The University of Chicago will pay $4.95 million to settle a class-action lawsuit filed by students and former students seeking refunds on tuition after classes went remote amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The lawsuit was filed in May 2020 by former student Arica Kincheloe in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, claiming that students were entitled to partial refunds of tuition because of remote instruction instead of in-person classes beginning in the spring quarter of 2020.
The suit also claimed a breach of contract and unjust enrichment by the university.
The settlement applies to all students and former students who were enrolled in any of the university’s undergraduate and graduate programs at any time between January 1, 2020, through the end of spring quarter 2020, according to court documents. Those who qualify will receive at least $25 from the settlement.
“The university is proud of the rigorous educational experience and support it provided to students when it moved to remote learning for spring quarter 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic,” the university said in a statement. “The university believes plaintiffs’ claims are without merit and looks forward to putting this matter behind us.”
The parties entered into a settlement agreement on Nov. 21, 2023, court documents state. The court granted preliminary approval of the settlement on Dec. 7, 2023. Final approval was granted after a hearing on May 23.
The settlement agreement “should not in any event be offered or received as evidence of, a presumption, concession or an admission of liability” on the part of the university, court documents state.
Similar lawsuits have been filed against other schools both in the city and in the rest of the country in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.
A suit filed against DePaul University in 2020 was dismissed on Feb. 2, 2021, according to court records. The judge in that case ruled that the plaintiffs failed to provide evidence that the university promised its students that classes would be held on campus or in-person in its academic materials.
Earlier this year, George Washington University reached a $5.4 million settlement with former students alleging the school broke its contract with them over online-classes during the pandemic.
Cornell University reached a $3 million settlement with students in 2023 over a similar lawsuit.
