Grand Canyon University, the biggest Christian college in the nation, is resisting the Biden administration's warning to close it down because of accusations of misleading students about tuition fees.
A spokesperson from Grand Canyon University (GCU) told told Fox News Digital on Thursday that the Biden administration's inquiry is due to a "strong bias."
The Department of Education determined informed that GCU "misled" over 7,500 students about the cost of its doctoral programs, resulting in a $37.7 million penalty – the largest ever imposed on a school, as per Department of Education Secretary Miguel Cardona, quoted by Fox.
The ongoing disagreement was discussed during a House Appropriations Committee meeting last week.
When Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) queried Cardona about action taken against GCU, which she labeled as "a predatory for-profit school," Cardona responded, “Targeting predatory schools that exploit first-generation students. They have attractive marketing materials, but the quality does not match the hype,” as reported by Fox.
“Enhanced enforcement budget to address these issues and tighten regulations," he added. “Issued the largest fine in history to a school that deceived about costs and terminated a school from Title IV. We are not only aiming to shut them down, but also to send a message against exploiting students.”
Responding to the comments, the GCU spokesperson informed Fox that “officials continue to make negative and provocative public statements that are legally and factually incorrect, and not supported by any of the other 26 regulatory and accrediting bodies overseeing GCU.”
“Our next step after that ruling would be to lodge another appeal within the Department, this time directly to the Secretary of Education,” the spokesperson revealed.
“The Secretary's remarks to the House Appropriations Committee were so irresponsible that GCU is demanding an immediate retraction, as they do not align with this case's factual evidence,” the spokesperson continued, as reported by Fox. “He is either confused, misinformed, or does not comprehend the actions taken by his own agency.”
The $37.7 million penalty imposed on GCU is considerably higher than those given to Penn State and Michigan State for failing to prevent abuses by coaches Jerry Sandusky and Larry Nassar, according to Fox.
