Dept. of Education rescinds $37.7 million fine against Grand Canyon University

PHOENIX — >>Editor’s note: The video above is from a newscast in October 2023

More than a year and a half after being fined $37.7 million by the U.S. Department of Education for allegedly deceiving thousands of students over the costs of doctoral programs, Grand Canyon University has had the fine rescinded and has been cleared of any and all wrongdoing, the University announced Friday. 

In 2023, GCU was accused of lying to more than 7,500 current and former students over “several years” about how much they would pay to get a doctoral degree.  

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“GCU falsely advertised a lower cost than what 98% of students ended up paying to complete certain doctoral programs,” the DOE said in a press release at the time. 

However, a joint stipulation order that was issued by the DOE’s Office of Hearings and Appeals said that the case has been dismissed, according to a press release from GCU. 

“ED confirmed it has not established that GCU violated any Title IV requirements, including the claim that GCU ‘substantially misrepresented’ the cost of its doctoral programs that was alleged by ED officials under the Biden Administration,” the press release from GCU reads. “The Dismissal stated unequivocally that ‘there are no findings against GCU, or any of its employees, officers, agents, or contractors, and no fine is imposed.'”  

GCU President Brian Mueller, who had said in 2023 that GCU would not pay the fine and would “fight this all the way,” said in a statement that the case being dismissed was unsurprising. 

“The facts clearly support our contention that we were wrongly accused of misleading our Doctoral students and we appreciate the recognition that those accusations were without merit,” Mueller’s statement reads. “GCU is a leader in innovation, transparency and best practices in higher education and we look forward to working cooperatively with the Department in the future – just as we have with all regulatory agencies.”  

The $37.7 million fine was the largest ever levied against a university, according to GCU. The University originally appealed the fine, saying, “the unsubstantiated accusations were gross mischaracterizations based on isolated, out-of-context statements from certain enrollment documents and that, in fact, GCU students receive robust information about the time, cost and credits needed to complete a doctoral degree throughout their enrollment and onboarding process.”  

GCU said this dismissal follows similar actions from two federal courts, the Higher Learning Commission and the Arizona State Approving Agency of the Department of Veterans Affairs.  

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