Lincoln Tech Owes Refunds for Semesters Disrupted By Coronavirus Pandemic, Class Action Says

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Those who paid tuition and/or fees to attend Lincoln Technical Institute or Lincoln College of Technology on an in-person basis are owed refunds for semesters disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic, a proposed class action claims. 

The 23-page lawsuit alleges Lincoln Tech students who had their coursework moved online due to the pandemic have not received every service for which they paid an average of roughly $29,000 for tuition, books and uniforms in addition to expenses for tools and fees. Per the suit, Lincoln Tech students paid to attend the school based in large part on the promised benefits of live, on-campus interactive instruction. 

“Lincoln Tech has not refunded any amount of the tuition or any of the Mandatory Fees, even though it canceled substantially all in-person classes on or about March 16, 2020 and began the transition to online-only learning starting on March 17, 2020,” the complaint says. 

According to the plaintiff, an Orange, New Jersey resident who started as a student at Lincoln Tech in February 2020, the failure of defendant Lincoln Educational Services Corporation, a private for-profit entity, to provide the full slate of services for which tuition and fees were paid amounts to a breach of contract. Instead of the experience and education students were promised, they received “a materially deficient and insufficient alternative which they did not agree to,” the case says. 

Emphasized in the lawsuit is that those who chose to attend Lincoln Tech did so because of the school’s in-person educational programs. An in-person learning environment is particularly important at Lincoln Tech given the labor-intensive programs offered by the school, the suit states, highlighting that the defendant’s marketing materials stress the hands-on nature of Lincoln Tech’s courses.

Lincoln Tech classes from March 16 through August 2020 were offered almost exclusively in a remote online format with no in-person instruction or interaction, the case says. After August, only a “small portion” of classes had any in-person instruction, according to the complaint.

The lawsuit claims the online-only education options afforded by Lincoln Tech as a result of the pandemic were different in “practically every aspect” compared to what students bargained for. During semesters affected by COVID-19, Lincoln Tech students were left to use previously recorded lectures that were posted online and had minimal, if any, hands-on instruction, training and interaction, the suit says.

“Certain online formats being used by Lincoln Tech do not require development of strong mechanical, physical, and memorization skills given the absence of the hand-on training and instruction,” the complaint reads.

Further, Lincoln Tech students were denied “nearly all access” to paid-for facilities, including workshops, garages, libraries, computer labs and specialized equipment and tools that are “integral” to the defendant’s educational services, the lawsuit relays. Despite the foregoing, Lincoln Tech has not refunded any portion of the tuition and mandatory fees it collected from proposed class members, the case claims, advocating that students are entitled to pro-rated refunds.

The suit looks to cover all individuals who paid, or will pay, tuition and/or mandatory fees for a student to attend in-person classes at any Lincoln Tech campus throughout the U.S. during any semester affected by COVID-19 but had their educational experiences and classes moved to online-only learning.

Lincoln Tech is among the latest educational institutions to be named in a proposed class action seeking tuition and/or fee refunds. To date, colleges and universities nationwide are among the most prominent organizations facing lawsuits in search of refunds linked to disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic. 

ClassAction.org’s coverage of COVID-19 litigation can be found here and over on our Newswire.

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