A UT student sued UT-Austin, the UT System Board of Regents and Kevin Eltife, the UT Board of Regents chairman, on Friday, seeking prorated tuition for all UT students since the COVID-19 pandemic forced classes online in March 2020. 

The University has not lowered its tuition since classes went online because the quality of education should be the same, Hartzell said last summer. The lawsuit said the change to online learning was “drastic” and provides a “subpar learning experience.”

The lawsuit plaintiff is journalism junior Anissa Reyes, a former senior life & arts reporter who last worked for the Daily Texan in fall 2020. Because Reyes is suing UT through a class action lawsuit, the case is filed on behalf of all UT students who paid for a “first-rate education and educational experience.”

“Plaintiff and members of the Class did not choose to attend an online institution of higher learning, but instead chose to enroll in the University’s in-person educational program,” the lawsuit said. “The University has retained the value of the tuition, while failing to provide the services for which they were paid.”

University spokesperson J.B. Bird said UT has not been served the lawsuit as of Wednesday afternoon. Reyes’ lawyer, Anthony Bruster of Bruster PLLC, did not return a request for comment as of publication. Reyes declined to comment. 
 
UT students petitioned for lower tuition rates last fall, when classes were mostly online, but rates have not changed. 
 
Bird previously told the Texan in the fall that tuition — which accounts for 22% of the UT operating budget — was used to support faculty teaching online and hybrid classes. All classes, whether online or in-person, have always cost the same, he said.