Educational malpractice
Harold Orlans
“Courts traditionally have been hostile to [student] educational malpractice claims,” writes Donna Euben, counsel of the American Association of University Professors. Thus, an Oklahoma court rejected a law student’s claim that the little time a professor devoted to teaching was responsible for the low grade that led to his expulsion. On the other hand, the Minnesota Supreme Court permitted claims that a trade school did not provide specific training on the specific computers it had promised. The Florida Supreme Court rejected a university’s appeal of a jury’s verdict that its dismissal of a medical student was arbitrary.
Euben concludes that “educational malpractice cases [may] be gaining more traction,” and “students may also be entitled to significant monetary damages.” As “more colleges and universities act like businesses,” she says. “the less deferential courts may be to the professional judgment of educators.” (Academe, May/June 2003)
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