by Ethan Faverino | Aug 20, 2025 | Education, News
By Ethan Faverino |
In a unanimous decision, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has dismissed its lawsuit against Grand Canyon University (GCU) and its CEO, Brian Mueller, bringing an end to years of coordinated lawfare by former Biden administration officials targeting the university.
The lawsuit, previously dismissed by the United States District Court of Arizona on jurisdictional grounds, was fully resolved through a joint Stipulation of Dismissal with Prejudice.
FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson, joined by Commissioners Melissa Holyoak and Mark Meador, issued a statement citing recent developments that influenced the decision.
The statement reads:
“This case, which we inherited from the previous administration, was filed nearly two years ago and has suffered losses in two motions to dismiss. These losses are compounded by recent events: Grand Canyon secured a victory over the Department of Education in a related matter before the Ninth Circuit; the Department of Education rescinded a massive fine levied on related grounds; and the Internal Revenue Service confirmed that Grand Canyon University is properly claiming 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation designation. In its reduced form, this case presents consumers very little upside relative to the cost of pursuing it to completion, especially given the developments chronicled above. We view it as imprudent to continue expending Commission resources on a lost cause. Because we have a duty to maximize consumers’ return on their tax-dollars investment, we have decided against pursuing this matter any further.”
GCU President Brian Mueller expressed gratitude for the FTC’s objective review, noting that multiple agencies and courts have consistently ruled in GCU’s favor.
“They threw everything they had at us for four years, and yet, despite every unjust accusation leveled against us, we have not only survived but have continued to thrive as a university,” President Mueller said. “That is a testament, first and foremost, to the strength and dedication of our faculty, staff, students, and their families. Above all, it speaks to our unwavering belief that the truth would ultimately prevail.”
The FTC lawsuit was part of a broader, coordinated campaign by former Biden administration officials, including the Department of Education (ED) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), to target GCU with duplicative investigations and lawsuits.
Ethan Faverino is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Matthew Holloway | May 20, 2025 | Education, News
By Matthew Holloway |
In a dramatic reversal of policy from the days of the Biden administration, the U.S. Department of Education (USDOE), under Secretary Linda McMahon and President Donald Trump, rescinded a $37 million fine against Grand Canyon University with prejudice Friday. The decision scraps the largest fine ever levied against a university by the USDOE.
As previously reported by AZ Free News, Grand Canyon University launched an appeal challenging the enormous fine and allegations of advertising false degree costs. The university was supported by the Goldwater Institute, which launched its own lawsuit in February after the USDOE failed to respond to a Freedom of Information Act request to gain clarity on the fine against GCU.
In a statement following the decision, GCU President Brian Mueller described the dismissal as welcome, but unsurprising news.
“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,” he 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.”
The USDOE dismissed the case in its entirety with neither findings, fines, liabilities, nor penalties of any variety. According to GCU, the USDOE, “confirmed it has not established that GCU violated any Title IV requirements, including the claim that GCU ‘substantially misrepresented’ the cost of its doctoral programs that was alleged by ED officials under the Biden Administration. The Dismissal stated unequivocally that ‘there are no findings against GCU, or any of its employees, officers, agents, or contractors, and no fine is imposed.’”
In a statement the University said, “The proposed fine action was, by far, the largest the Department of Education had ever levied against a university. GCU filed an appeal to ED’s Office of Hearings and Appeals, maintaining that the unsubstantiated accusations were gross mischaracterizations based on isolated, out-of-context statements from certain enrollment documents and that, in fact, GCU students receive robust information about the time, cost and credits needed to complete a doctoral degree throughout their enrollment and onboarding process. Moreover, GCU maintains that its disclosures surrounding continuation courses, which are common in higher education doctoral programs, provide more information than is legally required or that other universities typically provide. As such, GCU has consistently insisted that it would contest any fine amount – even $1, let alone $37.7 million.”
