fossildoc
10-27-2008, 03:00 PM
It pains me to say this, but I believe that every Xavier student should have a lawyer ready to enforce whatever promises the school made to get you to come here. It is sad to think that we should have to litigate our way to graduation, but that is what we may have to do.
Imagine this scenario: you are looking for a four-year college to attend. You examine catalogs, and based on what you read, you enroll in privately owned Wonderful College (WC). You chose WC because they offered a B.S. with a major in Education. The catalog says you must take 128 credits overall, including 30 in Education, and that you will be able to graduate in 8 semesters if you take 16 credits per semester. There is no mention of any special exams required to graduate; you only need to pass your courses. Just to be sure, you call the college and speak to the Dean of Admissions, who assures you that you can graduate without having to pass the state Education exam, which you must eventually pass if you want to teach in the public school system.
So off to WC you go. It's an expensive place, and when you're in your eighth semester and down $100,000 in loans, the school changes owners. The new guys declare that it would be best for the reputation of the school if all the Education majors had to pass the state exam before being allowed to graduate. And by the way, you'll need to attend an extra semester because they think Ed majors should have more coursework in the subject they plan to teach.
You call the college administration to protest. The catalog -- which you saved, right? -- said 128 credits was the requirement, and the Dean said you wouldn't have to take the state exam. Their answer: the owners made new rules for everybody, including current students, and the Dean had no authority to make such a promise.
So what do you think your rights are in this case? Guess what: the law is on your side. First, educational institutions cannot change degree requirements for students already enrolled. They can do it for new students, but not for you. Second, under Agency Law, an officer of a company who makes a promise to a customer binds the company to that promise, even if the officer did not have authority to make the promise; the principle is that a customer, who is acting in good faith, has a reasonable expectation that the officer had the authority to make promises on behalf of the company, and the customer acts accordingly. Google "princple of agency" to read about this.
Therefore, WC must allow you to graduate with the 128 credits, and cannot require you to take the state exam.
So what does this have to do with Xavier? Everything. The new owners, who I believe are well-intentioned, are attempting to change the rules for students already enrolled, imposing severe financial hardship and possibly ruining the careers of some students. I know that you probably didn't make a complete copy of the school web site that existed at the time of your admission, but somebody in your class did. Be sure to get a copy, because that web site, including all of its representations, plus the Student Handbook that existed at that time, constitute an implied contract between you and the school, and the owners have no right to change it, even though a different set of owners were in place when you enrolled.
Check the web site that existed at the time of your admission: was there any mention of having to pass Step 1 to graduate? Or even to start rotations? Suppose you are from another country and plan to return there to practice medicine; your country knows nothing of Step 1, so why should Step 1 be required for you to graduate? If you are under the impression that you can avoid the Steps, guess again. The new owners are attempting to impose this on everyone. They want you to pass Step 1 before beginning rotations, which is completely contrary to the rules that were in effect when you were admitted.
The good news is you have the law on your side. The bad news is that lawyers are expensive, and you will have to put up a lot of dough as a "retainer", even though you may recover most of it from the school.
I urge the SGA to secure the services of a New York or Atlanta-based attorney on retainer to litigate issues that may affect them as a group or individually. This will be paid for by students who opt into the group. If you are having problems with the school you feel require an urgent legal remedy, PM me with your email address; I am in Atlanta right now looking for a pitbull lawyer to litigate an issue with the school. If I find one, I'd be happy to put you in touch.
Imagine this scenario: you are looking for a four-year college to attend. You examine catalogs, and based on what you read, you enroll in privately owned Wonderful College (WC). You chose WC because they offered a B.S. with a major in Education. The catalog says you must take 128 credits overall, including 30 in Education, and that you will be able to graduate in 8 semesters if you take 16 credits per semester. There is no mention of any special exams required to graduate; you only need to pass your courses. Just to be sure, you call the college and speak to the Dean of Admissions, who assures you that you can graduate without having to pass the state Education exam, which you must eventually pass if you want to teach in the public school system.
So off to WC you go. It's an expensive place, and when you're in your eighth semester and down $100,000 in loans, the school changes owners. The new guys declare that it would be best for the reputation of the school if all the Education majors had to pass the state exam before being allowed to graduate. And by the way, you'll need to attend an extra semester because they think Ed majors should have more coursework in the subject they plan to teach.
You call the college administration to protest. The catalog -- which you saved, right? -- said 128 credits was the requirement, and the Dean said you wouldn't have to take the state exam. Their answer: the owners made new rules for everybody, including current students, and the Dean had no authority to make such a promise.
So what do you think your rights are in this case? Guess what: the law is on your side. First, educational institutions cannot change degree requirements for students already enrolled. They can do it for new students, but not for you. Second, under Agency Law, an officer of a company who makes a promise to a customer binds the company to that promise, even if the officer did not have authority to make the promise; the principle is that a customer, who is acting in good faith, has a reasonable expectation that the officer had the authority to make promises on behalf of the company, and the customer acts accordingly. Google "princple of agency" to read about this.
Therefore, WC must allow you to graduate with the 128 credits, and cannot require you to take the state exam.
So what does this have to do with Xavier? Everything. The new owners, who I believe are well-intentioned, are attempting to change the rules for students already enrolled, imposing severe financial hardship and possibly ruining the careers of some students. I know that you probably didn't make a complete copy of the school web site that existed at the time of your admission, but somebody in your class did. Be sure to get a copy, because that web site, including all of its representations, plus the Student Handbook that existed at that time, constitute an implied contract between you and the school, and the owners have no right to change it, even though a different set of owners were in place when you enrolled.
Check the web site that existed at the time of your admission: was there any mention of having to pass Step 1 to graduate? Or even to start rotations? Suppose you are from another country and plan to return there to practice medicine; your country knows nothing of Step 1, so why should Step 1 be required for you to graduate? If you are under the impression that you can avoid the Steps, guess again. The new owners are attempting to impose this on everyone. They want you to pass Step 1 before beginning rotations, which is completely contrary to the rules that were in effect when you were admitted.
The good news is you have the law on your side. The bad news is that lawyers are expensive, and you will have to put up a lot of dough as a "retainer", even though you may recover most of it from the school.
I urge the SGA to secure the services of a New York or Atlanta-based attorney on retainer to litigate issues that may affect them as a group or individually. This will be paid for by students who opt into the group. If you are having problems with the school you feel require an urgent legal remedy, PM me with your email address; I am in Atlanta right now looking for a pitbull lawyer to litigate an issue with the school. If I find one, I'd be happy to put you in touch.