Former UC Students Get $33 Million Settlement
The University of California school system paid out more than $33 million last month to nearly 35,000 former students after losing a class-action lawsuit over a fee dispute, The Chronicle of Higher Education reports (“U. of California Pays $33-Million to Settle Former Students’ Lawsuit Over Tuition,” Jan. 6, 2009).
A state judge determined the university system was guilty of unfairly raising fees for thousands of students in 2003 — a price hike that the judge said represented a breach of contract between the university and students. The UC system had pledged not to raise certain fees but eventually did so during a state budget crisis, leaving students at a handful of professional schools, including UC Berkeley’s Boalt Hall School of Law, with sharp fee increases, according to the Contra Costa Times (“Nearly 35,000 Get UC Holiday Present,” Jan. 6, 2009).
As part of the settlement, the University of California compensated former students for the difference between the tuition fees they paid and the tuition fees they had originally expected to pay. Former UC students received reimbursement checks for as little as $1 and as much as $12,000, although most students received between $200 and $300.
A UC spokesman said the school system would not be adversely affected by the payout despite recent state budget cuts, and that it would pay for the judgment, which rose to $42 million after interest, over the next five to six years using a portion of student fees.
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