The Department of Education has revoked a record $37.7 million fine against Grand Canyon University, rejecting a Biden administration claim that the Christian institution lied to doctoral students about costs.
“Unlike the previous administration, we will not persecute and prosecute colleges and universities based on their religious affiliation,” Ellen Keast, a department spokeswoman, told The Washington Times.
“The Trump administration will continue to ensure every institution of higher education is held accountable based on facts — but department enforcement will be for the purpose of serving students, not political bias,” Ms. Keast added.
The Biden Education Department accused the school in November 2023 of conducting itself as a predatory for-profit institution and ordered it to pay the largest fine ever directed at a university.
The department at the time noted that tuition ran $10,000 to $12,000 higher than the advertised $40,000 to $49,000 for 78% of doctoral graduates who were required to take “continuation courses” — a common requirement for students writing dissertations after finishing their coursework.
Building on the fine, the Federal Trade Commission sued GCU in December 2023. That complaint accused the school of using misleading advertising and telemarketing to falsely present itself as nonprofit and suggest programs cost less than they did.
At the end of December 2023, GCU received word that the Department of Veterans Affairs had launched a separate financial audit.
University officials insisted the Biden administration investigations were retaliation for filing an unsuccessful 2021 lawsuit against the Education Department’s rejection of their state-recognized switch to nonprofit status.
They pointed to online materials warning GCU applicants that tuition could run higher than advertised, depending on how long they took to complete their treatises.
University President Brian Mueller welcomed the Education Department’s dismissal of the fine in a statement late Friday.
“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,” Mr. Mueller said. “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.”
His office called the Biden administration’s claims “gross mischaracterizations based on isolated, out-of-context statements from certain enrollment documents.”
Multiple federal courts and regulatory agencies sided with GCU before and after Mr. Trump returned to office in January.
The VA’s Arizona State Approving Agency issued a March 2024 report that found “no substantiated findings” of wrongdoing in a review of GCU records, ending the Veterans Affairs investigation.
In November 2024, a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled unanimously that the Education Department improperly rejected Grand Canyon University’s switch from private to nonprofit status.
The panel, which consisted of two Trump appointees and one Biden appointee, overturned a 2022 summary judgment by a lower court because the department failed to apply a relevant federal law.
In March 2025, the U.S. District Court of Arizona dismissed the FTC lawsuit, noting that GCU is not a corporation “operating for its own profit or that of its members” and accusing the federal agency of overreaching for broad authority over nonprofits.
Founded in 1949, Grand Canyon became a for-profit campus in 2004 as it struggled to pay its bills. Enrollment and revenues jumped after the change, leading the school in 2019 to revert to nonprofit status.
The school graduated a record-high 31,104 students last month, including 25,435 online students and 5,669 who took classes on campus.
Grand Canyon officials noted late Friday that the Education Department’s Office of Hearings and Appeals’ dismissal of the fine explicitly rejected the Biden administration’s claim that they “substantially misrepresented” the cost of its doctoral programs.
“There are no findings against GCU, or any of its employees, officers, agents, or contractors, and no fine is imposed,” the Education Department’s dismissal order states.
