Students sue UT-Austin over COVID-era tuition

A student at the University of Texas-Austin filed suit against the school for spring 2020 tuition rates. The class-action lawsuit alleges that students were charged full tuition for “an in-person, hands-on education” that was not provided due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as KVUE-TV reported.

”In short, as to tuition, Plaintiff and the members of the Class have paid tuition for a first-rate education and educational experience,” reads the lawsuit, “with all the appurtenant benefits offered by a firstrate university, and were provided a materially different and insufficient product, which constitutes a breach of the contracts entered into by Plaintiff and the Class with the University.”

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As Campus Reform reported, many colleges refused to lower their tuition and fees following the COVID-19 pandemic.

As of late April 2020, more than 200 petitions circulated on Change.org demanding that schools offer refunds for the spring semester. Likewise, schools such as Arizona State University, Columbia University, Drexel University, and the University of Miami faced lawsuits related to spring tuition refunds.

[RELATED: Colleges nationwide hit with lawsuits over coronavirus refunds (UPDATED)]

Most recently, students at California State University-Chico wrote a petition demanding that the school either reopen or lower tuition in the fall of 2021. The authors noted that students paid full price for their education “without access to many resources that are supposed to be included in tuition.”

[RELATED: Students tell Chico State University to ‘reopen or lower our tuition’]

Campus Reform reached out to the University of Texas for comment; this article will be updated accordingly.

Follow the author of this article on Twitter: @BenZeisloft