The Federal Trade Commission on Wednesday announced it has sued Grand Canyon University (GCU), becoming the second agency under the Biden administration to take action against the nation’s largest Christian school in recent months in what the university said was a coordinated multi-agency attack. against the institution.
The FTC said in a press release it filed suit in federal court against GCU, its marketer Grand Canyon Education, Inc. and its president and CEO Brian Mueller, alleging the defendants used misleading advertising and engaged in illegal telemarketing.
The complaint says the Arizona-based school misled prospective doctoral students about the amount of time needed to complete its accelerated program, deceptively marketed the school as a nonprofit, and illegally solicited prospective students who submitted their contact information on the school’s website but asked not to contacted.
“Grand Canyon defrauded students by representing itself as a nonprofit institution and misrepresenting the cost and number of courses required to earn a doctorate,” Samuel Levine, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, said in a statement. “We will continue to aggressively pursue those who want to take advantage of students.”
The complaint accuses GCU of violating the FTC Act and the Telemarketing Sales Regulation, and asks the US District Court in Arizona to compel GCU to compensate consumers for the alleged violations and enjoin the university “from further violations of the law.”
A museum at Grand Canyon University. AP
A GCU spokesperson did not immediately respond to FOX Business’ request for comment on the lawsuit, but Mueller told Fox News Digital in late October that he believed the university was being unfairly targeted by the Biden administration, saying several federal agencies were involved in a coordinated attack on the school.
Shortly thereafter, on October 31, the Department of Education (DOE) fined GCU $37.7 million, saying an investigation by the Federal Student Aid office found the university “lied” to more than 7,500 former and current students about its costs. doctoral program for several years.
The DOE said in a press release that GCU “falsely advertised” lower costs for its doctoral programs, adding that about 98% of students ended up paying more than the advertised cost.
Lina Khan is the chairman of the Federal Trade Commission. Getty Images
Mueller argued that the federal investigation is tied to the DOE denying GCU’s efforts to convert to a nonprofit institution in 2018. The department denied GCU nonprofit status for federal student financial aid purposes, which continues to classify the school as a for-profit entity.
In a press conference last month, Mueller vowed GCU would appeal the DOE fine — the largest the agency has ever issued — and said the school did not mislead or deceive students in any way.
FOX News Digital’s Joshua Nelson contributed to this report.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
