Top Class Actions’s website and social media posts use affiliate links. If you make a purchase using such links, we may receive a commission, but it will not result in any additional charges to you. Please review our Affiliate Link Disclosure for more information.
In this global health crisis, everyone from single mothers to massive institutions are struggling to make ends meet. Schools across the country have closed and teachers and students are scrambling to adjust to online courses.
College students who were sent home long before the end of the semester are now wondering whether they will get a refund for the money they paid for room and board. Lawsuits brought by college students against their institutions have already cropped up in Arizona, with ABC15 reporting that students at three separate colleges in the state have sued for a coronavirus refund.
The Department of Education (ED) has avoided stating whether or not institutions owe college students refunds for the money they paid towards room and board, and many colleges seem unlikely to offer any sort of refund at all, according to the Chicago Tribune. Schools are facing increased costs from the pandemic, and many seem unwilling to risk parting with any funds they’ve brought in already.
What is College Refund Money?
For many college students, the term “refund” is already familiar. As laid out by SUNY Empire, generally college students pay for tuition, fees, and any room and board expenses charged by the institution. If that student receives financial aid or loans, that money is put towards paying off those expenses, and any money that remains is paid back to the student in the form of a college refund. This refund can then be spent by the college students as needed on additional expenses including textbooks.
College refunds may also be paid out to students who pay out of pocket if that student drops a class early enough in the semester and a few other rare instances. College refund money comes from funds the student has already paid into the institution for services they expect to receive.
How Do Refunds Work for College Students?
College refunds are usually given to students via direct deposits in two lump sums. In a normal year, students who receive college refunds are given two a year, one at the beginning of each semester after other charges have been paid. In rare instances, college students may receive refunds mid-semester if their situation has changed since the beginning of the semester.
However, this is not a normal year. College students who paid for a full semester of room and board have essentially paid for a service they will no longer receive, something that in normal circumstances could lead to a refund.
Is My College Refund Policy Applicable For the COVID-19 Pandemic?
Colleges are reacting to the coronavirus pandemic in a variety of ways often varying from state to state.
For instance, Inside Higher ED reports that all six University of Minnesota (UM) campuses would be offering college students refunds for room and board, activities fees, and even parking fees, if applicable. This plan is expected to cost the school system at least $27.8 million. So far, college refunds offered by the UM systems will pay out as much as $2,500 to students depending on their specific situation.
Other institutions are not being quite so generous. College students at the University of Arizona, Arizona State University, and Northern Arizona University have filed complaints claiming their schools committed a breach of contract by failing to offer prorated refunds for room and board. According to Inside Higher ED, breach of contract is one of the more common class action claims in these situations.
“[Arizona Board of Regents]’s performance under the contracts is not excused because of COVID-19 and the housing agreements provide no such terms excusing performance given nationwide pandemics,” the complaint filed by the Arizona college students reads.
Currently, the University of Arizona is offering college students a few options for potential refunds. Either the students can accept a 10 percent refund now or a 20 percent credit to be placed on next year’s tuition.
Arizona State University, on the other hand, is offering a $1,500 nonrefundable credit. Northern Arizona University has stated they will offer students a 25 percent credit.
“The problem is that a significant part of that money also goes to pay salaries of the people there working in the cafeterias and people that are doing various other jobs relating to the room and board,” a lawyer representing the students told Inside Higher ED. “The question becomes: Is the university caught in the middle? Do they have to refund the money to the students, or are they under pressure to keep paying the employees?”
How to Get a College Refund Check for Coronavirus
If you are wondering whether or not your college is offering student refunds, getting an answer may be harder than you’d expect. There are no hard-and-fast rules in place regulating what schools are meant to do in this situation, and the federal government seems to be largely placing the decision in the hands of institutions.
The Federal Student Aid website, for example, simply tells college students to contact their school if they have any questions. The site even acknowledges that contacting a school’s financial aid office right now could be difficult given the extent of the lockdown.
If you are a college student looking to get a refund due to COVID-19, you should first check if your institution has a coronavirus fact sheet, like this one from the University of Missouri. Many schools understand that their students have questions and have made emergency statements and emergency pages to address them. If you are unable to find the information you’re looking for, consider calling or emailing your school’s financial aid office.
Can I Sue My College For a Refund?
Right now, it appears that the majority of institutions are offering some form of a refund to college students. The amount of that refund, however, and whether or not that amount is fair may differ from school to school. Students at Columbia University and the University of Pennsylvania have challenged their schools’ refund policies in separate class action claims.
If you feel that your school has insufficiently or improperly refunded you for services you paid for but did not receive, you may be eligible to file a class action suit to sue your college for a refund.
Join a Free Coronavirus College Refund Class Action Lawsuit Investigation
If your college or university closed because of the coronavirus, but you did not receive a refund for tuition, room and board or other fees, you may be able to join this coronavirus school refund class action lawsuit investigation.
Read More Lawsuit & Settlement News:
A Guide to the Effects of Student Loan Debt
How Does the Illinois Lemon Law Protect Car Buyers?
E-Cigarette Health Risks: JUUL Seizures, Addiction
Truckers Misclassified as Independent Contractors Seek Benefits Amid COVID-19 Challenges
ATTORNEY ADVERTISING
Top Class Actions is a Proud Member of the American Bar Association
LEGAL INFORMATION IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE
Top Class Actions Legal Statement
©2008 – 2024 Top Class Actions® LLC
Various Trademarks held by their respective owners
This website is not intended for viewing or usage by European Union citizens.
2 thoughts onShould College Students Get a Coronavirus Refund?
My daughter did get a refund, but only partial for room and board. Not the actual college. But agreed, my child has accommodations and there is none with online classes. She too, needs to be added for her college. Attorneys—this especially holds true for children, like mine, that have accommodations. We picked her private school because it’s small and more one on one face Time with her professors. Hence, why it was difficult for her last year and probably this year as well.
My daughter’s college was online only since March. She did not get the teaching instruction she needed to teach. It is just busy work being assigned. I don’t want to be unfair to the public colleges, however I know online classes are usually much less expensive. She also had to keep renting near the college, as group tasks were still assigned.