PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — Dozens of universities have been named in a recent class action lawsuit that claims they engaged in financial aid price fixing, artificially raising the cost of going to college. The plaintiffs claimed the universities have taken “concerted action” to require noncustodial parents of applicants looking for financial aid to provide their financial information.  The lawsuit describes one of these situations through the lens of a student at Cornell: As part of this process, Plaintiff’s custodial parent and noncustodial parent were required to provide information to support her aid application. Plaintiff’s noncustodial parent is on disability and has a much higher income than her custodial parent. When the Plaintiff asked to remove the other parent since they couldn’t contribute, they were denied and told the other parent was still expected to help pay. The plaintiff is citing the Sherman Act, an antitrust law relating to monopolies and fair competition, in its request for relief, asking the courts for damages from the universities for those impacted and to change the financial aid process moving forward. The soonest update would likely come in a few months if the defendants move to dismiss, but litigation could still last for years. The lawsuit named 10 colleges from the New England area, as well as the College Board. These included Brown University, Dartmouth College, Brandeis University, Harvard, MIT, Northeastern University, Worcester Polytechnic, Yale, Boston College, and Boston University. College Board released the following statement on the lawsuit: We just received this legal action and are reviewing it, but we are confident that we will prevail in this action. Spokespeople from Worcester Polytechnic and Harvard said they do not comment on pending litigation. Categories: News, Regional News, US & World News