The Bryan University lawsuit most searchers are looking for is Ramthun v. Bryan Career College, Inc., a proposed class action filed in 2013 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas, in which two former medical assistant students alleged the school hid that its national accreditation made credits non-transferable to regionally accredited colleges. The court denied class certification in March 2015. A separate 2020 lawsuit over website accessibility, Hedges v. Bryan University, settled and was dismissed in March 2021.
What the Ramthun Class Action Alleged
Tracy Ramthun and Angela Clemens both earned medical assistant degrees at Bryan’s Rogers, Arkansas campus. They said they only learned their credits would not transfer after graduating and trying to continue their education elsewhere.1vLex. Ramthun v. Bryan Career College-Inc., 93 F.Supp.3d 1011
Their complaint focused on Bryan’s marketing. The school promoted itself as “fully and nationally accredited,” they alleged, without explaining that credits earned at a nationally accredited institution are frequently rejected by regionally accredited schools. The plaintiffs brought five causes of action: fraud, constructive fraud, violation of the Arkansas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, breach of contract, and breach of implied warranty.1vLex. Ramthun v. Bryan Career College-Inc., 93 F.Supp.3d 1011
The Proposed Class and Why Certification Was Denied
Ramthun and Clemens asked to represent everyone who enrolled and paid tuition at Bryan College between January 23, 2008 and December 31, 2011, split into four subclasses by campus: Rogers, Arkansas; Springfield and Columbia, Missouri; Topeka, Kansas; and the online campus.2CaseMine. Ramthun v. Bryan Career College-Inc.
Chief Judge P.K. Holmes III denied certification on March 18, 2015, finding the plaintiffs had not satisfied Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23. A central problem was adequacy of representation under Rule 23(a)(4): because both named plaintiffs had attended only the Rogers campus, they could not adequately represent students from the Missouri, Kansas, or online campuses.2CaseMine. Ramthun v. Bryan Career College-Inc.
What Survived and What Didn’t
Earlier in the case, the court had rejected an educational malpractice theory but allowed claims tied to the non-transferability of credits to proceed. In the same order denying class certification, the court also directed the plaintiffs to show cause why Bryan should not receive judgment as a matter of law on the breach of implied warranty and ADTPA claims.1vLex. Ramthun v. Bryan Career College-Inc., 93 F.Supp.3d 1011 The available record does not show the final disposition of the plaintiffs’ remaining individual claims after certification was denied.
The Hedges ADA Website Accessibility Suit
In October 2020, Donna Hedges sued Bryan University in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, alleging bryanuniversity.edu violated the Americans with Disabilities Act and New York state and city human rights laws. Hedges, who is visually impaired, said the site failed WCAG 2.0 standards, citing missing alt text on images and captcha prompts, empty and redundant links, images inside links without descriptive text, and pages sharing identical title elements — all barriers for screen readers.3Accessibility.com. Donna Bryan University Digital Accessibility Lawsuit
The case did not stay open long. Hedges filed a notice of settlement in February 2021, and Judge Lewis J. Liman dismissed the action with prejudice on March 5, 2021. The settlement terms were not disclosed in the public docket.4CourtListener. Hedges v. Bryan University, LLC
The Accreditation Change Behind the Ramthun Concern
The transferability gap that drove the Ramthun complaint has since narrowed. In March 2025, Bryan University announced institutional accreditation from the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities, a regional accreditor, on a seven-year grant covering non-degree certificates through graduate degrees.5Bryan University. Bryan University Achieves Institutional Accreditation With NWCCU The U.S. Department of Education approved the transition on July 3, 2025. Bryan continues to hold its national accreditation from ACCSC as well.6Bryan University. U.S. Department of Education Approves Bryan University’s Transition to NWCCU Accreditation
Regional accreditation is generally more widely recognized among traditional colleges and universities, which typically makes credit transfer easier. The change came more than a decade after the Ramthun plaintiffs filed suit and does not retroactively affect students who enrolled during the proposed class period.