Without admitting any wrongdoing, the University of Delaware will pay $6.3 million to settle a class action suit brought by students over the school’s shutdown during the first year of the coronavirus pandemic, ABC News reports. The lawsuit contended the university improperly enriched itself by retaining tuition payments from students even though it shut down in-person classes in the Spring of 2020; the university countered that it provided consistent education through virtual classes and remote learning while the campus was closed.
Lawyers for the plaintiffs will take home $2.1 million; the five lead plaintiffs will receive $5,000 each. The remainder of the money will be split among 21,000 students who enrolled in classes during the shutdown who did not opt out of the class action, so if you were a Blue Hen in 2020, keep your eye out for a check from the settlement fund, even if you didn’t sign on to the suit.