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John Crouse memorial College in Syracuse University
(Photo Credit: Wangkun Jia/Shutterstock)

Syracuse University Pandemic Refund Class Action Lawsuit Overview:

  • Who: A Syracuse University student during the spring 2020 semester is suing the New York college.
  • Why: The student alleges she and other students should be refunded a portion of tuition paid toward the spring 2020 semester as they lost the benefit of an on-campus education in this time.
  • Where: The lawsuit was filed in an Onondaga County court.

Syracuse University has been hit with another lawsuit by a student who alleges she was not refunded any of her tuition and fees for the spring 2020 semester despite all of her classes being moved online starting March 10, 2020. 

Plaintiff Shelby Poston filed the class action lawsuit against Syracuse University Dec. 9, 2021, in an Onondaga County court, the Daily Orange reports.

Poston alleges the students lost the benefit of the on-campus education they paid for as a result of the university’s response to the pandemic. She is looking to represent an estimated tens of thousands of students who paid for tuition in the spring semester of 2020. 

According to Poston, the plaintiffs entered into a contract with the college that was breached when the university moved classes online on March 10, 2021, in response to the pandemic. 

While the college said students who had to move out of university housing because of COVID-19 could apply for reimbursements of their housing and meal plan payments, it refused to refund any fees or tuition paid, she says. 

The lawsuit states that, legally, the university should return a “prorated portion” of any tuition paid toward the semester.

3 Similar Lawsuits Filed Against Syracuse University Since It Moved To Online Classes in 2020

Poston paid the university approximately $26,105 in tuition for the 2020-21 academic year, for which she almost exclusively completed online. She says, going into the spring 2020 semester, she thought all of her classes would be in person due to the college’s marketing.

Three similar lawsuits have been filed against Syracuse University since it moved classes online in 2020, Daily Orange reports.

One of the lawsuits, filed May 1, 2020, was withdrawn. Another was filed on July 26, 2020, by Julian Minichelli, a senior.

Yet another lawsuit was filed in December 2020 but was dismissed by U.S. District Court Judge Thomas McAvoy as it was filed by the students’ parents, who did not have a contract with the school, even though they paid the tuition. 

Meanwhile, Syracuse University recently agreed to pay more than $3.7 million to settle claims brought by female-identifying faculty members that its male professors were paid more.

Have you had trouble getting a pandemic refund? Let us know in the comments! 


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