Associated Press Published

14,000 Former MSU Students Closer to Compensation

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A Jan. 15 hearing is scheduled in Charleston on a proposed settlement of hundreds of lawsuits against the now defunct Mountain State University.

A three-judge mass litigation panel gave preliminary approval to the settlement Monday following a hearing in Beckley.

The proposed settlement will establish a fund to compensate over 14,000 students who filed claims when the university lost its accreditation in 2012.

Yesterday’s decision allows the former university to begin liquidating its assets.

The compensation fund also would include money from Mountain State’s insurance carrier and the U.S. Department of Education.

The University of Charleston took over Mountain State’s campuses in Beckley and Martinsburg, allowing students to complete their degrees.  UC’s lease runs through June 2015.

The January hearing will discuss the settlement’s final terms.