A federal jury awarded a former student who claimed the University cheated him out of a Wharton degree $435,678 last week.
The ex-student, Frank Reynolds, filed a lawsuit in 2005 accusing Penn of breach of contract, saying that Penn misrepresented the program he was pursuing, called “Executive Masters in Technology Management.” Reynolds claims the University dropped a Wharton degree from the program.
Penn denies that it misconstrued the program, and intends to appeal the verdict.
In his complaint against Penn, Reynolds alleges that, in 2003, the University told EMTM students that graduates would not be able to call themselves Wharton alumni and would be considered graduates of only the Engineering School.
The program had been advertised as a joint Wharton-Engineering program, leading participants to believe that they would be considered students and alumni of Wharton, according to court documents and a statement from Reynolds’ lawyer.
His lawyer, Richard Heleniak, could not be reached for additional comment last night.
In an e-mailed statement, University spokeswoman Phyllis Holtzman said all program materials made it clear that Reynolds would receive a Master of Science in Engineering degree and a joint certificate from the Engineering and Wharton schools.
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