Many UW students asking for tuition break, claiming ‘consumer rights’

Plenty of students are now learning online at universities all over the country, but it’s pretty clear to most students that this is not the same as an in-person education. At the University of Washington, Alex Davidson and Timothy Billing have founded the COVID Advocacy Coalition, and they want a tuition break to compensate for this.

“We’re essentially asking for partial tuition reimbursement from our original tuition statements that we’re asked to pay for because we believe that the quality of education has gone down, not due to professors but due to the switch online and how quickly it was done. The platform of an online education is not the same thing,” Billing said.

How did learning change for him and what has he been doing for the spring semester?

“Sitting in my room like almost every single student, because it’s very difficult, the shelter in place … I had to do a midterm last week. I had a bunch of dogs barking, I had my parents knocking on my door, I had some siblings fighting, and it’s a difficult situation.”

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“I’ve kind of taken over my dad’s old office to kind of create a space for me to study. But it’s still not the same as having those places that you have set up at the university, and there are a lot more distractions,” Davidson added.

Determining how much to ask for in reimbursement was difficult because they know there are struggles during the coronavirus pandemic all around.

“We understand that there are significant financial strains on the university due to this situation. But we also understand it’s the same situation for students; there’s a been a constant, significant financial burden to go to the university and be in this situation,” Billing said.

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“You might not get the $1,200 stimulus check from the government, you might not have a job anymore, your parents might not have a job anymore. And to be left out on that is really difficult … we’re currently asking for a $600 tuition reimbursement for every student. And this would essentially give students enough money to help pay for the rent, buy groceries for a month.”

For Billing, this is an issue of consumer rights in which students initially paid for a level of quality and an experience they are no longer receiving.

“I like to look at this situation from a consumer rights standpoint. We have the consumer bill of rights where if you don’t receive what was advertised, you are entitled to compensation or whatnot,” he said. “The university advertised one type of education and ultimately we’re not receiving that anymore.”

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