Erin B. Moore, who with Jane Beach Schreyer represented the students, said the awards amount to refunding tuition and, in some cases, reimbursing legal fees. The different arbitrators found Miami-Jacobs breached contracts or violated consumer protections, she said.
“Do I think all the students were adequately compensated, not particularly, but I am glad they did receive some compensation,” Moore said.
State Rep. Clayton Luckie (D-Dayton) said he learned of the results of the lawsuits this week, and he was happy to see some students were compensated financially, but disappointed all the students did not receive financial compensation.
Luckie has been working to help a number of Miami-Jacobs students who have had problems with the school. He has also written legislation that would increase oversight of for-profit colleges and give students quicker paths to remedy problems that he says has strong political support, but has yet to come to the floor of the General Assembly.
The bill would prevent schools from waging long, drawn-out legal battles, Luckie said.
In a statement criticizing the students’ attorneys and Luckie, college officials said they were pleased with the results of the arbitration.
“Before the students filed for arbitration rulings, we made an offer to settle with them,” the statement said. “However, incited by self-serving politicians and spurred on by unscrupulous plaintiff’s attorneys, the students unfortunately rejected our offers, filed for arbitration and made large and excessive demands of Miami-Jacobs.”
In the end, the statement said, students received less than what the college initially offered.
Moore, one of the students’ attorneys, responded: “If they are resulting to name calling, I think that speaks volumes.”
Luckie said he believes his involvement helped them reach a settlement. “Hopefully this will prevent them from destroying other kids’ lives.”
The seven former surgery technology students filed suit against the school after they learned the college was not properly accredited making them ineligible to sit for the certification exam. The students had to wait up to a year for the school to become accredited before they were eligible to take the test and their complaints claimed they were not properly prepared for the test.
The 2008 lawsuit was the first sign of trouble at the for-profit college that has operated in Dayton for 150 years. It has now lost accreditation of its respiratory care program and awaits a decision by the Ohio Nursing Board on whether it can continue its practical nursing program.
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2342 or cmagan@DaytonDailyNews.com.
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