Students attending the University of Rochester in 2020 could receive a partial reimbursement of tuition, according to a proposed settlement that the University reached in a class action lawsuit.
The suit alleges that students attending the University that year are entitled to reduced tuition rates due to their classes being unexpectedly held online in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“[The] Plaintiff and the putative class contracted and paid for an education, not course credits,” the complaint said. “They paid for the robust education and full experience of academic life on Rochester’s campus; remote online learning cannot provide the same value as in-person education.”
The plaintiff, Daniel Carstairs ’22, filed the complaint against the University in the U.S. Western District of New York Sept. 2020.
Carstairs alleged that the University failed to provide its promised thirty additional hours of out-of-class student work per credit hour to students taking online classes during the pandemic. He also stated that UR offered similar online courses at a much lower cost prior to the pandemic.
Carstairs originally filed the suit for more than $5 million, but in May 2025 filed a motion seeking approval for an agreed upon settlement.
The motion also sought the court’s approval of the settlement on a classwide basis, meaning that the tuition reimbursement will apply to all eligible members of the class.
According to the proposed settlement, there are 9,982 Settlement Class Members: students who paid for in-person instruction at the University for the Spring 2020, Summer 2020, and/or Fall 2020 semesters for a degree or certificate-bearing program, but whose courses were not provided in-person.
UR agreed to create a $3.5 million fund to make automatic cash payments to members of the Settlement Class, as well as to cover all administrative and litigation costs. Members of the class do not need to make a claim.
According to the proposed settlement, the average class member will receive approximately $226.24, with those who paid more receiving proportionally more and those who paid less receiving proportionally less.
In agreeing to the settlement, the University admits no fault, and no finding of fault is made by the court.
The University notified members of the class July 1, informing them by email that some personal information would be released to a Settlement Administrator, who would then contact them in regards to their rights under the proposed settlement.
Despite agreeing to settle, the University maintains that they did the best that they could under unforeseeable circumstances.
“The University of Rochester provided excellent education to its students throughout the period of remote instruction, helping ensure they were able to continue working toward their degrees without academic interruption,” University Spokeswoman Sara Miller told the Campus Times. “University faculty successfully adapted their course formats to the extraordinary public health circumstances, in effort to help protect the health and safety of Rochester students, faculty and staff.”
Miller cited the University’s incentive to “avoid the prolonged time and expense of continued litigation” as the reason why the school decided to settle the case.
A final hearing, in which the court will decide whether to approve or deny the settlement, will be held at the United States District Court for the Western District of New York in downtown Rochester Nov. 13 at 10:00 a.m.
