Federal Trade Commission sues Grand Canyon University for deceptive advertising and illegal telemarketing
By Breck Dumas, Fox Business
Published Dec. 27, 2023, 9:13 p.m. ET
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has filed a lawsuit against Grand Canyon University (GCU) for allegedly engaging in deceptive advertising and illegal telemarketing practices. This marks the second time in recent months that the largest Christian school in the nation has faced legal action from a federal agency.
According to the FTC, the Arizona-based school misled prospective doctoral students about the time required to complete its accelerated program and deceptively marketed itself as a nonprofit institution. The complaint also alleges that GCU illegally contacted prospective students who had requested not to be contacted.
Samuel Levine, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, stated, “Grand Canyon deceived students by holding itself out as a non-profit institution and misrepresenting the costs and number of courses required to earn doctoral degrees. We will continue to aggressively pursue those who seek to take advantage of students.”
The FTC is seeking compensation for consumers affected by the alleged violations and is requesting the U.S. District Court in Arizona to prohibit the university from further violations of the law.
In response to the lawsuit, GCU’s president and CEO, Brian Mueller, has accused the Biden administration of unfairly targeting the school. Mueller believes that the federal investigations are linked to the Department of Education’s (DOE) decision to deny GCU’s effort to convert into a nonprofit institution in 2018. The DOE had fined GCU $37.7 million in October, alleging that the university had “lied” to over 7,500 former and current students about the cost of its doctoral programs over several years.
Despite the legal challenges, Mueller has vowed that GCU will appeal the DOE’s fine, stating that the school does not mislead or deceive students in any way.
The spokesperson for GCU did not immediately respond to FOX Business’ request for comment on the lawsuit.
[FOX News Digital’s Joshua Nelson contributed to this report.]