As reported by Miles J. Herszenhorn and Claire Yuan in The Harvard Crimson, Harvard students (now Harvard graduates) filed suit beginning in May, 2020, based on Harvard’s move to online education in Spring 2020 without a reduction in tuition. The cases evolved into class actions brought by students in all twelve schools within Harvard University. The students sought recovery of $5 million in damages, or 0.01% of Harvard’s $53.2 billion endowment as of June 2021 and under 2% of its $283 million surplus during the 2020-21 academic year.
A judge at first dismissed the students clams, but that dismissal was reversed with respect to students enrolled in schools other than the Graduate School of Education, the Law School, and the School of Public Health. In January, Harvard settled with the remaining students. Both sides have been tight-lipped about the details of the settlement.
