Harvard Faces Lawsuit Over ‘Subpar’ Online Classes Amid Pandemic
“The online learning options being offered to Harvard students are subpar in practically every aspect and a shadow of what they once were”
It’s easy to understand why students are dissatisfied, but the school is planning to reopen in the fall.
Campus Reform reports:
Harvard sued over ‘subpar’ online learning amid pandemic
On Wednesday, students sued Harvard University for not refunding tuition and fees after the coronavirus pandemic forced classes online.
This makes Harvard at least the fourth Ivy League school to be targeted for failing to reimburse educational costs, following Brown, Columbia, and Cornell. The school is facing a $5 million federal class-action lawsuit. Students chose to pursue legal action as a result of not having “received the benefit of in-person instruction or equivalent access to university facilities and services.”
“The online learning options being offered to Harvard students are subpar in practically every aspect and a shadow of what they once were, including the lack of facilities, materials, and access to faculty,” the lawsuit reads. “Students have been deprived of the opportunity for collaborative learning and in-person dialogue, feedback, and critique.”
Harvard confirmed awareness of the suit in a statement to Campus Reform, although the university had no further comment on the situation.
Harvard’s use of its finances has already been called into question with regard to its handling of the coronavirus shutdown.
In April, the university faced controversy over the allocation of CARES Act funds, which it eventually turned down, expressing in a press release concern “that the intense focus by politicians and others on Harvard in connection with this program may undermine participation in a relief effort that Congress created and the President signed into law for the purpose of helping students and institutions whose financial challenges in the coming months may be most severe.”
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Comments
They would have been better off taking Hillsdale’s free on-line courses than wasting their time with Hahvahd’s propaganda films.
Hillsdale courses don’t confer the bragging rights Haahvahd degree offers.
On the one hand, learning to teach an effective course online takes time. I’ve seen some really good online courses, and some terrible ones. It’s a skill.
On the other hand, it’s not like the Internet is some brand new thing and no one ever thought of doing online classes before. They’ve had decades to learn the skill. They didn’t bother because the money was rolling in hand over fist without it.
Thoughtlessness, thy name is Harvard.
Online classes have to be structured differently than their in-person counterparts – it’s not just a matter of recording a few lectures and then throwing them online along with some quizzes. It takes planning, and in the defense of instructors, this whole mess was dumped into their laps with very little time to prepare for such a shift. Instructors who were already teaching online or hybrid classes were in a better position. So I can kind of see both sides’ points in this scenario.
(My daughter’s senior year of high school was plunged into disarray with the school shutdowns, and she and her classmates felt cheated in a sense…especially for her, since she had been homeschooled through to junior year, when she wanted to go to a private school in part for the social experience and activities available. If you think senioritis is bad, imagine what it would be like when all your classes are online – but that’s another story….)
But what I really wonder about: how many of the students demanding a refund are also running around bitching about others being “selfish” for not staying home and wearing the stupid masks every time they go out…