St. Cloud State University Seeks Dismissal Of Enrollment Lawsuit

ST. CLOUD (AP) - St. Cloud State University wants a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit filed by a former administrator in charge of enrollment management.

Mahmoud Saffari has sued the university and President Earl Potter III alleging his civil rights were violated when he was fired in 2011. The university says Saffari was terminated for failing to produce a management plan that would have better predicted enrollment numbers.

The university says it was forced to make a $1 million budget adjustment because it relied on Saffari's faulty enrollment forecasts om the 2011-2012 academic year. Enrollment declined by about 1,000 students in the fall of 2011. The court filing says Potter held Saffari responsible for failing to tell the administration the steep decline was coming.