Photo courtesy: Warren Scott

Eastern Gateway Community College in Steubenville has faced a series of problems over the past few months.

STEUBENVILLE — Eastern Gateway Community College has filed a lawsuit to prevent the US Department of Education from enforcing a cease and desist order to end free college programs.

The lawsuit, which was filed Friday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, “provides clarity to the more than 31,000 students whose Spring 2023 semester begins in October and is awaiting answers regarding future semesters at EGCC. ,” said a university official, in an early afternoon news release.

“We have attempted to engage government agencies regarding allegations and instructions to stop offering the free college benefit program, but they have not responded to our questions, have not commented on the proposed amendments, and have We have not released a program review with the enforcement of .. Michael Geoghegan, Principal of the school, which has a main campus in Steubenville and a second campus in Youngstown, said:

“We had to take this legal action in order to preserve our students’ access to education. We are optimistic that the courts will agree that there are better and fairer ways to help

DOE Midwest Division Director Jeremy Early issued a “cancellation” notice on July 18, telling the EGCC to suspend the free college benefits program and “until the program is redesigned, no penalties will be issued to new students enrolling in[it].” I ordered you not to pay the subsidy.” The department, he filed the letter in August, designated the university as Pell Grant Advanced Cash Management Level 2 status. This means that the university must pay the student out of its own institutional funds and submit a reimbursement payment request to the DOE. It also requested the university to prepare a teach-out contract for these students.

The 26-page complaint seeks to stay the order and to award damages.

It states that, without redress, the DOE’s actions “will cause immediate, ongoing and irreparable harm to the EGCC and its students.”

In a news release, the EGCC hinted at how disruptive it would be for students “planning degree programs with an average age of 34 who are working full-time and supporting a family while pursuing a degree.” I was.

He also pointed to the hundreds of employees working at the university, saying that administrators “have two-way relationships with federal and state agencies to resolve outstanding issues and provide continuity and clarity to students.” We are committed to building it,” he said.

“Our students are often first-generation college students looking to improve their lives with an associate’s degree,” says Geoghegan. “They go to school, become nurses, social workers, paralegals, accountants, and make our communities better. I will continue to advocate for the future, and I hope to provide answers that will help students focus on their studies.”