MARTINSBURG, W.Va. — Attempts to settle several hundred lawsuits filed against Mountain State University are continuing in Charleston.
Former students packed an auditorium at the Civic Center on Monday. It was the only day plaintiffs were required to attend the three-day mediation.
The students sued after the school closed its doors because it lost accreditation. Their lawsuits allege that school officials were deceptive about the problems the school was facing.
The Higher Learning Commission revoked the school’s primary accreditation in June 2012 after years of failing to correct major problems in leadership, program evaluations and campus-wide governance.
In December, the commission denied Mountain State’s bid to regain its accreditation.
According to the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission, Mountain State University is the first higher education institution in West Virginia history to have its school-wide accreditation revoked.
When a university loses its primary accreditation, any subsequent degrees conferred by the university are effectively worthless.
