Minnesota School of Business

Minnesota School of Business was founded in 1877 by Professor Alexander R. Archibald, previously of Dartmouth College. He and an assistant taught classes in bookkeeping, shorthand, English, and penmanship in a three-room school in Minneapolis, Minnesota. For 12 years the school was called Archibald Business College. In 1890 the school was purchased by Charles T. Rickard and Grove A. Gruman and moved to larger facilities in the Jewelers’ Exchange Building in Minneapolis.

In 1929, the school was sold to the Correll and Kamprath families and was relocated to 24 South Seventh Street. In 1979 the School was moved again to the Chamber of Commerce Building in Minneapolis.

In 1969 ITT Educational Services Inc. purchased the school. Terry L. Myhre purchased the school in January 1988.^[3]

All Minnesota School of Business locations were permanently closed as of 2017.

Globe University

Globe College was founded in 1885 by Frank A. Maron, who was born and educated in Germany. An accomplished scholar, he received a classical education in his native country. Recognizing a need for a practical education for young men and women, he established Globe College in Minnesota. From its inception, the university stressed the teaching of business as it is practiced.

In October 1972, Helmer Myhre and Terry Myhre purchased the college. In June 2007, it was renamed Globe University.^[3]

All Globe University locations were permanently closed as of 2017.

Lawsuit leading to closure

In 2011, Heidi Weber, a former dean, filed a whistleblower-wrongful termination lawsuit against Globe/MSB. In 2013, her case went to jury trial in the Washington County Courthouse. After a seven-day trial, a jury found in her favor and awarded $395,000 plus interest to the former dean. This is now called the first whistleblower case/trial of a for-profit institution of higher education.^[4]

Globe/MSB appealed the ruling; however, the Minnesota Supreme Court upheld Weber's verdict. A judge ruled that Globe/MSB must additionally pay in excess of $995,000 (including attorney costs for Weber) for wrongful termination after she reported the school's unethical practices and was retaliated against by being fired.^[5][6]

In July 2014, Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson announced that the state was suing Globe/MSB. The lawsuit "[alleges that] the for-profit schools misled criminal justice program students about their career prospects."^[7] The suit contends that the school used high pressure sales tactics and misled students regarding the acceptance of their degrees and credits for the careers the students wanted.^[8][9]

In 2013, the schools were sued by former students making similar allegations.^[10] Globe/MSB disputed the allegations.^[11]

In 2016, Globe/MSB closed several campuses which it attributed to the lawsuit and a "three-year negative publicity campaign."^[12] The following year, the Minnesota Supreme Court found that student loans offered by the school, which carried interest rates as high as 18 percent, were illegal and that the schools issued the loans without the proper license.^[13]

In June 2018, the Minnesota Court of Appeals held that the "schools in this matter engaged in wrongful conduct in violation of the MCFA" but upheld damages only for those students who testified at trial.^[14] However, in November 2019, the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled that any of the students who attended the criminal justice programs since 2009 can request reimbursement for tuition, fees, and other education-related expenses, including interest.^[15] A couple of weeks after the ruling, Globe/MSB filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, saying they owe many millions of dollars in connection with the awards against the school.^[16]