KILLEEN, Texas — Vista College is now facing a class action lawsuit from the Beaumont-based, Ferguson Law Firm after the college suddenly closed down all its campuses last week.
Students attending the Killeen campus told 6 News they just got a notification about the closing last Friday. Attorney Mark Sparks told 6 News they are still trying to find out what assets Vista College has left, but the college's conduct amounted to negligence.
"Negligence. Not handling the school correctly. Not communicating with students property," Sparks said. "What I see, in my experience in this, is an unwillingness to be completely frank and honest with the students outright with what is coming down the tracks."
Sparks said their firm filed the class-action lawsuit on Tuesday. Vista Students can contact the firm's intake specialist at 409-832-9700.
While students said they were not notified, Central Texas College told 6 News Wednesday they had already heard rumors about the school shutting down soon and had been preparing to bring in new students just in case.
"Someone heard some scuttlebutt and decided to be a little proactive just in case there was some truth to the rumor," CTC Marketing and Outreach Coordinator Bruce Vasbinder said.
Associate Dean of Enrollment Services Eva Hutchens told 6 News CTC would be able to help students in some Vista College programs, but not every program would transfer.
"There will be some career paths Vista College students may have been pursing that we won't offer here at CTC, but there are quite a few [we do offer]," Hutchens said. "If a student comes in, with an unofficial transcript or copy of course syllabi or whatever it is, we can compare that with the information we've already gathered at different departments."
Students can contact the Central Texas College Advising Office at 254-526-1226 and the admissions office at 254-526-1296.
Department Chair of Office Technology Melissa Gonzalez told 6 News programs related to medical coding and billing could easily be transferred to CTC and students could get quite a few credits on that subject.
"Any student who was in a medial administrative program at Vista College could potentially get up to 24 credits in our programs," Gonzalez said. "We are poised to take those students in."
Students are also encouraged to check with other area colleges such as Temple College or Texas State Technical College to see if they offer similar programs.
More on the Vista College closure
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