Former nursing students at Virginia Western Community College won a lawsuit claiming they were defrauded when the college hid its loss of national nursing accreditation, reports the Roanoke News.
After a nine-day trial and four and a half hours of deliberation, the seven-member jury awarded each of the 16 former students $47,000 on the issue of fraud. Each of the students was also awarded $6,800 for breach of contract, except for one who received $11,500.
The case was first filed in December 2007, when 59 current and former nursing students sued the college and state for about $23 million. The college lost its conditional accreditation from the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission in June, 2006, but continued to claim accreditation in its handbook, web site and other literature.
