Appeal coming, Florida Coastal School of Law says after federal student aid cut off – jacksonville.com
Florida Coastal School of Law will appeal a U.S. Education Department decision to end federal student aid to its students, the college’s president said in a release emailed Friday night.
“[T]hey called us reckless and irresponsible with the students’ futures which could not be further from the truth,” said Peter Goplerud, who is also dean of the Jacksonville-based for-profit law school. “Our students are the sole focus of everything we are doing and always have been.”
The Education Department said Thursday it had denied the school’s request to renew a contract for student aid that expired March 31.
The agency said information in the school’s financial statements “raises substantial doubt about its ability to continue operations,” but the school’s release said the government apparently “misread and mischaracterized critical parts” of the financial statements.
A recent audit that considered a school plan to improve its finances concluded the plan “will provide ‘an improved financial position in future reporting periods and allow the Company to settle its liabilities and commitments in the normal course of business,’” the release said.
The release also said graduates’ passing rate on Bar exams in February was above the statewide rate.