September 9, 2012

Former Graduate Student Sues Vanderbilt Over Grant-Payback Requirement

Former Graduate Student Sues Vanderbilt Over Grant-Payback Requirement 1

Kim Muhich

Kimberly Muhich (with her husband) says Vanderbilt U. never made clear to her that she would have to pay back a federal grant that was financing her graduate program in special education.

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close Former Graduate Student Sues Vanderbilt Over Grant-Payback Requirement 1

Kim Muhich

Kimberly Muhich (with her husband) says Vanderbilt U. never made clear to her that she would have to pay back a federal grant that was financing her graduate program in special education.

By Beth Mole

Kimberly Muhich got the letter every graduate-school applicant wants. It had congratulations, a guarantee of full financing for her doctoral degree in special education, and a dotted line. What the letter didn't include, however, led to an abrupt end of her graduate career just a year later and to a lawsuit alleging breach of contract.

Ms. Muhich is suing Vanderbilt University for failing to mention that her guaranteed money came from a federal grant that requires recipients to pay it