Temple University settled a class-action lawsuit that arose from the institution closing its campus at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The school resolved two 2020 cases regarding the switch to virtual learning, the Temple News reports, and it will put $6.9 million into a fund accessible to students who were enrolled during the spring 2020 semester. The settlement agreement was filed on Oct. 2.
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The cases of Ryan v. Temple University and Fusca v. Temple University argued that Temple breached a contract by transitioning to remote classes and sought a refund of a portion of their tuition and University Services Fee for that semester.
The university says in an emailed statement that the campus closure and move to online coursework "became a requirement when Pennsylvania and the City of Philadelphia issued stay-at-home orders."
While Temple says that it was a "near seamless transition," the university decided to settle, saying "the cost, burden, and distraction of this litigation was not in the university’s or our students’ best interests." Temple continues to deny any wrongdoing.
Payments will automatically go to the last known mailing address of Temple students who attended at least one in-person class and paid tuition in the spring 2020 semester and remained enrolled after March 16, 2020.
Those eligible can change their mailing address, payment method, add non-cash benefits like Temple Football season tickets or exclude themselves through a website.
The settlement follows a trend with universities nationwide undergoing litigation due to their shifts to remote learning at the beginning of the pandemic. In September, Penn State paid $17 million in settlement funds for students seeking part of their tuition from spring 2020.
