Democrat President Joe Biden’s administration has vowed to shut down America’s largest Christian college, Grand Canyon University (GCU).
The move was announced by Biden’s Department of Education (DOE) Secretary Miguel Cardona.
GCU officials have fired back over the news, warning that the crackdown stems from “deeply held bias” against Christians.
Cardona made comments during a House Appropriations Committee hearing.
The DOE boasted that his department is cracking down on GCU and other universities like it.
Democrat Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CN) asked Cardona how the Biden admin is working to shut down GCU.
DeLauro described GCU as “a predatory for-profit school.”
Cardona openly embraced their enforcement methods in his response.
“We are cracking down not only to shut them down but to send a message to not prey on students,” he declared.
DeLauro said to Cardona:
“Last year, your Department took action against Grand Canyon University, a predatory for-profit college, over the school’s failure to accurately disclose its cost to students, driving up the true cost for those students requiring for them to pay for continuation courses before they would graduate – scam courses added about $10,000 or more to the cost of education to these kids.”
“Going after predatory schools preying on first-generation students,” Cardona replied.
“They have flashy marketing materials, but the product is not worth the paper it is printed on.
“[We’ve] increased enforcement budget to go after these folks and crackdown and levied the largest fine in history against a school that lied about costs and terminated a school from Title IV.
“We are cracking down – not only to shut them down but – to send a message not to prey on students,” Cardona responded.
GCU appealed a $37.7 million fine imposed by the department in November.
The fine was over allegations that the Arizona-based higher learning institution misled students about the cost of its doctoral programs over several years.
Another non-Christian college has been fined by the DOE.
However, the fine for GCU is much larger than what the DOE previously gave to schools like Penn State ($2.4 million) and Michigan State ($4.5 million) for failing to address Jerry Sandusky and Larry Nassar’s crimes, respectively.
The department said in an October press release that an investigation conducted by the Office of Federal Student Aid (FSA) found GCU “lied” to over 7,500 former and current students about the cost of its doctoral programs.
The release also said GCU “falsely advertises” a lower cost for its doctoral programs.
It adds that about 98% of students ended up paying more than the advertised cost.
The university was given a 20-day deadline to request a hearing with the DOE’s Office of Hearings and Appeals.
Alternatively, the college can file a response to the FSA to explain why the fine should not be imposed.
The Department also imposed specific conditions on the school to continue participating in the federal student aid programs.
In a statement, a GCU spokesperson said they do not expect a hearing to take place until January.
“Our next recourse after that decision would be another appeal within the Department, this time directly to the Secretary of Education,” the GCU official said.
During the congressional hearing, DeLauro said:
“This is far from being a few rotten apples in the bunch.
“Predatory for-profit colleges have engaged in a range of deceptions designed to increase enrollment and student costs to drive more revenue for owners and shareholders.
“How are you and your agency committing to increased oversight of these institutions and are there any way in which we can shut these folks down?”
Cardona said that the agency employed “multiple strategies” to crack down on for-profit universities.
Those strategies include “borrower defense, debt discharge, holding colleges more accountable, and holding higher education institutions more accountable.”
Regarding borrower defense, Cardona argued that for-profit colleges are “preying on first-generation students.”
“You have a shiny brochure and a great commercial,” he said.
“But the product is not worth the paper it’s written on.
“We have students graduating 60K to 70K dollars in debt, only eligible for jobs making under 30K–that to me is unacceptable.”
In response to Cardona’s comment about shutting down Christian universities, a GCU said that Biden admin “officials continue to make derogatory and inflammatory public statements that are legally and factually incorrect and not shared by any of the other 26 regulatory and accrediting bodies that oversee GCU.”
“The Secretary’s comments to the House Appropriations Committee were so reckless that GCU is demanding an immediate retraction, as they do not reflect the factual record in this case,” the spokesperson added.
“He is either confused, misinformed or does not understand the actions taken by his own agency.”
GCU President Brian Mueller has previously warned that the college is being “unfairly targeted.”
Cardona’s comments came after the American Principles Project (APP) launched a petition to “protect Christian colleges.”
The petition was launched in “light of the Biden administration’s unprecedented attacks on our nation’s largest Christian colleges.”
It demands that “the administration halt their crusade and let students choose the schools that fit their values.”
“The federal government’s education agenda is punishing schools that do not conform to their progressive ideology,” APP Policy Director Jon Schweppe said.
“It’s time we take a stand against this egregious abuse of power.
“The scrutinize-and-penalize campaign against faith-based institutions is not about students’ interests or well-being.
“Rather, it’s part of a concerted effort to snuff out education choice and promote far-left values.
“It’s critical that Americans be aware of this shameful campaign and that we do all we can to put a stop to it.”
In response to APP’s efforts, GCU officials issued a statement asserting that the “American people are losing confidence in the federal government to be fair and objective in their operations.”
“There are clearly no checks and balances to prevent this type of behavior from the Department of Education,” the statement adds.
“We support any organization that is willing to shed light on the federal government’s unwarranted and targeted actions taken against GCU.
“If they can make these claims against the largest Christian university in the country, other faith-based organizations could be next.”
Additionally, the Goldwater Institute sued Biden’s DOE in February in federal court.
The lawsuit accuses the DOE of “refusing to turn over public records” related to its $37.7 million fine against GCU.
The group claims that the records may specifically inform the public about coordination between various federal agencies in what appears to be the “intentional targeting of a successful university based on extraordinarily thin allegations.”
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