Grand Canyon University, the largest Christian university in the country, is pushing back against the Biden administration’s threat to shut it down over allegations it lied to students about tuition costs.
A Grand Canyon University (GCU) spokesperson told Fox News Digital on Thursday that the Biden administration’s investigation results from a “deeply held bias.”
The Department of Education determined in October that GCU “lied” to more than 7,500 students about the cost of its doctorate programs. This resulted in a $37.7 million fine against the university — the largest fine ever imposed against a school, according to Department of Education Secretary Miguel Cardona, per Fox.
The ongoing dispute was a topic of debate during a House Appropriations Committee hearing last week.
In response to Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) asking Cardona what was being done to deal with GCU, which she described as “a predatory for-profit school,” Cardona said, “Going after predatory schools preying on first-generation students. They have flashy marketing materials, but the product is not worth the paper it is printed on,” according to Fox.
“Increased enforcement budget to go after these folks and crack down,” he continued. “Levied largest fine in history against a school that lied about costs and terminated a school from Title IV. We are cracking down not only to shut them down but to send a message not to prey on students.”
The GCU spokesperson told Fox in response to the comments that “officials continue to make derogatory and inflammatory public statements that are legally and factually incorrect and not shared by any of the other 26 regulatory and accrediting bodies that oversee GCU.”
“Our next recourse after that decision would be another appeal within the Department, this time directly to the Secretary of Education,” the spokesperson said.
“The Secretary’s comments to the House Appropriations Committee were so reckless that GCU is demanding an immediate retraction, as they do not reflect the factual record in this case,” the spokesperson continued, according to Fox. “He is either confused, misinformed, or does not understand the actions taken by his own agency.”
The $37.7 million fine against GCU is significantly higher than those given to Penn State and Michigan State for failing to prevent abuses committed by coaches Jerry Sandusky and Larry Nassar, Fox reported.
