Harvard Wins Dismissal Of Lawsuit Seeking Covid-19 Tuition Refund

Harvard University won a class action dismissal today from students who wanted to … [+] a school fee reimbursement due to the switch to online lessons during the Covid-19 pandemic.

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A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit against Harvard University filed by three students who – on behalf of themselves and other students – sought a partial refund of tuition fees after Harvard rescheduled classes online during the coronavirus pandemic.

The class action lawsuit was filed a year ago by Abraham Barkhordar, a law student at Harvard, and two Masters candidates, Ella Wechsler-Matthaei in Education and Sarah Zelasky in Public Health.

In their motion, the students alleged that it was unfair for Harvard to charge students for full tuition for online courses because the “online learning option Harvard offers after completing its personal services is subpar in virtually every way: Lack of facilities, lack of materials, lack of efficient participation in class and lack of access to teaching staff. In addition, the students were deprived of the opportunity for collaborative learning and personal dialogue, feedback and criticism. The distance learning option does not in any way equate to in-person training … ”expected and paid students when they decided to attend Harvard.

The lawsuit goes on to say: “The plaintiff is therefore requesting, individually and on behalf of the class, a pro rata reimbursement of tuition fees and fees for the spring semester 2020 and a similar reimbursement for all subsequent academic semesters conducted online and for Harvard Tuition fees and fees levied at the same or higher level as in previous years. “

U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani dismissed the students’ claims, saying they had failed to prove Harvard contractually promised them to receive face-to-face tuition and access to on-campus facilities during the spring 2020 semester, Reuters reported today.

According to a summary in Law360, Judge Talwani stated in her 19-page statement: “Where plaintiffs have provided virtually no direct language from the promotional and other materials and have not alleged that Harvard paid less for online tuition in the issuance of Degrees has calculated “. Programs in the amended complaint do not allege plausible facts suggesting that Harvard would reasonably expect students to understand from such material that Harvard had promised to give face-to-face tuition, even if the governor and public health officials dictated otherwise during a global pandemic. “

The judge also dismissed other plaintiffs’ claims, including the law student’s complaint that he was either forced to take a year off of his education or to pay full online course fees.

The case is Barkhordar et al. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College, Case Number 1: 20-cv-10968, in the Massachusetts District Court.

Inside Higher Education said hundreds of similar lawsuits – generally with little success – have been filed by students or their parents seeking reimbursement of tuition fees for using online and non-in-person tuition during the pandemic.

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