As Colleges Offer Virtual Learning as a Safe Alternative, Some Students Challenge Value

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Entrance to Widener University.
Image via Widener University.

Widener University in Chester has been hit with a class action lawsuit claiming online courses aren’t worth as much as in-person classes, yet tuition is the same, writes Michelle Caffrey for the Philadelphia Business Journal.

Sara Brezinski, a master’s of education student studying human sexuality, filed a complaint in U.S. District Court in Philadelphia this week.

Brezinski claims she paid $5,800 for tuition and fees for the 2020 spring semester and “has not received a refund for any portion of the spring semester 2020 tuition, or for the health fee paid” since the campus shut down in March.

Drexel University, the University of Pennsylvania and Temple University are facing similar student claims..

The suits state  the students weren’t given the education experience promised when tuition was paid.

“The online learning options being offered to Widener students are subpar in practically every aspect and a shadow of what they once were, from the lack of facilities, materials, and access to faculty,” Brezinski’s lawsuit reads, with students deprived collaborative learning, in-person dialogue, feedback and critique.

Legal experts say it will be hard for students to argue tt their degrees are worth less because of virtual instruction.

Read more about these student lawsuits in the Philadelphia Business Journal.

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