Dartmouth, Rice, Northwestern, Vanderbilt settle financial aid lawsuits

All schools involved in the incident denied the allegations, but many schools chose to resolve the allegations in order to shelve the lawsuit. Ten universities, including Columbia University and Yale University, have now settled for a total of $284 million. Proceeds will be used to provide cash grants to all classes of affected undergraduate students, not just those who attended schools that were settled.

“These new settlements result in significantly increased compensation for class members,” said Friedman Norman, who represents the former students with Berger Montague and Gilbert Litigators & Counselors.・Ted Normand, partner at Friedland, said:

Dartmouth and Rice each agreed to pay $33.8 million, with Vanderbilt paying $55 million and Northwestern $43.5 million to settle the charges. Mr. Rice, like Mr. Vanderbilt, disclosed the agreement in his financial records.

More elite universities settle lawsuits over alleged ‘price-fixing’ aid policies

Four settlements are awaiting judge approval.

Dartmouth and Rice did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Vanderbilt and Northwestern maintain they did nothing wrong and call the allegations baseless.

“The university is resolving this lawsuit without admitting liability so that we can put this matter behind us and focus on Northwestern’s global reputation, excellent teaching, innovative research, and the personal and intellectual growth of our students.” We agreed to do it,” said John Yates. A spokesperson for Northwestern Airlines said in a statement.

Northwestern University said more than 60% of its undergraduate students receive financial aid, which amounted to about $290 million last academic year. Meanwhile, Vanderbilt University announced it spent $244 million on financial aid to undergraduate students last year. The school pays full undergraduate tuition for nearly all families with incomes under $150,000.

“While we believe the plaintiffs’ claims are without merit, we maintain our commitment to the privacy of students and families and encourage talented scholars from all social, cultural, and economic backgrounds to continue working as a top talent pool.” We reached the settlement so that we can continue to focus on providing “the best undergraduate education in the world,” Vanderbilt University spokeswoman Julia Jordan said.

The lawsuit originally named Yale University, Columbia University, Duke University, Brown University, Emory University, Georgetown University, California Institute of Technology, Northwestern University, Cornell University, Dartmouth College, University of Pennsylvania, Vanderbilt University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Note Ludham University, Rice University, and the University of Chicago. Johns Hopkins University was later added.

The schools named in the lawsuit worked together in the 568 Presidents Group, a collection of carefully selected educational institutions that collaborate on the aid formula. The group, formed in the late 1990s, disbanded after the lawsuit was filed.

The class action lawsuit relates to a 1994 federal antitrust exemption that allows universities to cooperate on financial aid guidelines. The exemption only applied if the school practiced “blind admissions,” accepting students regardless of their financial status.

Lawyers for former students The university said it maintained an admissions policy that considered students’ ability to pay when granting admission to specific programs. They claim the action violates an antitrust exemption that expires in fall 2022.

The lawsuit also alleges that the group’s methodology placed too much weight on an applicant’s ability to pay when calculating the net price (the amount a student pays after taking into account grants, scholarships and tax credits). . Schools that adopted this approach artificially inflated the net cost of attendance for financial aid recipients for years, according to the complaint.

Seven defendants remain, including Georgetown University and Johns Hopkins University.

Plaintiffs’ attorney Robert D. Gilbert said the 10 settlements “put a spotlight on the remaining seven elite universities that are still not doing the right thing, and that they continue to do so for graduates and students from working-class and middle-class backgrounds.” This is to correct excessive charges.”