Lincoln Technical Institute has allegedly refused to refund their students for tuition costs despite relegating these attendees to online courses without the services they paid for.
Plaintiff John Gaviria says he has been financially injured by Lincoln Technical’s conduct. He claims to have paid tuition and other fees based on the value of on campus and in-person classes. Instead of getting the full benefits of their tuition, Gaviria and other students allegedly “had their course work moved to online only learning and failed to receive all the services for which they paid.”
Gaviria and other Lincoln Technical students reportedly paid tens of thousands of dollars in fees and tuition costs. According to the Lincoln Technical Institute class action lawsuit, students like Gaviria were charged around $29,000 for tuition, $1,200 in fees for tools, a $100 registration fee, a $150 technology fee, and a $650 student fee.
Students reportedly paid these fees in early 2020 based on the expectation that they would have access to Lincoln Tech campuses and all of the associated services. However, with the unexpected coronavirus pandemic, classes at Lincoln Technical Institute were transitioned into an online format in mid-March.
Since then, the majority of classes have been held online. Even for the new semester of classes which started in August 2020, only a select number of sessions had any in-person instruction, according to Gaviria.
Although online classes help to control the spread of COVID-19 and protect both teachers and students, Gaviria says that he has been financially injured as a result of these online classes.
Despite paying for services associated with in-person classes, Lincoln Technical students have allegedly been denied access to on-campus services such as educational equipment, access to instructors, and other enriching experiences. Gaviria, who was scheduled to graduate in February 2021, says that he and other students have been denied the benefits of the money they spent on tuition and fees.
“Students attending Lincoln Tech’s did not choose to attend an online only institution of higher learning, but instead chose to enroll in Lincoln Tech’s in-person educational programs with the understanding that Lincoln Tech would provide in-person educational opportunities, services, and experiences,” the Lincoln Technical Institute class action lawsuit contends.
Online classes at Lincoln Tech have allegedly been of a lower quality than in-person studies. Gaviria claims that, due to the “labor-intensive programs” offered by Lincoln Technical, a large sum of normal tuition goes towards in-person benefits.
According to Gaviria, he and other students are owed refunds for the tuition benefits they paid for but did not receive due to the transition to online classes.
Gaviria seeks to represent a Class of Lincoln Technical Institute students who paid to attend in-person classes during a semester affected by COVID-19 but had their classes moved to an online format due to the pandemic.
There are numerous Lincoln Tech campuses across the country in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Texas, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Nevada.
Did you attend Lincoln Technical Institute during the COVID-19 pandemic? Were you forced to attend online courses for in-person credit prices? Share your experiences in the comment section below.
Gaviria and the proposed Class are represented by Joseph Lipari, Benjamin Zakarin, Jason P. Sultzer, and Jeremy B. Francis of The Sultzer Law Group PC along with Michael A. Tompkins, Jeffery K. Brown, Brett R. Cohen, and Anthony Alesandro of Leeds Brown Law PC.
The Lincoln Technical Institute COVID-19 Class Action Lawsuit is John Gaviria v. Lincoln Educational Services Corporation, Case No. 2:20-cv-18552-KM-JBC, in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.
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41 thoughts onLincoln Technical Institute Class Action Lawsuit Seeks Tuition Refund After COVID-19 Closures
I am a single mother of two who attended this school for cosmetology and when the pandemic hit classes were put to a complete halt before being switched to online which at that point due to financial hardship, I moved out of state and the Institute would not release my credit so that way I can continue cosmetology schooling out of state which the college out of state did confirm they do accept their particular class credits and due to that I have this student loan debt that was incomplete because they would not release my transcripts.