Judge Allows Lawsuit Against U. Washington for Charging Full Tuition During the Pandemic
“accuses the university of unlawfully retaining tuition payments amounting to millions of dollars when campuses were closed and students had access only to limited online learning”
The school had a lot of nerve charging full price when their campuses were closed and everything was online.
Axios reports:
Judge approves suit against UW over COVID-era tuition
A King County judge has certified a class of students in a lawsuit challenging the University of Washington’s decision to charge full tuition and fees during the pandemic.
- That means the judge recognized that a whole group of people may have been injured by the university’s actions and therefore may be entitled to compensation or relief.
Details: The lawsuit accuses the university of unlawfully retaining tuition payments amounting to millions of dollars when campuses were closed and students had access only to limited online learning.
Why it matters: Attorney Steve Berman told Axios the court’s decision to let the case proceed as a class-action lawsuit is a “major step forward for tens of thousands of tuition payers who were left paying fees and other costs to a university that had effectively closed its doors.”
- “Those who were subjected to these excessive charges, as well as subpar online-only education, deserve an answer from UW,” Berman said.
- The judge’s June 28 ruling affects over 50,000 UW students, and means student tuition and fee-payers are one step closer to reimbursement through the class-action lawsuit, according to Berman’s firm.
Flashback: The complaint, filed in September, 2020, alleges that during the pandemic UW continued to charge full tuition and fees despite sending students home, transitioning to online instruction and closing its campuses, reaping millions.
- Students lost access to much of what their fees were intended to pay for, such as in-person opportunities, instruction, faculty mentorship, campus amenities and the university’s facilities, the suit claims.
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Comments
Oh, higher ed has always had their version of the arilines’ “best effort” clause. You’ll pay them, and they’ll do what they decide, kinda like SW licenses and EULAs.
Interested to see what happens with this. Universities that had been online for years were ready for the transition as were their resources (library, writing center, advising etc. all online) and their instructors trained in online methods. It was the brick and mortars that were caught with their pants down. It will be interesting to see how online education is portrayed in this lawsuit.