'Impossible' to get degree online: Xavier settles nursing students' lawsuit for $750K

Nearly 500 students who attended Xavier University’s accelerated nursing program during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic will receive a share of a $750,000 settlement.

According to court documents, the settlement involves approximately 494 students who were enrolled in Xavier’s accelerated bachelor’s degree in nursing program in the spring and summer of 2020. At that time, schools across the country ceased in-person learning because of the pandemic.

The lawsuit said the students didn’t receive the education they were promised. The entire accelerated nursing program moved online, documents say, and laboratory work and clinical placements were cancelled.

Xavier had emphasized to students that real-life experience was part of the program. Its website told applicants that it was “impossible to earn a BSN 100% online," court documents say.

Last month, attorneys representing the students filed documents in federal court in Cincinnati finalizing the settlement. One of the lead attorneys, Terrence Coates, declined to comment.

In a statement, Xavier spokesman Doug Ruschman said: "Xavier remains proud of the education that we were able to offer students during that time. Because the ABSN students were already enrolled in an online nursing program, the only in-person instruction they were not able to take advantage of was clinical instruction due to the worldwide pandemic. Xavier’s substitute instruction offered during that time was approved by the Ohio Board of Nursing, and the students enrolled during those terms were able to graduate on time."

Ruschman added that the settlement was a business decision.

The lawsuit was filed in July 2020 and ultimately went before a mediator who helped negotiate the settlement.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Xavier settles nursing students' COVID-19 lawsuit for $750K