ITT Tech's Breckinridge School of Nursing in Nashville began enrolling students when it opened in 2012. Just four years later, 11 students have filed a lawsuit against the school.
"It was all about the money from day one," said attorney Jerry Martin.
Martin has been representing the plaintiffs and said the school did a great job enrolling students and providing help getting student loans, but that's where the help ended.
"Unfortunately it does a terrible job of teaching them and providing the types of instruction that passed muster with the state of Tennessee," Martin said.
The plaintiffs in the lawsuit claimed school administrators told them the institution would receive accreditation and be licensed by the State, but that never happened.
"Now their degrees and the credits that they've earned are worthless in the marketplace," Martin said.
Recently students received a letter which confirmed their fears.
"We were all shocked, quite surprised, but it was more or less confirmation of what we already knew," Tonya Bowers said.
Bowers is one of 11 plaintiffs in the case. She enrolled in the two-year accelerated RN program at Beckinridge in 2014.
"So for two years my family has been on hold. I have been unable to work due to the demands of the program," Bowers said.
After learning the school would never be accredited, she transferred, but will have to re-take many courses. It's time and tens of thousands of dollars lost.
"Caused a lot of emotional distress as well," said Bowers.
ITT Tech released this statement:
"As students continue to be recruited around the country by political activists and others targeting this higher education sector, ITT Technical Institute finds itself being increasingly attacked with pile-on allegations of misrepresentation. All students, at enrollment, must sign multiple and regular disclosures about their programs of study – including accreditation and the transferability of credits. ITT Tech will vigorously defend itself against any such complaints and provide the necessary documentation to set the record straight. We’re hopeful that our day in court will shine light on the claims made and provide an accurate and complete picture to the public."
