CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Class-action lawsuits have been filed against the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and the entire UNC System.
The lawsuits allege the universities charged students thousands of dollars in tuition and fees, then switched to remote learning due to COVID-19, and didn't reimburse the students.
When it comes down to it, students believe they are not receiving the services they paid for.
The lawsuits were filed this week by students on UNC System campuses across the state, all of them alleging the same thing — they paid for the campus experience.
The students say that means all the in-person classes, multi-million dollar labs and libraries, and extra-curricular events that come with the price of on-campus life. Due to coronavirus, these students wound up with an online learning experience instead.
WCNC has talked to UNC Charlotte students in recent weeks who believe they're not getting what they paid for, but are still being charged the in-person tuition rate.
According to the lawsuit, some UNC Charlotte students can not take their course of study online at all, saying the university claims some programs are not well-suited for online learning.
The class-action lawsuit says it's impossible to pinpoint an exact dollar amount for the thousands of students who have each paid thousands of dollars for services they say they stopped receiving when campuses shut down.
The suit is asking for that money to be returned on a pro-rated basis.
UNCC issued a statement saying they cannot comment on pending litigation, but a memo written earlier this month by the UNC president stated: "universities should not consider refunds of other fees beyond spring semester housing and dining, and tuition fees for summer classes."
MORE ON WCNC CHARLOTTE: