Capella University is an American for-profit institution of higher learning located in Minneapolis, Minnesota that delivers most of its education online. The school is owned by the publicly traded Capella Education Company. Capella University offers bachelor's, master's (MS and MBA) and doctoral (PhD, PsyD, and DBA) degrees in business, information technology, education, psychology, public health, public safety and human services.

　　Within those areas, Capella has 142 graduate and undergraduate specializations and 25 certificate programs with over 1600 online courses. Approximately 36,000 students are enrolled from all 50 states and 61 other countries, with 29 percent enrolled in doctoral programs, 42 percent enrolled in master's programs, and 26 percent enrolled in bachelor's programs. A faculty of 1,488 faculty with 86 percent holding doctoral degrees. Capella faculty live in 48 states and 6 countries.

　　Capella has received criticism for its expenditures on marketing, profit, and CEO pay rather than instruction, and its use of aggressive recruiting practices. According to the US Senate's Harkin Commission, approximately 79% of the institution's cash flow comes from US government Title IV payments, including Pell grants.

　　History

　　What is now Capella University was established as The Graduate School of America in 1993 by Dr. Harold Abel and Stephen Shank, former CEO of Tonka. Abel, formerly the president of Castleton State College, Central Michigan University, and Walden University became the first president of the institution.

　　In 1997, Capella University received regional accreditation. Two years later the parent company and university were renamed Capella Education Company and Capella University, respectively. In 2000, Capella began to offer bachelor's degree programs. Six years later, in 2006, Capella Education Company became apublicly traded company (NASDAQ: CPLA).

　　In 2007, Capella was named one of 86 higher education institutions in the United States to have received the National Centers of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Education (CAEIAE) designation by the National Security Agency (NSA). The designation is valid for the academic years 2007 through 2012.

　　In March 2008, Capella Education Co., longtime occupant of the 225 South Sixth skyscraper in downtown Minneapolis, signed a new lease that expanded its office and renamed the building Capella Tower. The building houses all of the company's 1,150 downtown Minneapolis administrative staff.

　　In 2009, The Project Management Institute (PMI) Global Accreditation Center for Project Management (GAC) accredited two Capella University online degree programs: the MS in Information Technology with a specialization in Project Management; and the BS in Information Technology with a specialization in Project Management.

　　In 2009, Capella launched its School of Public Service Leadership.

　　Until November, 2010 Capella University had an open enrollment admission policy, which required applicants only proof of a high school diploma, GED or its equivalent.

　　In 2010, Capella, along with three other schools, was awarded the CHEA Award for Outstanding Institutional Practice in Student Learning Outcomes by The Council for Higher Education Accreditation.

　　In 2013, The U.S. Department of Education approved Capella University's FlexPath programs, making it the first university to offer competency-based bachelor's and master's degree programs that utilize an approved direct-assessment learning model as opposed to the traditional credit-hour standard

　　Enrollment

　　Undergraduate applicants who do not have any credits eligible for transfer must successfully complete a university-approved examination to be considered for admission.

　　Capella's enrollment is composed mainly of graduate students including 45 percent MS/MBA students and 31 percent PhD/PsyD doctoral students. The undergraduate population of Capella makes up 23 percent of the student body. Less than one percent are working on certificate programs. The average age of a Capella student is 40. Ninety-five percent of students are enrolled part-time, 74 percent are female, and 54 percent are ethnic minorities.

　　Learning environment

　　Capella provides applicants opportunities to earn a limited number of credits through a prior learning assessment program, which can provide college credit for "experience-based learning".

　　Rankings

　　As of July, 2015, Capella University is only listed under four higher-education categories or majors/subjects by US News & World Report, and it is either unranked or listed as RNP ("Rating Not Published") for each. Being "Unranked" means Capella did not submit enough information in order to be ranked, while RNP means the Capella's ranking score was calculated but was not published by US News.Capella University is unranked under National Universities and for its graduate programs in Education and Nursing. Its graduate program in Psychology was listed as RNP.

　　For High School Counselor Rankings, Capella University was ranked number 246 (out of 277) by U.S. News & World Report. The survey of high school counselors asked high school counselors to rank U.S. colleges on a scale of one to five for their quality of undergraduate education. It was conducted in spring 2011 and spring of 2012.

　　Capella University ranked number 23 (out of 30) in Guide to Online Schools.com's 2012 Online College Rankings.The rankings compare admissions rates, retention rates, student feedback and cost of online colleges.

　　According to the 2010 National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE), Capella exceeds the national average among colleges and universities in the level of academic challenge offered to its students, and in providing a supportive campus environment.

　　Accreditation

　　Capella University has regional accreditation by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools.

　　Capella participates in the North Central Associations (NCA) Academic Quality Improvement Program (AQIP).The normal accreditation review process is every ten years, member schools that participate in the AQIP program have their accreditation reviewed yearly. AQIP is a form of lean management or process improvementfor education.

　　Capella University's baccalaureate and graduate level teacher education programs were accredited by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Educationon October 22, 2010.

　　Capella University's graduate level counseling program is accredited by The Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP).

　　Capella University's baccalaureate and graduate level nursing programs were accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education on October 29, 2011.

　　Capella University's baccalaureate and graduate level business programs have been accredited by the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programssince 2014.