“Hamilton College has been Iowa’s oldest continuously operating career college specializing in business education,” said Kaplan University Provost David Clinefelter, Ph.D. “Now, we are building upon that legacy. We are committed to providing students with a high-quality education that offers flexibility by combining on-ground and online educational options for working adults. A Kaplan University education will give students the opportunity to enter or advance in some of the fastest-growing professional fields in Iowa."
Additional Hamilton campuses undergoing the transition include Iowa locations in Cedar Falls, Cedar Rapids, Council Bluffs and Des Moines. The Nebraska campuses include Lincoln and Omaha. All of the campuses are now named Kaplan University.
The merger provides campus students greater flexibility to pursue blended learning options—taking courses on ground and online—at a regionally accredited institution. Traditional Hamilton College courses of study have included certificate and degree programs in allied health, business and criminal justice, among others. The new partnership allows students to explore similar degrees online with the benefit of additional programs, including master’s degrees, which were not previously available on the campuses.
“We are very excited about the educational opportunities for our current and future Greater Mason City area students that will result from this merger,” said Mason City Campus Executive Director Joe Albers. “Now, students can combine the advantages of attending classes at our local brick-and-mortar school, with the opportunity to explore newly expanded online degree programs that Kaplan University offers worldwide.
“We also want to assure our community that we will continue to work closely with local employers to prepare our students for fields that reflect employment needs in the greater Mason City area,” added Albers. “We provide our students with opportunities to learn career-specific skills that may help them become productive Iowa employees and citizens.”
Kaplan University will now have approximately 4,800 students throughout Iowa and Nebraska.
The Mason City campus was founded in 1900 as the original Hamilton College. Today, the campus offers associate degrees in accounting specialist, business administration, computer information systems, criminal justice, interdisciplinary studies, medical assistant and paralegal; bachelor’s degrees in management; and diplomas in computer systems technician, office technology specialist and practical nursing. The Mason City campus serves more than 400 students and employs approximately 40 individuals among its faculty and staff. The campus is a member of the Mason City Chamber of Commerce, Clear Lake Chamber of Commerce, Better Business Bureau, Business and Industry Group, and the Downtown Association.