RENSSELAER, Ind. (AP) — Tenured faculty members from a northwest Indiana college that’s closing recently filed a lawsuit claiming the college breached its contract with them.

St. Joseph’s College declared a financial emergency in February and will close its Rensselaer campus once the current semester ends next month.

The Lafayette Journal and Courier reports that six faculty members filed a suit on April 4. The suit says that during this financial emergency, the college failed to follow the terms of their contract by deciding to discontinue or alter severance payments if faculty members find another job before March 14, 2018.

Since tenured faculty members are contracted through academic calendar years, ending their severance in March 2018 means faculty will be without pay until beginning new jobs in August 2018.

___