Vanderbilt University graduate student Kimberly Muhich is suing the university, claiming the school failed to inform her of the full conditions of her financial aid grant, according to The Chronicle of Higher Education. Muhich's aid came from a federal grant that requires beneficiaries to pay back the money with either two years of service work for every year of financing or with cash in the amount of the grant plus interest. She filed her lawsuit in September 2011, accusing Vanderbilt of breach of contract and violating the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act. Muhich received full financing for her four-year doctoral program in special education at Vanderbilt's Peabody College of Education and Human Development but was asked to leave in May 2011 after refusing to sign an agreement committing her to the plan, according to The Chronicle.
Harvard University may be sued by several students after the university issues verdicts to the approximately 125 undergraduate students accused of academic dishonesty last month in a government course, The Harvard Crimson reported. Lawyers and other experts said that students who file a lawsuit against Harvard will most likely claim that Harvard's Administrative Board did not follow proper procedures recorded in the student handbook during the investigation. These lawsuits could prove successful only if it is found that Harvard substantially deviated from its routine processes during the investigation, Peter Lake, a Stetson University College of Law professor and Harvard graduate, told The Crimson. Punishments that may be handed down after the investigation will appear permanently on students' transcripts, potentially impacting their ability to gain acceptance to graduate school or job offers.
A new study by the National Student Clearinghouse revealed that 45 percent of students who completed a four-year degree in the 2010-2011 academic year were first enrolled at a two-year college, according to Inside Higher Ed. Of those students, 24 percent attended a two-year school for only one term, but 12 percent were enrolled for at least 10 terms. More than half of the students who transfer to four-year institutions earn their bachelors' degrees within three years. Other students take longer, with 24 percent earning degrees within four to five years and 7 percent taking 10 or more years to do so. The trend of community college students earning four-year degrees also varies largely by state, with more than half of the students concentrated in 13 states and over three-quarters of this group in Texas, according to Inside Higher Ed.
