University of Washington agrees to $4 million COVID tuition settlement

The University of Washington has agreed to a $4 million settlement in a lawsuit filed by students who claimed they were unfairly charged full tuition during remote learning necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The lawsuit, initiated by doctoral student Alexander Barry in 2020, argued that students paid for in-person education and access to campus facilities, which they did not receive after the shift to online classes in March 2020. The settlement was preliminarily approved by a King County judge, with no admission of wrongdoing by the university, which maintains that it acted responsibly by continuing to provide education and investing in remote learning technologies. A spokesperson stated the decision to settle was financially prudent given the potential costs of ongoing litigation. The lawsuit has since expanded to represent tens of thousands of students affected by the university's tuition policies during the pandemic. Under the settlement, students can choose to opt out of the class action if they do not wish to participate in the compensation process.