing
education and test preparation products and services. The planned
Kaplan/CGFNS Advantage Program, Knowledge for Nursing, will
provide co-branded nursing education and test preparation
products and services to hospital organizations, international
schools of nursing, and individual international nurses.
The joint program will combine the strengths of two flagship
organizations in nursing education, credentials evaluation and
certification. Besides the English language training programs for
non-native English speakers, Kaplan will contribute its expertise
in test preparation for the U.S. nursing licensure exam known as
the NCLEX® (National Council Licensure Examination), as well as
the CGFNS® Qualifying Exam, a test of basic nursing knowledge for
first-level, foreign educated nurses. CGFNS will contribute its
expertise as an internationally recognized authority on
credentials evaluation and verification for nurses and healthcare
professionals worldwide, and as administrator of the CGFNS
Qualifying Exam.
"The Kaplan/CGFNS Advantage Program, Knowledge for Nursing,
will provide quality educational materials online and offline to
prepare nurses worldwide to have career mobility and increased
nursing knowledge," said Judith A. Burckhardt, PhD, R.N.
Executive Director, Nursing for Kaplan Test Prep and Admissions.
"We are excited about working with CGFNS on this initiative.
Providing nurses in their country of origin with what they need
to prepare for and pass the CGFNS and NCLEX exams without the
constraints of location,” she continued, “will be a catalyst for
education in the nursing community."
"Education and training that can be qualified and quantified
is the currency for mobility of healthcare professionals and the
standards upon which healthcare institutions employ and sustain
their workforce," said Barbara Nichols, DHL, MS, RN, FAAN, and
Chief Executive Officer of CGFNS. The Kaplan/ CGFNS collaboration
for delivering a leading, robust, web-based, educational and
testing product for nurses worldwide will broaden nursing
knowledge and improve the delivery of healthcare service
universally.
The Kaplan/CGFNS Advantage products and services are currently
scheduled for September, 2007 release.
About Kaplan, Inc.
Kaplan, Inc. is a leading international provider of
educational and career services for individuals, schools and
businesses. Its four areas of focus are: Kaplan Kids and Schools,
Kaplan Test Prep and Admissions, Kaplan Higher Education and
Kaplan Professional. Kaplan, which had 2006 revenue of nearly
$1.7 billion, is a subsidiary of The Washington Post Company
(NYSE: WPO). For more information, please visit www.kaplan.com.
About CGFNS
CGFNS provides expert credentials evaluation and professional
development services to promote the health and safety of the
public. CGFNS is an immigration-neutral, not-for-profit
organization with 30 years of experience in certifying the
credentials of 500,000 internationally educated nurses and other
healthcare workers for practice in the U.S. For more information,
please visit www.cgfns.org.
