A group of former students has sued Mount Ida College and its board of trustees over misrepresentation, fraud and sharing private information.
The college, which closed its Newton campus earlier this year and sold it to the University of Massachusetts Amherst, is accused of hiding the financial condition of the college from the students and sharing their private information with Amherst.
The lawsuit, filed by three former students and funded by philanthropist Bob Hildreth, accuses the college of putting their career at stake by the sudden closure, which resulted in credits’ loss.
According to the lawsuit, “students were faced with finding an alternative institution to meet their educational goals to which to transfer — a daunting task given that transfer deadlines for most institutions had passed or were imminent; many students were left with degree programs that were discontinued or credits that could not be transferred; and many students lost their scholarships and other forms of financial aid. This could have been avoided,”
“Instead of looking forward to my last year and all that it should be, I was now reapplying to colleges like I was a senior in high school all over again, only this time I was doing it at a frantic pace, with decisions needing to be made rapidly,” plaintiff Tristan Squeri told Boston Herald. “The school I trusted just tossed us all aside with no consideration as to how this would affect us.”
The college and its board of trustees have vehemently denied the allegations made in the suit seeking $40 million in damages.
“The allegations by three former students, which rely upon incorrect information published erroneously in old media stories and statements twisted out of context, are meritless and will be vigorously defended by the College, its former officers, and its trustees, all of whom worked compassionately and tirelessly to provide realistic transition opportunities for all students following the College’s closure, and fully cooperated with the Attorney General’s investigation,” the college said in a statement.