If You Were a Student at Mountain State University,

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1 Note: This notice was updated on January 13, 2015 to reflect changes to the Settlement. THE CIRCUIT COURT OF KANAWHA COUNTY, WEST VIRGINIA If You Were a Student at Mountain State University, You Could Benefit from a Class Action Settlement. A West Virginia state court authorized this notice. This is not a solicitation from a lawyer. A Settlement has been reached with Mountain State University, Inc. ( MSU ) and United Educators Insurance Risk Retention Group, Inc. ( United Educators ) in a class action lawsuit about MSU s loss of accreditation and/or insufficient delivery of services. The Settlement also involves and includes the University of Charleston, Inc. ("Charleston"). Generally, the Settlement includes MSU students who attended classes on or after May 27, 2008 in: 1) a nursing or health sciences program, or 2) any other program as long as the student did not get an accredited degree from Charleston or MSU before their program closed or other educational opportunities ended (see Question 5). The Settlement will provide millions of dollars to pay eligible former students for credit hours that did not transfer or who had to accept a degree other than the one they declared at MSU. Certain students may also get tuition assistance at Charleston and/or forgiveness of student debt owed to MSU (see Questions 7 and 12-13). Your legal rights are affected even if you do nothing. Please read this notice carefully. YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS AND OPTIONS IN THIS SETTLEMENT SUBMIT A CLAIM OBJECT GO TO A HEARING DO NOTHING The only way to get a payment. Write to the Court if you don t like the Settlement. Ask to speak in Court about the fairness of the Settlement. Get no payment. Give up rights. These rights and options and the deadlines to exercise them are explained in this notice. The Court in charge of this case still has to decide whether to approve the Settlement. Payments will only be made if the Court approves the settlement and any appeals are resolved in favor of the Settlement. Please be patient.

2 What This Notice Contains BASIC INFORMATION Why is there a notice? 2. What is this lawsuit about? 3. Why is this a class action? 4. Why is there a Settlement? WHO IS PART OF THE SETTLEMENT? Who is included in the Settlement? 6. What if I am not sure whether I am included in the Settlement? THE SETTLEMENT BENEFITS What does the Settlement provide? 8. How much will my payment be? 9. How did the Settlement benefits change? 10. Should I refile my claim? 11. What student debt will be forgiven? 12. Who is eligible for tuition assistance from Charleston? 13. What is the tuition assistance from Charleston? 14. When will I receive benefits? 15. What if I do not want to take part in the Settlement and I want to sue MSU on my own? HOW TO GET BENEFITS How do I get benefits? THE LAWYERS REPRESENTING YOU Do I have a lawyer in the case? 18. How will the lawyers be paid? OBJECTING TO THE SETTLEMENT How do I tell the Court if I do not like the Settlement? THE FAIRNESS HEARING When and where will the Court decide whether to approve the Settlement? 21. Do I have to attend the hearing? 22. May I speak at the hearing? GETTING MORE INFORMATION How do I get more information? - 2 -

3 BASIC INFORMATION 1. Why is there a notice? A Court authorized this notice because you have a right to know about a proposed Settlement of this class action lawsuit and about all of your options before the Court decides whether to give final approval to the Settlement. This notice explains the lawsuit, the Settlement, and your legal rights. The West Virginia Mass Litigation Panel is overseeing this case in the Circuit Court of Kanawha County, West Virginia. This litigation is known as In Re: Mountain State University Litigation, No. 12-C The people who sued are called the Plaintiffs. MSU is the Defendant. 2. What is this lawsuit about? The lawsuit claims that MSU was deceptive about the problems that the school was facing and did not properly inform students when the school was in danger of losing its accreditation. It also claims that MSU did not deliver the services it promised and that former students were harmed when their MSU credit hours did not transfer to other universities and/or they had to accept a degree other than the one they declared at MSU. MSU denies these claims and maintains it did nothing wrong. 3. Why is this a class action? In a class action, one or more people called class representatives sue on behalf of themselves and other people with similar claims. All of these people together are the class or Class Members. In this case, the Class Representatives are Dale Burger, Amanda Burger, Jeff Burger, Jeanette Brown, Destany Pettry, and Jamie Wagner. One court resolves the issues for all Class Members. 4. Why is there a Settlement? The Court has not decided in favor of the Plaintiffs or the Defendant. Instead, both sides have agreed to a Settlement. By agreeing to the Settlement, the Parties avoid the costs and uncertainty of a trial, and Class Members receive the benefits described in this notice. The Class Representatives and their attorneys think the Settlement is best for Class Members as a whole, because it provides the best opportunity for Class Members to receive some payment. The Settlement does not mean that the Defendant did anything wrong. WHO IS PART OF THE SETTLEMENT? If you received postcards about the Settlement in the mail, then you may be a Class Member. But even if you did not receive a mailed notice, you may be a Class Member, as described below. 5. Who is included in the Settlement? You are included in the Settlement if you attended classes with MSU on or after May 27, 2008 in: Nursing or any health sciences program, including (but not limited to) pre-nursing, the Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist program, and/or the Diagnostic Medical Sonography (DMS) program; or Any other program not listed above if you did not get a national, regional, and state accredited degree from Charleston or MSU before the program closed or before other - 3 -

