George Brown students awarded $2.73 million compensation

George Brown College

George Brown College of Applied Arts and Technology in Toronto, Ontario, Canada is a public, fully accredited college of  applied arts and technology with 3 different campuses in downtown Toronto.

There are currently over 25,000 full-time students, including over 3,500 international students.

There are also 3,279 part-time students and 62,840 continuing education students. As well, it has 15,000 distance education students studying in 35 different countries.​ 

Unfortunately, the College wrongfully promised three prestigious industry designations on taking a course in the business management program between September 2007 and April 2009. Students paid roughly $11,000 in tuition fees.

The more than 100 international students were told they would receive the opportunity to complete three industry designations/certifications in addition to the George Brown College Graduate Certificate. However upon enrolling the students found that the college had no agreement for them to be awarded the further designations. This would require more fees and exams. The College did try to have fees for the students lowered.

The international students fought over eight years for compensation and finally a settlement was reached for $2.73 million in compensation. Ontario Supreme Court Justice Edward Belobaba settled the class action suit with 108 students sharing in the payout. About two-thirds of the students were international coming form countries such as China, India, Turkey, Brazil, Russia, and even Syria. The lawsuit was filed in 2008 and was certified in 2012, then upheld later. Belobaba said that the course description "could plausibly be interpreted as meaning exactly what it said". He ruled that the College should be held accountable for its misrepresentation.

He said:"Having paid a substantial tuition fee and related travel and living expenses, they could not afford the additional time or money needed to pursue the three accreditations on their own." He said the description amounted to "negligent misrepresentation" but said that the "careless mistake" should not retract from the college's otherwise sterling reputation. Under the settlement international students can receive a maximum award of $22, 484, while domestic students receive up $16,427.

President of George Brown College, Anne Sado, confirmed the agreement was finalized and said: "There was, of course, never any intention to mislead and our commitment to our students has never been in question. But a situation like this provides a valuable opportunity to reflect on what we're doing and look for ways we can continue to improve." The first improvement could be to make sure their course descriptions cannot be easily misunderstood.

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