NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) – Eleven nursing students filed a lawsuit against ITT Educational Services, Inc. in Nashville Thursday.
The lawsuit alleges ITT misled these students into enrolling in its Breckinridge School of Nursing in Nashville even though it wasn’t accredited.
Students like Tonya Bowers said the school claimed its associate nursing program would be fully licensed by the state and accredited in the near future but that accreditation never came.
“They sold me a dream,” Bowers said. “But as time went on and I questioned it more and more they become a bit more distant and just evading.”
“ITT tech knew it wouldn’t be accredited because it’s graduation rate was below the state requirement for accreditation,” said Jerry Martin with Barrett Johnston Martin & Garrison, LLC.
Martin is one of the attorneys helping the nursing students sue the school.
“It was never about a quality education,” he said. “Tt was never about teaching students and preparing them for a career in nursing. It was all about the money.”
The students are suing under the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act, which would award them twice the amount they spent on classes that they say, were essentially worthless. The students are also suing for punitive damages.
ITT issued the following statement Thursday:
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,” said Nicole Elam, Vice President of Government Relations and External Affairs.
ITT operates a campus locally on Merdiian Road in Youngstown.