4 educational programs ended. These educational programs were called teach-out opportunities and were offered by Charleston to MSU students under an agreement between the two universities. 6. What if I am not sure whether I am included in the Settlement? If you are not sure whether you are included in the Settlement, you may call with questions or visit You may also write with questions to MSU Settlement, P.O. Box 4227, Charleston, WV What does the Settlement provide? THE SETTLEMENT BENEFITS If the Settlement is approved and any and all appeals are resolved in its favor (if it becomes final ), it will provide benefits to Class Members. As part of the Settlement Agreement and First Amendment to the Settlement Agreement, MSU will try to sell assets and personal property including its campuses and property in Beckley and Martinsburg, West Virginia. That money (and other money MSU currently has or that is owed to MSU) will go toward a Settlement Fund to make payments to Class Members who submit valid claims. A limited amount of the Settlement Fund will be used to maintain the MSU assets being sold and be paid to Charleston in exchange for Charleston giving up its rights to the property so it can be sold to benefit Class Members. Not every Class Member will be eligible for a payment from the Settlement Fund. The cost to administer the Settlement as well as attorneys fees will come out of this fund (see Question 18). In addition, MSU s insurer, United Educators, will contribute $8.5 million to the Settlement Fund, and will provide up to $500,000 to help maintain and liquidate assets of MSU for purposes of adding to the fund. At this time, MSU has suspended its efforts to collect student debt from Class Members. If and when the Settlement becomes final, MSU will stop collection on Class Members student debt and forgive the debt owed to it. This forgiveness of debt by MSU does not include any debt owed by Class Members to banks or other lenders for student loans taken while attending MSU (see Question 11). Certain students may also get tuition assistance at Charleston (see Questions 12-13). MSU will also allow Charleston to release MSU student transcripts, at the request of the student, in accordance with Charleston s normal procedures, regardless of the status of any debt owed to MSU by a former student. More details are in documents called the Settlement Agreement and First Amendment to the Settlement Agreement, which are available at 8. How much will my payment be? It is not possible to know at this point how much you can get. If and when the Settlement becomes final, the Settlement Fund will be divided among former students using a point system with at least 75% of the Fund going to students in specified nursing or health sciences programs and up to 25% to non-nursing students. The point system is based on the number of paid-for credit hours for programs that lost accreditation or that would not transfer to other programs when MSU closed. The system provides one point per credit hour as follows: - 4 -

5 PROGRAM LEVEL MAXIMUM NUMBER OF CREDIT HOURS PAID Bachelor s degree program 100* Master s degree program 100 or 75% of the total credit hours required for the program (whichever is less) Doctorate degree program 100 or 75% of the total credit hours required for the program (whichever is less) *The eligible credit hours for Class Members in the online DMS program are capped at 75 credit hours for Class Members who did not receive a degree and 15 credit hours for graduated Class Members (with proof that MSU s failure to provide clinical opportunities caused a delay in pursuing your DMS career). Any payment you are eligible to receive will be based on the number of eligible credit hours you paid for or financed. Once the points have been calculated for all valid claims, the total number of points will be divided into the Settlement Fund to arrive at a value per credit hour. This value may end up being less than the amount you originally paid for that credit hour. Each credit for which you already received a tuition refund from MSU will be compensated at the rate of 50% of the calculated value per credit hour. You cannot claim credits for which you received forgiveness of student debt owed to MSU if the student debt forgiveness is over $5,000. More details about the point system and payment calculation method are available in the Settlement Agreement and First Amendment to the Settlement Agreement at 9. How did the Settlement benefits change? Under First Amendment to the Settlement Agreement, the changes in benefits include: Payments for Class Members in online DMS who experienced graduation delays or had nontransferable credit hours (with caps as described in Question 8). Benefits for non-nursing Class Members who can provide objective reasons for not attempting to transfer their credits. If you are a former non-nursing student and can provide a good reason for why you did not try to transfer your credit hours before this Settlement (for instance, capped student loans, debts to MSU, etc.), those credit hours may now be included. Class Members who already received a tuition refund may now be compensated. 10. Should I refile my claim? If you have already filed a claim, you may wish to refile your Claim Form based (see Question 16). You do not need to refile your claim if you filed as a nursing student or CRNA student. 11. What student debt will be forgiven? If and when the Settlement becomes final, MSU will stop collection on the student debt Class Members owe to MSU and forgive the debt. The student debt that will be forgiven does not include any debt owed by Class Members to banks or other lenders for student loans taken while attending MSU

