Class Action Says Utah Universities Owe Tuition, Fee Refunds In Light of Coronavirus Pandemic

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A proposed class action filed against the Utah System of Higher Education and its board of regents aims to secure tuition and fee refunds after state university students received what the plaintiff calls “a materially deficient and insufficient alternative” to in-person learning amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The 20-page lawsuit, filed September 23, says several of the defendants’ institutions—in particular Dixie State University, Salt Lake Community College, Southern Utah University, Snow College, University of Utah, Utah State University, Utah Valley University and Weber State University—effectively breached their contracts with tuition- and fee-payers by failing to provide in-person education, services, housing, facilities access and other benefits once learning was transitioned online in mid-March due to the COVID-19 crisis. 

“As a result of the breach of contract and reduction in benefits, the Universities unlawfully seized and are in possession of property (funds) of the Plaintiff and Class members in the form of paid tuition, housing, and Mandatory fees, and have not provided just compensation for such taking,” the complaint alleges. 

The plaintiff, a Dixie University undergrad, looks to recover for proposed class members—i.e. those who paid tuition, housing fees and/or mandatory fees to attend in-person classes for the Spring 2020 semester and/or Summer 2020 semester and/or any future semester at one of the schools listed above and had their classes moved online—reimbursement for tuition and mandatory fees proportionate to the reduction in contracted-for services provided during the time that remained in the Spring 2020 semester when campuses were closed and students were shifted to online learning, as well as for the entirety of the Summer 2020 semester.

“Members of the Class paid tuition, housing (if living on campus), and/or Mandatory Fees at the Universities in order to benefit from in-person on campus education, on-campus housing, and from on campus experiences and opportunities,” the lawsuit reads. “The Universities have retained the value of the tuition, housing, and Mandatory Fees, while failing to provide the services for which they were paid.”

In all, the online learning options offer at Utah’s universities are “sub-par in practically every aspect” compared to the in-person educational experiences students thought they would receive, the lawsuit claims. With regard to online learning, much of which was conducted via Zoom, some classes “stopped providing students with any lectures at all,” according to the suit, while others called for students to learn on their own sans any classroom interaction. 

“The online formats being used by the Universities do not require memorization or the development of strong study skills given the absence of any possibility of being called on in class and the ability to consult books and other materials when taking exams,” the complaint asserts, taking aim at the Pass/No Credit grading system put in place as indicative of the below-board nature of online learning afforded to students grappling with the pandemic-induced transition.

The suit marks the latest in a long and ongoing string of litigation against colleges and universities nationwide over their apparent refusals to issue tuition and fee refunds despite wiping out nearly all in-person aspects of campus life in response to the coronavirus pandemic. 

ClassAction.org’s coverage of COVID-19 litigation can be found here and over on our Newswire.

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