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Largest Christian university in US faces record fine after federal probe into alleged deception
ap ^ | October 31, 2023 | COLLIN BINKLEY

Posted on 11/02/2023 9:30:15 AM PDT by Morgana

WASHINGTON (AP) — The country’s largest Christian university is being fined $37.7 million by the federal government amid accusations that it misled students about the cost of its graduate programs.

Grand Canyon University, which has more than 100,000 students, mostly in online programs, faces the largest fine of its kind ever issued by the U.S. Education Department. The university dismissed the allegations as “lies and deceptive statements.”

“Grand Canyon University categorically denies every accusation in the Department of Education’s statement and will take all measures necessary to defend itself from these false accusations,” the school said in a five-page statement.

An Education Department investigation found that Grand Canyon lied to more than 7,500 current and former students about the cost of its doctoral programs.

As far back as 2017, the university told students its doctoral programs would cost between $40,000 and $49,000. The department found that less than 2% of graduates completed programs within the range, with 78% paying an additional $10,000 to $12,000.

The additional cost often came from “continuation courses” that were needed to finish dissertation requirements, the department said.

“GCU’s lies harmed students, broke their trust and led to unexpectedly high levels of student debt,” said Richard Cordray, chief operating officer for Federal Student Aid, an office in the Education Department. “Today, we are holding GCU accountable for its actions, protecting students and taxpayers, and upholding the integrity of the federal student aid programs.”

The Biden administration is issuing the fine amid a broader push for accountability among U.S. universities. The Education Department recently finalized a new regulation that could cut federal funding to for-profit college programs that leave graduated unable to repay loans, and the agency plans to give students and families more information about outcomes from all colleges.

(Excerpt) Read more at apnews.com ...


TOPICS: Current Events; General Discusssion
KEYWORDS: education

1 posted on 11/02/2023 9:30:15 AM PDT by Morgana
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To: Morgana

I actually have no way to know nothing regarding the truth (or untruth) of this claim by FedZilla.

But the opening sentence. Tells me pretty much what I need to know.....

“The country’s largest Christian university is being fined $37.7 million...”

Them dang Christians again.


2 posted on 11/02/2023 9:32:30 AM PDT by Responsibility2nd (A truth that’s told with bad intent, Beats all the lies you can invent ~ Wm. Blake)
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To: Morgana

And yet the secular elite indoctrination centers absolutely lie or do not even bother to tell you the cost will be 100’s of thousands of dollars which you will never be able to procure a job that can pay back the debt.

Funny I don’t see any of them being fined.


3 posted on 11/02/2023 9:34:11 AM PDT by Skwor
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To: Morgana

Are the ‘lopes still run by a for-profit corporation?


4 posted on 11/02/2023 9:37:30 AM PDT by bobcat62
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To: Morgana

This is when the New Speaker puts forth legislation defunding and eliminating the Dept of Education.


5 posted on 11/02/2023 9:40:12 AM PDT by eyeamok
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To: Responsibility2nd
Them dang Christians again.

That's because Christian institutions believe in tithing for The Lord and not tithing for The Big Guy.

6 posted on 11/02/2023 9:41:47 AM PDT by COBOL2Java ("Life without liberty is like a body without spirit." - Kahlil Gibran)
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To: Morgana

I bet we never see headlines from the MSM that start with “Largest Liberal University”.


7 posted on 11/02/2023 9:55:59 AM PDT by Revel
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To: Revel

You will never see them even fined. Instead the government will give them more money for destroying the economic futures of the naïve youth.


8 posted on 11/02/2023 9:58:21 AM PDT by Skwor
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To: Morgana

huh. the DOJ targeting a Christian university.

Of course Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Brown, Princeton, Rutgers, never ever ever ever deceived anyone.


9 posted on 11/02/2023 10:13:47 AM PDT by Recovering_Democrat
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To: Recovering_Democrat
I wonder what the comparable stats would be for any random leftist university? Would be enlightening if they investigated and published the numbers.

The lawsuit sounds like a stretch because it says 78% overran the figure given by 10-12K, or around 20%. That's not a huge deal in the scheme of things. (And is there even a law defining how close to the mark you have to be? If not are they being equally diligent going after every other school?) I figure tuition for a grad program at a leftist government university is probably quite a bit higher, so it wouldn't surprise me in the least if the comparable numbers are actually much worse elsewhere. My father was a prof at a State university, and from his stories I wouldn't be surprised if this lawsuit was sheer hypocrisy.

10 posted on 11/02/2023 11:37:50 AM PDT by EnderWiggin1970
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To: bobcat62

Apparently yes. As per Wiki

Attempts to return to non-profit status
In fall 2014, the college announced the exploration of a return to non-profit status. Grand Canyon’s regional accreditation body, the Higher Learning Commission (HLC), rejected the university’s petition for conversion to non-profit status in 2016, stating that the school’s proposed strategy, particularly its plan to outsource some of its activities (such as curriculum development and student support services) to outside vendors, did not meet the criteria for “such a conversion”. In 2018, the university submitted another application to HLC to change to non-profit status. This second application was accepted on July 1, 2018. Although some organizations have approved this transition, the U.S. Department of Education still classifies the university as a for-profit university. The government specifically stated that GCU is a captive client to Grand Canyon Education and the college is operating for the benefit of shareholders of a for-profit company. Grand Canyon Education has also been accused of engaging in securities-law fraud with its relation to GCU.

Grand Canyon University was alleged to switch from for-profit status to non-profit status due to its yearly $9.2 million property tax bill. Numerous school officials said this was unsustainable and was one of the key reasons a required switch from for-profit to non-profit status was made, to reduce that burden. Some critics of for-profit education criticized the relationship between GCU and Grand Canyon Education, Inc. as being too intertwined.


11 posted on 11/02/2023 11:51:06 AM PDT by Steven Scharf
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To: Morgana

Servants of Satan versus Christian school?


12 posted on 11/02/2023 3:11:20 PM PDT by JimRed
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