6 12. Who is eligible for tuition assistance from Charleston? To be eligible for tuition assistance from Charleston you must: Be a Class Member who was enrolled as a full-time student at MSU for both the Fall 2011 and Spring 2012 semesters who did not graduate from MSU with an accredited degree or through the teach-out with Charleston; Be qualified for admission by Charleston as a full-time student; Apply for and be admitted to a program offered by Charleston; and Attend Charleston and be in good standing (as determined by Charleston). There also must be space available in the program offered by Charleston in which you want to enroll. This tuition assistance program only applies to undergraduate programs. Not eligible are: Nursing students and nurse anesthetist students (including students who previously attended MSU in a nursing program or any student who wants to enroll at Charleston in a nursing program); Current Charleston students; and Any applicant who doesn t follow Charleston s standard admissions and financial aid policies and procedures to be eligible for Charleston scholarships and federal or state financial aid programs (including but not limited to the completion and proper submission of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid or FAFSA form). (Charleston must be able to verify your eligibility or non-eligibility for these scholarships and programs.) Note: Charleston has no obligation to offer or continue to offer any particular program or programs in connection with the tuition assistance program. The rules of the tuition assistance program are outlined by the more detailed program in the Settlement Agreement available at What is the tuition assistance from Charleston? For eligible and qualified applicants, Charleston will provide a 50% discount off of tuition as a full time student at Charleston (whether in person or online) for two semesters. The two semesters must: 1) be consecutive, 2) begin within one year from when this Settlement becomes final, and 3) allow enough time for Charleston to review and take action on applications. However, if a qualified applicant applies on time within the one-year period but cannot be accepted into a particular program at Charleston because there is no space available in the program or because of program requirements (such as requiring a fall semester start for a particular program), Charleston will extend the one-year period to begin the tuition assistance for that particular applicant. If a qualified applicant has reached the maximum amount of federal loans available to him or her, Charleston will consider, in its sole discretion, offering merit-based scholarship assistance over and above the 50% tuition discount. To be considered, a qualified applicant must make a specific request to Charleston for this additional assistance. Decisions will be made on a case-by-case basis and will follow Charleston s standard admissions and financial aid policies and procedures to be eligible for Charleston scholarships and federal or state financial aid programs (including but not limited to completion and proper submission of the FAFSA form). Charleston must be able to confirm that you are not eligible for further state and federal financial aid. 14. When will I receive benefits? - 6 -

7 Class Members who are entitled to payments or other benefits will receive their benefits sometime after if and when the Court grants final approval to the Settlement and any appeals are resolved in its favor, after it becomes final (see The Fairness Hearing below). If there are appeals, resolving them can take time. Additionally, efforts to sell MSU s assets to fund the Settlement Fund may also take time. Please be patient. 15. What if I do not want to take part in the Settlement and I want to sue MSU on my own? If the Settlement becomes final, Class Members will not be able to sue MSU, United Educators, Charleston, or their respective trustees, employees, and other representatives on their own for matters covered by the Settlement. All Class Members will be bound by the Settlement and will be unable to separately pursue claims against MSU, United Educators, Charleston, or their respective trustees, employees, and other representatives. In addition, nearly all of MSU s assets are being committed to the Settlement Fund. 16. How do I get benefits? HOW TO GET BENEFITS To ask for a payment, you must complete and submit a Claim Form. If you did not receive a Claim Form in the mail, Claim Forms are available at or by calling Please read the instructions carefully, fill out the Claim Form and mail it postmarked no later than March 1, 2015 to: MSU Settlement P.O. Box 4227 Charleston, WV Do I have a lawyer in the case? THE LAWYERS REPRESENTING YOU Yes. The Court has appointed a number of lawyers to represent all Class Members as Class Counsel. They include: Anthony Majestro Powell & Majestro, PLLC 405 Capitol Street, Ste. P1200 Charleston, WV John Fishwick Lichtenstein Fishwick PLC 101 South Jefferson St., Ste. 400 Roanoke, VA Stephen P. New Law Office of Stephen P. New 114 Main St. Beckley, WV Matthew Fragile The Fragile Law Firm 412 South Kanawha St. Beckley, WV S. Doug Adkins Cyrus, Adkins & Walker th Ave., Floor 1 Huntington, WV Lonnie C. Simmons Sean P. McGinley Robert M. Bastress III DiTrapano, Barrett & DiPiero, PLLC 604 Virginia St. East Charleston, WV

