Students turn to courts for refunds

An advertisement by the South Carolina Anastopoulo Law Firm, capitalising on anger by students and parents who believe they are owed partial tuition and fee refunds for semesters cut short, courses moved online and unused housing and meal plans, appears to have struck a chord, writes Greta Anderson for Inside Higher Ed.

The firm is currently representing students in three class action lawsuits filed in the last two weeks against Drexel University, University of Miami and the Board of Regents of the University of Colorado, as calls from students for tuition and fee refunds grow stronger.

The lawsuits claim that online classes don’t have equal value to in-person classes and are not worth the tuition fees that students paid for on-campus classes. The lawsuits also contend that the decision by these institutions to use pass/fail grading systems this semester have diminished the value of the degrees they offer. The lawsuits claim they represent thousands of students enrolled at the universities.
Full report on the Inside Higher Ed site