Rasmussen College is a for-profit private college and Public Benefit Corporation (PBC), offering associate's and bachelor's degrees at 24 campuses in Minnesota, Illinois, North Dakota, Florida, Wisconsin and Kansas. It also has an online division. Founded in 1900, it is headquartered in Bloomington, Minnesota.
Rasmussen offers on-campus and online classes leading to Bachelor of Science (BS), Associate of Applied Science (AAS), and Associate of Science (AS) degrees in career-focused areas. It also offers a variety of certificates and diplomas.
History
The school was founded in 1900 by Walter Rasmussen as the Rasmussen Practical School of Business, located in Stillwater, Minnesota. Rasmussen believed that the need for skilled professionals by the local business community was not being met.
The first classes were held in September 1900. With the advent of women's suffrage in 1920 through the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment, the school’s female enrollment began to increase. In 1945 Walter Rasmussen retired and named Walter Nemitz to succeed him as director of the college. Nemitz had been already with the college since 1934 and as director instituted a number of curriculum upgrades. By 1950, more than 22,400 students had graduated from the school.
In 1961, Walter's sons Wilbur Nemitz and Robert Nemitz took ownership of the school. In 1974, Rasmussen College acquired the St. Cloud Business College, and in 1979 it acquired the Northern Technical School of Business. In 1983, the school opened a campus in Mankato, Minnesota. Additional campuses were subsequently opened in Eagan, Minnesota (1989), St. Cloud, Minnesota (1997), Rockford, Illinois (2006), Lake Elmo, Minnesota; Eden Prairie, Minnesota; Blaine, Minnesota (2010), Topeka, Kansas (2013), Overland Park, Kansas (2013) and Green Bay, Wisconsin (2007), Mokena-Tinley Park, Illinois (2010) and Wausau, Wisconsin (2010).
The school also opened an online campus in 2002. The school acquired Aakers College in North Dakota and Webster College in Florida and merged the schools into Rasmussen's operations. Presently, the school has more than 100,000 graduates.
Academics
The school offers more than 70 programs.
The school is organized into seven schools: Health Sciences, Design, Business, Justice Studies, Education, Nursing, and Technology. In October 2010, Rasmussen College announced a partnership with Market Motive Inc and announced programs in Internet marketing.
Accreditation
Rasmussen College is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC), the regional accreditor serving Minnesota.
Student retention
According to a 2012 US Senate HELP investigation on for-profit colleges led by Tom Harkin, 63.2 percent of Rasmussen students withdrew, many after only five months of study.
References
External links
- Rasmussen College - official site