8 You will not be charged for contacting these lawyers. If you want to be represented by your own lawyer, you may hire one at your own expense. 18. How will the lawyers be paid? Class Counsel and all other eligible lawyers representing Class Members in the case will be paid for fees and reasonable expenses from the Settlement Fund. Class Counsel will ask the Court to award expenses and one-third of the Settlement Fund for attorneys fees. The Court will decide the amount of fees and expenses to award. OBJECTING TO THE SETTLEMENT 19. How do I tell the Court if I do not like the Settlement? You can object to the Settlement if you don t like some part of it. The Court will consider your views. To object, you must submit a letter that includes: Your name, address, and telephone number; A statement saying that you object to the MSU Settlement in In Re: Mountain State University Litigation, No. 12-C-9000; The reasons you object to the Settlement, along with any supporting materials; and Your signature. You must mail your objection to each of the following addresses, and your objection must be postmarked by February 13, 2015: COURT LIAISON CLASS COUNSEL DEFENSE COUNSEL Anthony J. Majestro For MSU: Powell & Majestro, PLLC 405 Capitol St., Suite P1200 Charleston, WV Clerk of the Court Circuit Court of Kanawha County, West Virginia 409 Virginia St. East Charleston, WV John R. Merinar, Jr. Jeffrey M. Cropp Steptoe & Johnson PLLC 400 White Oaks Blvd. Bridgeport, WV For United Educators: Scott L. Winkelman Rebecca B. Chaney Crowell & Moring LLP 1001 Pennsylvania Ave., NW Washington, DC For Charleston: David P. Ferretti Samuel M. Brock Spilman Thomas & Battle, PLLC - 8 -

9 300 Kanawha Boulevard East Charleston, WV THE FAIRNESS HEARINGS The Court will hold hearings to decide whether to approve the Settlement and any requests for fees and expenses. You may attend and you may ask to speak, but you do not have to. 20. When and where will the Court decide whether to approve the Settlement? The Court will hold Fairness Hearings at 10:00 a.m. on January 16, 2015 and February 26, 2015, in Courtroom Four, also known as the Ceremonial Courtroom, on the Second Floor of the Kanawha County Courthouse, at 409 Virginia Street, East, in Charleston, WV. The hearings may be moved to a different date or time without additional notice, so it is a good idea to check or call At these hearings, the Court will consider whether the Settlement is fair, reasonable, and adequate. If there are objections, the Court will consider them and will listen to people who have asked to speak at the hearings. The Court may also decide at these hearings how much to pay Class Counsel. After the hearings, the Court will decide whether to approve the Settlement. We do not know how long these decisions will take. 21. Do I have to attend the hearings? No. Class Counsel will answer questions the Court may have. But, you are welcome to attend at your expense. If you send an objection, you do not have to come to Court to talk about it. As long as you mailed your written objection on time, the Court will consider it. You may also have your own lawyer attend, but it is not necessary. 22. May I speak at the hearings? You may ask the Court for permission to speak at the Fairness Hearing on February 26, To do so, you must send a letter stating that it is your Notice of Intention to Appear in In Re: Mountain State University Litigation, No. 12-C Be sure to include your name, address, telephone number, and your signature. Your Notice of Intention to Appear must be postmarked no later than February 13, 2015, and must be sent to the addresses listed in Question How do I get more information? GETTING MORE INFORMATION This notice summarizes the proposed Settlement. More details are in the Settlement Agreement and First Amendment to the Settlement Agreement available at You also may write with questions to MSU Settlement, P.O. Box 4227, Charleston, WV or call the toll-free number, You can also get a Claim Form at the website, or by calling the toll free number,