A new proposed class action lawsuit filed Monday claims the University and 39 other elite colleges participated in a price-fixing scheme that increased the cost of attendance for students with separated or divorced parents.
The lawsuit takes aim at the CSS Profile, a financial aid form created by the College Board and used by the University and other institutions to help determine the financial aid awarded to students. College Board is also named as a defendant in the suit alongside each university of the Ivy League, with the exception of Princeton.
The complaint, filed in an Illinois federal court, claims that these universities conspired with College Board to create a standardized policy for student aid that considered the assets of both parents, even if only one parent financially supports a student. As a result, those students may face a higher cost of attendance that does not accurately reflect their financial situation.
The complaint claims that the average price of attendance for the schools named in the suit is $6,200 more than comparable elite colleges who do not use this methodology.
The lawsuit alleges that the College Board made a concerted push in 2006 to require consideration of noncustodial parental assets in all financial aid determinations. They also claim that employees from the colleges named in the suit “led and organized” the adoption of the policy.
This collaboration also decreased competition among schools who may have otherwise “competed in offering financial aid in order to enroll their top candidates,” the complaint states.
The lawsuit was filed as a class-action on behalf of two students impacted by the alleged price-fixing. It claims that 20,000 individuals were affected by the policy and could qualify for relief if the plaintiffs succeed.
A College Board spokesperson told The Herald that the organization has received the legal action “and are reviewing it, but we are confident that we will prevail in this action.”
Brown has yet to be officially served with the lawsuit, but, according to University Spokesperson Brian Clark, the claim “has no merit” and the University is “prepared to mount a strong effort to make this clear,” he wrote in an email to The Herald.
“Brown makes all financial aid decisions, including those involving noncustodial parents, independently and in alignment with our own methodologies for determining financial need,” he wrote.
The University requires students applying for financial aid to submit “noncustodial income information detailing the parent's ability, not willingness, to contribute.” According to the Office of Financial Aid, a waiver to opt out of providing noncustodial parental information can be offered to students “in very limited circumstances. Examples include, but are not limited to, abuse, neglect, addiction, and/or other related concerns.”
Brown requires all first-year students seeking financial aid to submit the CSS Profile while non-first-years only have to submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, which helps determine eligibility for federal financial aid.
In January, Brown settled a lawsuit for $19.5 million following allegations that the University colluded with a consortium of colleges with need-blind admission policies. The suit alleged that colleges set financial aid calculation methodologies that “artificially inflated net prices of attendance” in violation of federal laws governing need-blind admission practices. Brown maintains that the case had no merit.
Owen Dahlkamp is a Section Editor overseeing coverage for University News and Science & Research. Hailing from San Diego, CA, he is concentrating in political science and cognitive neuroscience with an interest in data analytics. In his free time, you can find him making spreadsheets at Dave’s Coffee.
