(Radio Iowa) – The board of a northwest Iowa community college has accepted a settlement with international students who accused the school of human trafficking. Western Iowa Tech Community College in Sioux City will pay two-point-three million dollars to settle a lawsuit involving ten students from Brazil. College President Terry Murrell talked to reporters after a special board meeting Wednesday afternoon and took full responsibility for the program’s problems. “We got too deep into something we were not overly familiar with, and we didn’t do a good job. And not doing a good job certainly had implications to those students,” Murrell says. “To those students, I would say, ‘We wish you luck and hope you are able to pursue your education and career goals.”’

Murrell says he thought the program would have success like others at the school when it was launched in 2019. “The J-1 Program is complex, it’s complicated,” he says, “and I don’t think we appreciated that when we stepped in, and all of that is my fault.” In April, the college’s board of directors approved paying three-million dollar to students from Chile who filed a lawsuit in 2020. The students said they were promised a free, two-year program with internships but were instead forced into working manual labor jobs to pay off tuition.

Murrell disputed that claim, saying the students were free to leave at any time and were paid for every hour they worked, plus free tuition and other amenities. He expects insurance to cover most of the cost. The dismissal of the lawsuit, which also includes college employees, is expected to be finalized in federal court in 60 days.

(by Sheila Brummer, Iowa Public Radio)