National Louis Completes Kendall Acquisition

National Louis University won regulatory approval of its takeover of Chicago’s Kendall College programs from the for-profit Laureate Education, and the transfer of programs officially took place Monday.

The transaction included Kendall College’s general education program, along with five degree programs in business, culinary arts, early childhood education, hospitality management, and baking and pastry. National Louis, a nonprofit institution, created within itself a fourth college, the Kendall College of Culinary Arts and Hospitality Management.

About 800 students are transferring from Kendall to National Louis, the university said in a news release Monday. It enrolls over 7,400 students per year on six campuses in Illinois and Florida.

Programs will be relocated to National Louis locations. The early childhood education program will be fully online.

In January, Baltimore-based Laureate sold Kendall to National Louis for $1 and agreed to pay as much as $14 million to support construction of culinary and hospitality program facilities. The move followed a strategic review of operations, and Kendall was one of several institutions around the globe Laureate sold.

But the Kendall transaction did not officially close until after it was approved by the Higher Learning Commission and the U.S. Department of Education.