University Sues Overachieving Student for Lost Income

Marcel Pohl was a student at the School of Economics and Management in Essen, Germany. But not for long -he passed 60 examinations and graduated in three semesters, when the normal course is 11 semesters. You'd think the school would be proud, but they are suing Pohl for €3,000, which is the tuition payments we would have made if he stayed as long as other students!

"When I got the lawsuit, I thought it couldn't be true," Pohl, who now works for a bank in Frankfurt, told the Bild newspaper. "Performance is supposed to be worth something."

Pohl completed his turbo degree by dividing up all the simultaneous lectures with two friends and then swapping notes. At the same time, he completed an apprenticeship in a bank.

"We didn't get any freebies, and we agreed our plans in advance with the school," Pohl said.

"We're always against slow students," said his lawyer Bernhard Kraas. "But when someone hurries and finishes early, suddenly he has to pay. That can't be right."


The school says they are entitled to the full payment, which is for the degree, not the time spent achieving it. Link -via reddit

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I'm not to sure i would want to attend this school. 1) because the penalize overachievers 2) Its an economics school that trying to get 3k from a student while using lawyers who will likely cost more...
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The College I work at, you pay a base amount to take 12-18 credits. Take less, pay less. Take more, pay more. Perhaps this University should consider a plan like that and not punish someone for using the system they designed. If there is no cap on how many credits one can take based on the price of tuition, they have no case.
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well i wont suppord fast learners, they only made it because the somehow split up the work.

*altough it would make sense if they hired them to refine the lessons :)
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If they think that the degree should be worth one flat amount then they should charge one flat amount. If there are students who are taking longer than 11 semesters I bet the school does not let them go for free since they have met the normal amount. They keep charging them.
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