Grand Canyon University (GCU), the largest Christian university in the United States, finds itself in the spotlight as it accuses multiple federal agencies, including the Department of Education (ED), of unfairly targeting the school.
In a recent interview with Fox News Digital, GCU President Brian Mueller questioned whether the ongoing investigations into the university are religiously motivated.
Although he didn’t say for sure, he did point out that “the two largest Christian universities in the country are being investigated.”
Central to the ongoing tussle is GCU’s failed attempt to gain nonprofit status from the ED back in 2018.
Mueller argued that such a status would open doors for the university, such as accessing research grants and federal dollars, especially aimed at schools with large Hispanic populations.
Currently, these funds are off-limits to GCU because it’s classified as a for-profit institution.
For context, GCU started as a nonprofit in 1949 but shifted to a for-profit model in 2004 to avoid closure.
It switched back to being a nonprofit under Arizona state law in 2018, but the ED has not acknowledged this change at the federal level.
This led GCU to sue the ED in 2021, labeling its decision as “arbitrary and capricious.”
The Department of Education countered by saying that most of GCU’s income was going to a for-profit entity, which disqualifies it from being considered a nonprofit.
The department said it had won twice in court over this issue, although GCU has appealed those decisions.
In one case, a judge even sided with the ED, saying it had the legal authority to decide on such matters.
On October 5, GCU released a statement saying that the ED, along with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), appears to be retaliating against the university for its lawsuit.
The statement claims that these agencies are “coordinating efforts to unjustly target GCU.”
In addition to this, GCU is under investigation for supposedly “deceptive” advertising about the demand for cybersecurity experts.
Mueller defended the advertising, saying, “We said that because that’s a fact.”
The VA is also involved in reviewing the school. Mueller said that the Arizona State Approving Agency, which normally oversees the school, was unfairly influenced by the VA.
The VA clarified that a new law signed by former President Trump required a different kind of review for schools like GCU.
The FTC is investigating Grand Canyon Education (GCE), a separate entity that provides services to GCU.
The FTC wants to know if GCU has been making unsolicited phone calls to prospective students, an allegation the university denies.
All of this comes after the Biden administration announced in October 2021 that it plans to crack down on for-profit colleges misusing federal student aid because many students from such colleges default on their loans.
Mueller finds this puzzling, saying GCU’s student loan default rates are actually “very low.”
In fact, according to GCU’s own data, their student loan default rate was just 5.6%, which is nearly half the national average.
Lastly, the Department of Education is also investigating GCU’s doctoral program for allegedly not being upfront about the program’s costs.
The department said that most students end up paying more than what was initially advertised, an accusation that GCU has not contested.
As GCU prepares for another legal battle to be heard on December 5, this case puts the spotlight on the complex relationship between religious educational institutions and federal oversight.
The outcome of this clash could have far-reaching implications, impacting not just GCU but potentially the entire landscape of higher education in America.
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