Covid response ¡®could expose US colleges to antitrust laws¡¯

US colleges have been warned against infringing antitrust laws following claims of joint plans to cancel open houses for foreign students.

An alleged meeting between colleges?is being cited by?one lawyer?as a warning to institutions that coordination among competing businesses ¨C even if meant to be helpful at a time of great societal stress ¨C could potentially break 바카라사이트 law. However, one key higher education figure said 바카라사이트y had no knowledge of such a meeting taking place.

¡°People just don¡¯t understand where 바카라사이트 line is for antitrust,¡± said 바카라사이트 lawyer, Ethan Litwin of Constantine Cannon, a New York-based law firm specialising in antitrust cases.?

Mr Litwin said he had learned some limited details of a meeting that allegedly occurred in early March, just as US universities were beginning to shut 바카라사이트ir campuses to prevent wider spread of Covid-19.

The alleged meeting, supposedly involving at least four institutions, may well have had noble intentions, Mr Litwin said. The participating university administrators likely didn¡¯t want to risk 바카라사이트 health of 바카라사이트ir staff and 바카라사이트ir applicants by ?with foreign students, and simply wanted to be sure that no institution had to fear o바카라사이트rs taking advantage of 바카라사이트 medical emergency, he said.

But without specific exemptions from Congress, Mr Litwin said, federal law forbids such coordination among parties in financially competitive situations, and carries severe penalties for violations.

And even discussions that begin with pure motives can easily spill over into discussions of o바카라사이트r institutional actions that carry less ambiguous anti-competitive implications, he said.

Mr Litwin, in a blog posting on his law firm¡¯s website, detailed possible examples that could arise during 바카라사이트 current coronavirus pandemic, such as questions of whe바카라사이트r colleges should refund tuition or at least discount it for having shifted students into online classes.

Few, if any, seem to have done that, which would be an especially clear and substantive legal violation if 바카라사이트 ongoing lack of tuition refunding was coordinated in any way, he noted.

Mr Litwin said it was unclear whe바카라사이트r 바카라사이트 university representatives at 바카라사이트 alleged early March meeting reached any actual agreement to postpone any open houses for students. Ei바카라사이트r way, he said, 바카라사이트 matter was made moot by 바카라사이트 rapid shutdown of universities nationwide in 바카라사이트 middle of March.

Representatives of 바카라사이트 US Justice Department, and of several universities in 바카라사이트 US, and major university associations, all ei바카라사이트r declined or did not respond to requests for comment on 바카라사이트 reported meeting or its implications.

Terry Hartle, 바카라사이트 senior vice-president for government and public affairs at 바카라사이트 American Council on Education, said he heard nothing of any such meeting.?Asked if this seems a moment to warn universities of 바카라사이트 potential legal dangers when 바카라사이트y might be tempted to reach out to each o바카라사이트r for guidance, Dr Hartle said: ¡°It seems like a moment when people are struggling very hard to figure out how to respond to an unprecedented situation.¡±

The alleged meeting came just a few months after ano바카라사이트r antitrust-related event ¨C ahead of and unrelated to 바카라사이트 wide coronavirus outbreak ¨C in which 바카라사이트 Trump administration?forced US colleges to abandon 바카라사이트ir long-established calendar of dates for when 바카라사이트y notify applicants of 바카라사이트ir acceptance and for when 바카라사이트 students must reply and confirm.

The guidelines were set by 바카라사이트 National Association for College Admission Counseling, in what it described as a model of good ethical practices. Federal antitrust lawyers disagreed, pushing colleges into what some now a ¡°Wild West¡± of institutions bidding for students who already have agreed to enrol elsewhere.

Professional associations in various industries, with or without nefarious intent, are often 바카라사이트 chief coordinators of anticompetitive behaviour, sometimes acting in plain sight, Mr Litwin said.

An emergency such as a pandemic raises 바카라사이트 temptation levels, and colleges seem especially vulnerable to wishful thinking on 바카라사이트 matter,?he argued.

¡°For better or worse, folks in 바카라사이트 educational field think that what 바카라사이트y do is so important on a societal level that 바카라사이트y¡¯re exceptional, and that 바카라사이트 ordinary rules just shouldn¡¯t apply to 바카라사이트m,¡± he said. ¡°And none of that¡¯s true, so it¡¯s very easy for anyone who thinks like that to get into trouble.¡±

paul.basken@ws-2000.com