After 10 months of negotiations, a judge has given preliminary approval of a $1.25 million settlement for former students at Mills College, which merged with Boston’s Northeastern University last year. The merger ended the storied Oakland institution’s 170-year history as one of the nation’s last women-only universities.
The class action lawsuit — which will cover 408 students who were enrolled or admitted in spring 2021 and re-enrolled for fall 2021, among other criteria — was filed by five women who were unable to complete their degrees prior to the merger. If the agreement receives final approval, the settlement amounts will be distributed to each student based on an “objective formula,” according to a press release distributed by the plaintiffs’ law firm, Bryan Schwartz Law, P.C. and Nicholas Kaster, LLP.
On average, students will receive $1,600 in compensatory damages, according to the Save Mills Coalition — a group formed after Mills College announced its closure in May of 2021, citing a “dire” financial picture.
“This case gave voice to students who believe they were wronged,” said Matthew Helland, a partner at Nicholas Kaster. “We hope this settlement allows students to leave these issues in the past and focus on their futures.”
For decades, Mills had been known for its progressive education and emphasis on gender, race and social justice, and in 1969, became the first institution to offer an ethnic studies program. Before the merger, more than 58% of Mills’ undergraduates identified as part of the LGBTQ community, while 65% were students of color.
But the school’s economic problems had been building for years amid declining enrollment. In 2017, the college declared a financial emergency in the face of a $9.1 million budget deficit, one that caused the school to cut programs and lay off faculty.
After the closure announcement in 2021, students, alumni and staff members tried to fight back, launching a website, hosting rallies, and pushing the administration to come up a way to save the school.
Ultimately, the administration’s solution became a merger with Boston’s Northeastern University — but the five plaintiffs in the suit claimed that Mills misrepresented that union, and that the students “faced great hardships,” including increased educational costs, as a result of it.
One of the plaintiffs, Willa Cordrey, had her major slashed as part of the merger with Northeastern. Cordrey had enrolled in Mills’ five-year bachelor and master’s program — and had hoped to graduate with degrees in education and a California teaching credential. According to the lawsuit, Cordrey was repeatedly told that plan would stay firm after the merger, but in January of 2022, Cordrey was told Mills was eliminating her program, along with all those that didn’t already exist at Northeastern.
Cordrey was told she would either need to change majors or transfer to another institution to receive her degree, the lawsuit states. That’s what another plaintiff, Jenny Varner, was forced to do after her art history program was cut as a result of the merger. Varner had to transfer to more expensive university to complete her degree on time — without a refund for the semester she’d already enrolled in at Mills.
“Because of Defendant’s false promises, misinformation, and misrepresentations, students like Plaintiff Cordrey are now left with an ultimatum: either change their major or transfer to other schools that offer their desired degrees, resulting in delayed graduation dates and additional expenses,” the lawsuit states.
Other students, like those in the nursing partnership program, were told they would need to move across the country to Northeastern’s Boston campus if they wanted to pursue their studies, according to the lawsuit.
“The Mills-NU case is also a warning to college boards that they are responsible for the damage done to their students,” said Sophia Dewitt, board member of the Save Mills College Coalition. “While the settlement amount doesn’t come close to covering the actual harm done, this is a victory for Mills students, if not in the small financial recovery, then in the legal affirmation that they were wronged.”
Both Northeastern and Mills deny the allegations made against them, a press release sent by the plaintiffs’ law firms states, and claim they “worked with each and every affected student to achieve the best possible result for them despite the difficult situation.”
Representatives from Mills College at Northeastern University could not be immediately reached for comment, but the press release said the college hopes “to move forward peaceably with providing quality education…without the continuing distractions of the claims and allegations in the lawsuit.”
Former staff reporter Annie Sciacca contributed to this story.
