Pandemic Tuition Refund Lawsuits and Settlements: Latest Updates

When COVID-19 struck in March 2020, colleges nationwide abruptly moved in-person classes online. Many students argued they were owed refunds because the quality and campus services they paid for were no longer provided. As the Associated Press reported in May 2020, students at over 25 universities filed lawsuits demanding partial tuition refunds, saying “the online classes they’re being offered do not match up to the classroom experience” toronto.citynews.ca.

These suits typically alleged breach of contract and unjust enrichment: students paid for campus instruction and services that were not delivered. Colleges countered that they “continued to provide a high-quality education” despite moving online, but some institutions chose to settle. By 2024–25, more than 70 U.S. institutions had faced or settled refund claims (including Ivy League, public, and private schools) toronto.citynews.ca & bestcolleges.com.

University of Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania) Settlement

In Pennsylvania, a landmark case was the class action Hickey v. University of Pittsburgh, brought by Pitt students. In May 2025, the University of Pittsburgh agreed to pay $7.85 million to settle claims for partial tuition/fee refunds utimes.pitt.edu & classaction.org.

The suit, originally filed in 2020 by six students, argued that moving Spring 2020 in-person courses online breached the agreement students had paid for. (Pitt initially won dismissal in 2021, but a federal appeals court reversed that decision in August 2023 utimes.pitt.edu.)

Under the proposed settlement (preliminarily approved April 14, 2025), all Pitt students enrolled in at least one in-person Spring 2020 class that was moved online are eligible utimes.pitt.edu & classaction.org.

The payout is pro-rated by each student’s Spring-2020 tuition/fees paid (minus financial aid and any already-refunded amounts), with no award under $50 classaction.org.

Students need take no action; checks will be mailed automatically to their last-known addresses, or they can opt to receive payment by Venmo/PayPal via an online form classaction.org & triblive.com.

According to filings, approximately 31,878 students qualify as class members in the Pitt case triblive.com. Dividing the $7.85M fund by that class (before attorneys’ fees) yields roughly $246 per student on average triblive.com classaction.org. (TribLIVE reports the $246 figure before fees; after legal costs each student’s share will be somewhat lower triblive.com.)

Pitt has not admitted liability, saying it settled to avoid the uncertainty of prolonged litigation utimes.pitt.edu. Chancellor statements emphasized public health measures and thanked students for their patience, while pledging to “move on” and continue providing excellent educationutimes.pitt.edutriblive.com.

Other U.S. Settlements and Lawsuits

Pitt’s settlement is part of a wider wave of class actions. Some notable cases and outcomes include:

• Pennsylvania State University – In Feb. 2025 PSU agreed to a $17 million settlement. This deal covers over 72,000 students enrolled in any PSU campus/course in Spring 2020 (the largest such settlement to date). Eligible students began receiving $50 each (for certain medical withdrawals) and pro-rata payments from the remaining fund shortly thereafter classaction.org.

• University of Chicago (IL) – In early 2024 UChicago reached an ~$4.95 million settlement, ending a nearly four-year suit by current/former students. Under that deal, all undergraduates and graduates enrolled in Spring 2020 who paid tuition/fees (minus aid) were to share in the fund, with each getting at least $25 bestcolleges.com. (Students need do nothing to receive awards.)

• American University (DC) – AU agreed in 2024 to pay $5.439 million for Spring 2020 undergrads. Class counsel estimated about $400–$475 per student (after fees), given several thousand eligible students topclassactions.com & topclassactions.com.

• Georgetown University (DC) – Georgetown settled for $1.5 million in 2024claimdepot.com. Roughly 6,300 undergraduate students qualified, and after legal costs the share was about $146 eachclaimdepot.com. (GUTech confirmed students need not file a claim; payments will be mailed automatically.)

• University of Maine System (Maine) – In late 2024 a class action covering the statewide system was settled for $2.15 million wgan.com. This refunded prorated tuition/fees for over 16,000 students who attended any UMaine campus in Spring 2020, yielding payments of a few hundred dollars each.

Other multi-million settlements include Johns Hopkins University ($6.6M), University of Delaware ($6.3M), Cornell University ($3M), and the University of Pennsylvania ($4.5M) bestcolleges.com. In many cases, plaintiffs pressed that they did not receive the in-person experience or access to facilities they paid for, and argued schools were unjustly enriched. Colleges often denied wrongdoing, asserting remote instruction met academic standards, but have settled to avoid the cost of prolonged lawsuits.

Canadian Context

Canadian students have also voiced concerns about paying full tuition during online semesters. In Spring 2020, student groups and associations in Canada criticized unchanged fees despite campus closures ca.topclassactions.com.

For example, students in Quebec filed an authorization application in May 2020 for a class action against 15 universities, seeking partial tuition refunds for the semester lost to COVID-19 disruptionsca.topclassactions.com. Similarly, there was a lawsuit in British Columbia for parking permit refunds at University of Victoria, and Quebec parents even sued private schools for fee rebates.

However, no large-scale Canadian tuition-refund settlement has been announced as of mid-2025, in part because Canadian tuition is provincially regulated and few courts have entertained such claims. (Notably, Ontario froze domestic tuition in 2020, alleviating some financial pressure.) Still, these Canadian actions show students pushing for accountability. As one Quebec student leader argued, if certain services aren’t available, students shouldn’t have to pay for themca.topclassactions.com.

Implications and Outlook

These cases illustrate a growing trend: students are testing whether universities must compensate for emergency shifts to online learning. Litigation on tuition refunds “has not slowed down” four years after the pandemic began hklaw.com.

Courts differ on what promises to in-person instruction can be enforced hklaw.com, but many earlier cases have now reached settlement. For other students in the U.S., the Pitt and Penn State deals (along with dozens of others) signal that claims can yield tangible refunds, even if modest.

Typically, settlements provide partial rebates, not full tuition refunds, and per-student payments often amount to only a few hundred dollarstriblive.com & claimdepot.com.

These outcomes may prompt students elsewhere to review their rights. In states like Pennsylvania, where statutes of limitations were nearing expiration, many small schools have also faced suits hklaw.com. Nationwide, over 70 universities have been sued or settled in the wake of COVID-19 closurestoronto.citynews.cabestcolleges.com.

As the BestColleges report notes, it’s likely more cases could come: “students filed similar class-action lawsuits across the country… Therefore, it is possible that more settlements are yet to come”bestcolleges.com.

In Canada, although court settlements are scarce, the issue has influenced policy. University administrations and governments have had to explain why fees remained high when campuses were closed, and some schools offered limited fee reductions (e.g. cuts to recreation/parking fees). The public debate and any future legal actions may pressure Canadian institutions to be more flexible with tuition in emergencies.

Key Takeaways: Major U.S. colleges have paid multi-million-dollar settlements for Spring 2020 tuition disputes. Notable examples include University of Pittsburgh ($7.85M to ~31,878 students)utimes.pitt.edutriblive.com and Penn State ($17M to ~72,000 students)classaction.org.

Students typically receive pro-rated rebates of a few hundred dollars. These developments show that pandemic-driven refund claims can succeed, potentially encouraging other students in the U.S. (and to a lesser extent in Canada) to seek similar relief.

Sources: Contemporary reports and court filings provide these details utimes.pitt.edu triblive.com classaction.org topclassactions.com claimdepot.com  bestcolleges.com  hklaw.com, as cited above.