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A University of Miami student has filed a class action lawsuit against the college, taking issue with tuition and fee charges despite COVID-19 closures.
According to the student, the online learning offered during the coronavirus pandemic is less valuable than the in-person learning experience touted in the school’s advertisements.
The University of Miami coronavirus refund class action lawsuit was filed by Adelaide Dixon in South Carolina federal court. Dixon says she is enrolled as a full-time student for the spring 2020 academic semester at the University of Miami and paid tuition to attend.
Although the university closed its campus and moved classes online to help stop the spread of the coronavirus, they reportedly still charged students full tuition and fees to attend.
According to Dixon, UM has refused to refund tuition and fees, or where they did offer some compensation, that compensation was insufficient to fully repair the financial damage done to students.
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Dixon says she chose to attend the university partially because of its in-person learning setting. Allegedly, the university’s choice to charge the fees associated with an in-person experience while only providing an online learning experience during the COVID-19 crisis financially injured her and other students.
The plaintiff claims that students would not have chosen to attend, or would not have agreed to pay the full cost, to attend the school had they known they would only have access to online services.
She notes that University of Miami’s advertisements stress the value of an in-person college experience for a student’s intellectual and personal development.
Dixon cites promotional language on the school’s housing website, which states, “living on campus opens a world of interaction with other students, faculty, and staff members in many social, developmental, and academic activities. It’s a special time of learning and maturing; a time to be a member of the University family.”
According to the coronavirus college refund class action lawsuit, the costs associated with attending the university reflect the in-person nature of the educational experience.
The plaintiff says the school’s fees are higher than those of an online institution, noting that the costs cover not just instruction, but “encompass an entirely different experience” which includes student groups, activities, access to facilities, networking opportunities, interaction with those on campus, and hands-on learning experimentation.
Dixon explains that in addition to tuition, she pays fees related to other elements of the on-campus experience, including fees for use of the campus facilities, activities and others. She notes that these fees are charged to cover activities that are only available when a student is on campus.
The UM coronavirus college refund class action lawsuit goes on to say that the school has changed some classes to pass/fail to help ease the transition to online learning.
However, Dixon argues that degrees given on the basis of classes pass/fail or classes taken online are less valuable than those based on in-person, fully graded instruction.
She says that this will negatively affect her for the rest of her life.
The University of Miami coronavirus college refund class action lawsuit asserts that the university breached its contract with students by closing its campus.
Through the admissions agreement made between the university and its students, and the payment of fees and tuition, the university was bound by a contract to provide agreed upon services. However, according to the plaintiff, the university failed to do so.
The UM COVID-19 fees class action lawsuit claims that the university was unjustly enriched by the collection and fees and tuition for the spring 2020 semester. Because the school failed to provide the services for the collected fees, the school’s retention for the funds was allegedly unjust.
Dixon wants the school to be forced to disgorge the fees, and asks the court to require the school provide her and other students with damages, legal fees, and other awards.
The UM student is represented by Eric M. Poulin and Roy T. Willey of Anastopoulo Law Firm LLC.
The University of Miami Coronavirus College Refund Class Action Lawsuit is Adelaide Dixon v. University of Miami, Case No. 2:20-cv-01348, in the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina.
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.
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