Phoenix-based Grand Canyon University (GCU), the largest Christian university in the U.S., announced plans to appeal a $37.7 million fine imposed by the Department of Education (DOE), on allegations the Arizona higher learning institution misled students about the cost of its doctoral programs over several years.
The DOE said in a press release earlier this month that an investigation conducted by the office of Federal Student Aid (FSA) found GCU "lied" to over 7,500 former and current students about the cost of its doctoral programs.
The release also said GCU "falsely advertises" a lower cost for its doctoral programs, adding that about 98% of students ended up paying more than the advertised cost.
The university was given a 20-day deadline to request a hearing with the DOE’s Office of Hearings and Appeals or file a response to the FSA to explain why the fine should not be imposed, while also imposing specific conditions on the school to continue participating in the federal student aid programs.
GCU told the DOE the doctoral programs cost between $40,000 and $49,000.
On Thursday, GCU President Brian Mueller held a news conference to announce the school's plans to appeal the fine and to stand up to the federal government’s broader efforts to target the university.
"I have spoken to thousands of students, parents, employees, alumni and community stakeholders in Arizona, and they all tell me the same thing: We need to fight this tyranny from federal government agencies not only to stand up for ourselves, but to ensure this type of ideological government overreach and weaponization of federal agencies does not happen to others," Mueller said. "American people are losing confidence in the federal government to be fair and objective in their operations and there are clearly no checks and balances to prevent this type of behavior from the Department of Education, which is out of control and continues to broaden its authority and selective enforcement powers."
LARGEST CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY IN THE NATION ALLEGES IT'S BEING UNJUSTLY TARGETED BY FEDERAL AGENCIES
He said the school does not mislead or deceive students in any way, rather it does the opposite and "goes above and beyond what is legally required" to provide transparency, which is something he expressed the education system lacks.
In a press release, the school said the DOE’s accusations are not validated by the federal court system — which the university claims has already ruled in its favor in a similar matter in the case of Young v. GCU — or regulatory agencies like the Higher Learning Commission (HLC), which serves as GCU’s accrediting body.
In Young v. GCU, the release noted, the courts rejected the claim that GCU’s disclosures misrepresented the time or cost to complete a doctoral program.
Mueller said the school is not being misleading, but instead is taking a leadership role in providing more transparency than observed previously in higher education.
When the DOE showed it was opposed to GCU’s nonprofit model four years ago, Mueller added, the school administrators hoped over time it would lessen because of metrics showing the model produced low tuition rates for the past 15 years, low student loan default rates, low student debt levels, diverse student bodies, and more.
"Unfortunately, the Department only seems further entrenched in its opposition given the targeted inquiries and coordinated efforts with other federal agencies to harm GCU," the president of the university said.
"For the Department to look at GCU’s numerous disclosures…and determine that it merits any fine at all, let alone the highest fine it has ever levied, speaks volumes about their motivations and the coordinated efforts being taken against GCU," Mueller said. "Further, for the Department to state that we intentionally lied is absurd. We are providing more cost information than the Department requires, which we do because we want to be fully transparent and because it benefits students.
"If our goal was to generate more revenue, rather than allegedly deceive students, we could simply increase tuition 3-4% a year for a few years — as most universities have done — and no one would bat an eye," he added. "We haven’t done that. In fact, we have frozen tuition on our ground campus for 15 straight years because our innovative approach to managing this university, which the Department objects to, has allowed us to do that for the benefit of our students."
Fox News Digital's Joshua Q. Nelson contributed to this report.
