Former UC Students Get $33 Million Settlement

Student Loan Girl — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 23:58:00 GMT

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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FBI Investigates California College That Overpaid Financial Aid to Some Students, Underpaid Others

Student Loan Girl — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 01:32:00 GMT

A California community college is being investigated by the FBI and the Department of Education for overpaying students more than $327,000 in financial aid during the 2005–06 school year, reports the Contra Costa Times (“Berkeley City College Overpaid Financial Aid,” Oct. 8, 2008).

Berkeley City College, under former financial aid director Robert Vergas, was also found to have underpaid Pell Grant recipients by nearly $40,000.

The federal government has ordered Berkeley City College to repay the Department of Education for the funds it overpaid to its students. The school has already repaid $40,000 and will pay about $37,000 per quarter until the balance is paid off.

The school must also pay the affected Pell Grant recipients the remainder of the grant awards that they should have originally received.

An independent audit of Berkeley City College found, in all, more than 400 mistakes in the files of 1,135 financial aid recipients.

Vergas, who retired in April shortly before he was to be fired by the community college district for “negligence and incompetence,” has denied any wrongdoing and said he is being blamed for deficiencies in the school’s financial aid process.

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Student Loan Blog : Contra Costa Times

Former UC Students Get $33 Million Settlement

FBI Investigates California College That Overpaid Financial Aid to Some Students, Underpaid Others