A class-action lawsuit has been filed against Walden University, Black Enterprise reports. The lawsuit alleges that the for-profit university had a scheme to lure and trap students in a cycle of debt and despair, particularly those who were Black and female.
According to The New York Times, the National Student Legal Defense Network is representing the students suing Walden along with civil rights firm Relman Colfax. They allege that the university violated both consumer protection laws and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act by targeting Black and female students and misrepresenting the costs and credits needed to obtain an advanced degree.
The lawsuit, which was filed in Maryland, states that Walden intentionally elongated the capstone project process by requiring students to re-enroll each semester while paying tuition as they awaited approval from a committee. The suit estimates that the school overcharged students more than $28.5 million.
Aaron Ament, the president of the National Student Legal Defense Network, said students were grossly misled and taken advantage of by the university.
“Walden lured in students with the promise of an affordable degree, then strung them along to increase profits,” he said, according to the Times. “As if that’s not bad enough, Walden specifically targeted Black students and women for this predatory program, masking its discrimination as a focus on diversity.”
The lawsuit also alleges that the school conducted “reverse redlining,” which according to Investopedia, is “a discriminatory practice that puts services (financial and otherwise) out of reach for residents of certain areas based on race or ethnicity.”
Walden has faced similar allegations in the past. The school denied any wrongdoing, saying its mission is to uplift a diverse community. The university has filed a motion to dismiss the suit, saying that the lawsuit is a “baseless and an inflammatory attempt to repackage Walden’s school mission into calculated discrimination,” Black Enterprise reports.
