At least two of the nation's more than 5,300 colleges are being sued by their students after spring semester classes have moved online to adhere to social-distancing requirements.

Lawsuits seeking class action status have been filed against Drexel University and the University of Miami, alleging that the schools are failing to give them the experiences they have paid for: in-person instruction. With classes moved online, students are seeking refunds of tuition, room and board and fees.

“The students are going to have an uphill battle unless a school has actually shut down and they’re not getting credit,” said James Keller, co-chair of the higher-education practice at Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr LLP in Philadelphia, where Drexel is. “The basic contractual agreement is, I pay tuition, and if I satisfy academic requirements, you give me credit. That’s still happening.”

According to news reports, Roy Willey, a lawyer at the Anastopoulo Law Firm in South Carolina, the firm that filed the cases against the University of Miami and Drexel, said the schools weren’t providing students with the experience they were promised.

“The on-campus learning experience is very different than it is online; these student’s didn’t sign up to online colleges,” said Mr. Willey, who filed the cases.

—Source: wsj.com