Students are suing McKendree University in Lebanon, alleging they were deprived of the full on-campus experience due to COVID-19 closures and received no reimbursements for mandatory fees and tuition.
Attorney Richard Cornfeld of St. Louis filed the complaint on Sept. 9 on behalf of plaintiffs Kelsey Delisle and Kaitlin Pennington in St. Clair County Circuit Court. Delisle was an undergraduate student and Pennington was a graduate student at McKendree during the Spring 2020 semester.
Cornfeld seeks class action certification.
The proposed class consists of “students at McKendree University who did not receive the in-person educational experience that they paid for during part of the 2020 Spring Semester as a result of McKendree’s effective closing of its campuses and its switching to online instruction due to risks associated with the Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19).”
According to the complaint, McKendree announced that in-person courses would be suspended beginning March 16. In an April 2 announcement, the school suspended student activities on campus and closed the library. Additionally, university offices and facilities were operated remotely.
Cornfeld argues that the students received reduced value from student fees and room and board. He adds that the students have not been refunded any part of their tuition, fees or housing costs.
“Plaintiffs do not challenge Defendant’s decision to effectively close its campus and transition to online-only classes because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but the effect of this decision was that Plaintiffs and Class Members were deprived of the many benefits of the full in-person university experience for which they paid,” Cornfeld wrote.
The suit states that “in-person students pay tuition for the full campus experience.”
“Yet when all that is provided are online courses that must be attended away from campus, students do not receive their bargained for in-person experience, including face-to-face interaction with professors and peers, access to computer labs, libraries, and laboratories, and on-campus activities and organizations,” Cornfeld wrote.
According to the complaint, students paid mandatory fees, including a $100 graduation fee despite not having a graduation ceremony.
“After Defendant’s COVID-19 related restrictions and switch to online learning went into effect, Plaintiffs and Class Members either no longer received the benefit of these mandatory fees or they received a decreased benefit from them, because the fees are primarily associated with the on-campus student experience.
“Yet Defendant has not provided reimbursements for the unused portions of these mandatory fees,” the suit states.
Cornfeld also alleges that although the accounts of students who lived on campus reflect a partial housing refund, no refund has actually been issued.
He wrote that McKendree has been unjustly enriched by retaining the students’ fees and tuition costs without providing complete services and experiences.
The class seeks actual damages, punitive damages, injunctive relief, pre- and post-judgment interest, attorneys’ fees and costs.
St. Clair County Circuit Court case number 20-L-685