(WHTM) – Penn State University students who were enrolled in classes at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic are now receiving part of a $17 million class action settlement.

On March 16, 2020, the university moved to “remote instruction” due to the outbreak of COVID-19. Years later, a class action lawsuit was brought on behalf of those who paid tuition and/or fees for the Spring 2020 semester and registered for a class.

The lawsuit was brought forward with allegations of a breach of contract by the university for not providing the services promised with tuition and fees.

The university denied the claims asserted against it and agreed to the $17 million settlement for students who opted in to the lawsuit, known as “Ramey et al. v. The Pennsylvania State University.”

A court granted final approval of the settlement on February 18, 2025, and the deadline to file a claim has since passed.

According to the Penn State Tuition Refund Settlement website, payments to eligible class members were sent on June 5, 2025. The website says those who opted to receive payments should have received notification of their award via email and should expect a check in the mail.

Payments were automatically sent to the recipients’ “last known permanent postal address on file with Penn State,” according to the settlement website. The deadline to change that address or type of payment has also passed.

Of the $17 million in settlement funds, the final judgment awarded attorneys’ fees of $5,666,100, deducted litigation expenses worth $17,990.94, and made a $15,000 award for the individuals who initiated the lawsuit.

The remaining portion of the money (approximately $11,300,909) was designated as the “Net Settlement Fund.”

Students eligible for payments “who withdrew for medical reasons from Penn State after March 16, 2020, but before the conclusion of the Spring 2020 semester, and received a refund of tuition,” will receive $50 from the Net Settlement Fund.

The remaining funds were then “distributed equally to all other Settlement Class Members.”

Eligible students included those attending branch campuses at the time of the shutdown, according to the settlement.