Terms of Arbitration

  1. Neither the University nor the student shall file any lawsuit in any court against the other and agree that any suit filed in violation of this provision shall be promptly dismissed by the court in favor of an arbitration conducted pursuant to this provision. Both the University and the student agree that the moving party shall be entitled to an award of costs and fees of compelling arbitration.
  2. The costs of the arbitration filing fee, arbitrator’s compensation, and facilities fees that exceed the applicable court filing fee will be split equally by the student and the University for all claims less than $75,000 and the student will be responsible for all fees if the student claims more than $75,000. The student will not be responsible for arbitration fees if he/she demonstrates hardship and, if represented, his/her attorney does not advance clients’ litigation costs. All fees, including attorney’s fees, shall be paid by a party whose claims are determined to be frivolous. The arbitrator has power to award prevailing party attorney’s fees and costs if a claim is based on a statute providing such fees to any party.
  3. In order to respect the student’s privacy and that of fellow students; promote the speedy resolution of the claim; recognize that the facts and issues are unique to the student alone; and recognize the significant amount of the student’s tuition likely will allow the student to find a lawyer willing to take the case, the student will not combine or consolidate any claims with those of other students, such as in a class or mass action, or for the claims of more than one student to be arbitrated or litigated jointly or consolidated with any other student’s claims.
  4. Any dispute as to the arbitrability of a particular issue or claim shall be resolved in arbitration. Any issue concerning the validity of paragraph 3 above must be decided by a court, and an arbitrator does not have authority to consider the validity of the waiver. If for any reason the class action waiver in paragraph 3 is found to be unenforceable, any putative class action may only be heard in court on a non-jury basis and may not be arbitrated under the Arbitration Agreement.
  5. The student may opt out of this single-case provision by hand-delivering a written statement to that effect to the campus president of his/her campus within 30 days of the first execution of an Enrollment Agreement with the university.
  6. Any remedy available from a court under the law shall be available in the arbitration. The arbitrator(s) shall not have the power to commit any error of material fact, in law, or in legal reasoning.
  7. Nothing in the agreement prohibits the student from filing a complaint with the state regulatory agency or accrediting agency listed in the catalog.
  8. Except as specifically required by law of the state in which the agreement is executed, the fact of and all aspects of this arbitration and the underlying dispute shall remain strictly confidential by the parties, their representatives, and the AAA.
  9. To the extent the student has outstanding federal student loan obligations incurred in connection with the student’s enrollment at the University, any arbitration award providing monetary damages shall direct that those damages be first paid towards those student loan obligations.
  10. If the University the student loses in arbitration, the losing party may appeal for de novo review to a court of competent jurisdiction if permitted by applicable law. Once the notice of appeal is timely served, the arbitration award shall no longer be considered final for purposes of seeking judicial enforcement under the applicable arbitration statute. The final decision rendered by the arbitrator may be entered in any court having jurisdiction.