Student Sues Waltham’s Brandeis University Over COVID-19 Response

WALTHAM, MA —A student asking for tuition back from Brandeis University after the campus closed amid the coronavirus pandemic is suing the school. Since the school moved to online classes, the experience has been "inferior" for students, according to attorney representing the student.

In a news release, the student's attorney said a class-action lawsuit was filed Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.

“While Plaintiff could have obtained his degree online, Plaintiff enrolled at Brandeis University to obtain the full experience of live, in-person courses and direct interactions with instructors and students, facilitated by small class sizes,” according to the lawsuit. “So while students enrolled and paid Defendant for a comprehensive academic experience, Defendant instead offers Plaintiff and the Class Members something far less: a limited online experience presented by Google or Zoom, void of face-to-face faculty and peer interaction, separated from program resources, and barred from facilities vital to study. Plaintiff and the Class Members did not bargain for such an experience.”

The suit is one of the latest against area colleges in the wake of the early reaction to the pandemic and is similar to class-action lawsuits brought against Northeastern University and Boston University.

As with those, the lawsuit against Brandeis similarly accuses the university of breach of contract, unjust enrichment and conversion for “continuing to reap the financial benefit of millions of dollars from students” when it sent students home and closed the campus because of the coronavirus outbreak.

The student, who was not named in the lawsuit, said one professor originally canceled a week of classes and then did not reschedule. Another professor, they said, did not hold any online lectures and only gave out Powerpoint slides. Other professors were revising the class syllabus so often it made it difficult for students to understand expectations, according to the lawsuit. The student described the university’s transition to online class as “disruptive and ineffective.”

The complaint said Brandeis, which had about 3,600 undergraduates enrolled in 2018, charged undergraduate students at $6,918 ($1,729 per credit, per term) for the spring 2020 semester.

While officials from the school told Patch they do not comment on ongoing litigation, a communication from the school to students earlier this month said the university expected revenue losses of more than $12 million.

"More than half of the revenue loss is attributable to student reimbursement payments for room and board fees for services unused following the transition to remote learning," Ron Liebowitz said.

Classes switched to online instruction in March and most students living in university residence halls were required to leave. University administration said at the time that room and board costs would be pro-rated for the remainder of the semester.

Since schools closed or went online to comply with public health requirements, a number have been criticized for the tack they've taken with issuing refunds.

“What Brandeis students are reporting amid the campus closure and transition to online courses pales in comparison to the education they paid for,” said Steve Berman, managing partner of Hagens Berman and attorney for students in the class action. “Students did not enroll at Brandeis to click through PowerPoint slides and waste their student loans on canceled classes and absentee coursework.”

The law firm representing the Brandeis University student said it has also brought similar lawsuits against at least 10 other schools, including Boston, Brown, Duke, Emory, George Washington, Georgetown, and Rutgers universities.

john doe v. brandeis university by ReporterJenna on Scribd

Patch reporter Jenna Fisher can be reached at Jenna.Fisher@patch.com or by calling 617-942-0474. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram (@ReporterJenna).Have a press release you'd like posted on the Waltham Patch? Here's how to post a press release, opinion piece.