DePaul sued again for partial refund of tuition, fees
DePaul University Lincoln Park campus.
A DePaul student is suing the university for a partial refund on tuition and fees — again.
The suit was filed by Alhix Oyoque, a health science major and 2020 graduate of DePaul.
The lawsuit was filed June 12 on behalf of all people who paid tuition and fees for the Winter and Spring quarters or the School of Law’s academic semester. Oyoque claims students “lost the benefit of the education for which they paid,” the lawsuit reads.
Oyoque is seeking a “pro-rated portion of tuition and fees, proportionate to the amount of time that remained in the Spring 2020 Term when classes moved online and campus services ceased being provided.”
DePaul’s Board of Trustees is also named in the lawsuit.
In-person classes are “critical” to Oyoque’s field of study, the suit reads. Oyoque paid roughly $3,800 in tuition Spring Quarter and claims she was not refunded any tuition, despite the fact that DePaul has had no in-person classes since March 11, according to the suit.
DePaul President A. Gabriel Esteban announced March 11 that the university would not be conducting in-person classes for the Spring 2020 Quarter and all classes would be taught online.
“The online learning options being offered to DePaul students are subpar in practically every aspect, from the lack of facilities, materials and access to faculty,” the suit reads. “Students have been deprived of the opportunity for collaborative learning and in-person dialogue, feedback and critique. The remote learning options are in no way the equivalent of the in-person education that Plaintiff and the putative class members contracted and paid for.”
In the suit, Oyoque points to statements by both Interim Provost Salma Ghanem and Esteban regarding the university’s closure as acknowledgment of the difference in quality.
Oyoque is claiming relief for breach of contract, unjust enrichment and conversion.
This is not the first lawsuit to be filed against DePaul requesting a partial tuition refund.
On May 12, two DePaul students filed another lawsuit claiming relief for breach of contract, restitution based on quasi-contract and conversion, The DePaulia reported.
University spokesperson Carol Hughes and Oyoque’s lawyer did not respond to a request for comment.
The suit was filed with the Northern District Court of Illinois. Oyoque is demanding a trial by jury.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Christopher Connelly • Dec 20, 2020 at 5:08 am
I am a depaul student effected by this online school I can’t use the facility so I shouldn’t have to pay for them
Scott Davis • Jun 13, 2020 at 12:29 pm
The wheels continue falling off the bus that is DePaul. Painful to witness. Incompetents in charge. Marginal scholars suing over hurt feelings. Transgender Snow White children on whom somebody, hopefully not me as a taxpayer, is wasting a whole Lotta money on tuition for the next generation of disenfranchised coddled and completely out of touch crybabies. Too bad John Richardson or Cortelyou elude resurrection. My only question as an alumni from many years ago with a bad case of buyer’s remorse, Is why in gods name would anybody with a brain in role in this place?