In a post to X, Arizona Congressman Abe Hamadeh (R-AZ08) praised the dismissal writing, “The record-breaking fine imposed on Grand Canyon University (@gcu) was just one of many attacks by the Biden Administration on Christian organizations. Congressman Hamadeh applauds the Trump Administration’s decision to rescind the fine with prejudice.”
Congressman Andy Biggs made a similar post saying, “I’ve urged investigation into the outrageous fine since the moment it was handed down by the radical Biden-Harris regime. Thank you @POTUS and @EDSecMcMahon for working to ensure that the weaponization of government against @GCU isn’t allowed to stand!”
Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.
by Matthew Holloway | Apr 28, 2025 | Education, News
By Matthew Holloway |
Grand Canyon University, despite a tumultuous period which saw unprecedented fines and targeting by the Biden administration, reported the largest number of graduates in the Christian university’s history for its 75th Anniversary.
According to the university, the GCU Class of 2025 will graduate 31,104 students, 5,669 of them in person at the university’s Phoenix campus and another 25,435 online. Commencement ceremonies for in-person students are already underway as of this report and will take place between April 29th and May 2nd for online students.
“This year’s record-breaking graduating class reflects the dedication of our exceptional students, the unwavering support of our faculty and staff, and our commitment to offering innovative educational opportunities across multiple delivery platforms,” said GCU President Brian Mueller.
“Whether through in-person classes, online learning, hybrid models or accelerated pathways, our flexible approach allows us to connect with students no matter their life circumstances. Increasingly, more and more families are seeking these opportunities, especially when taught from a Christian worldview perspective,” he added.
“Our focus remains on partnering directly with employers to help them address their workforce shortages, especially in critical sectors like education, healthcare, technology, engineering, social work, counseling and the military,” Mueller said. “While many universities have scaled back programs amid declining enrollments since the pandemic, GCU has introduced 148 new academic programs, emphases and certificates across our 10 colleges, all aligned with current labor market demands.”
As previously reported by AZ Free News, the U.S. Department of Education (DOE), under the Biden-Harris administration, imposed a staggering $37 million fine against Grand Canyon University despite the DOE failing to reveal any meaningful complaint against the university. In response, the Goldwater Institute launched a lawsuit against the agency demanding an explanation.
In 2024, Arizona’s Republican Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne called upon the Biden administration to come to the table with GCU after Richard Cordray, the Chief Operating Officer of the Department’s Office of Federal Student Aid, claimed the university had lied to, “more than 7,500 former and current students about the cost of its doctoral programs over several years.” The claim was made despite a complete lack of legal proceedings to adjudicate it.
Horne wrote, “In the U.S., anyone accused of wrongdoing is presumed innocent and entitled to their day in court. For a Cabinet-level official, one who is sworn to uphold the U.S. Constitution, your threat against GCU is contrary to those constitutional guarantees and unworthy of your position. It is unwarranted, unjust and the latest episode of harassment against this school by the federal government.”
At the time, GCU responded to then-U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona, stating, “GCU has been asked repeatedly why it believes it is being targeted by federal agencies of the Biden administration. Here’s what we can tell you: Mr. Cardona’s inflammatory comments make very clear the Department of Education’s intentions and their disdain for institutions that do not fit their ideological agenda. What’s also clear is that ED has no lawful grounds to carry out those intentions based on their disingenuous and factually unsupportable allegations.”
Despite the controversy with the DOE, the Christian university celebrated its 75th Anniversary through a Week of Service in the fall that featured over 1,000 opportunities to serve across 40 different ministries. In addition, it also held its first-ever Amethyst Gala, which raised approximately $1.5 million to benefit the university’s ambitious Five-Point Plan to transform the west Phoenix community it calls home.
GCU boasts an enrollment of almost 25,000 students taking traditional classes in Phoenix with another 98,000 or more students online around the world.
Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.
by Matthew Holloway | Apr 8, 2025 | Education, News
By Matthew Holloway |
In October 2023, the U.S. Department of Education (DOE), under the Biden-Harris Administration, imposed a staggering $37 million fine against Grand Canyon University (GCU) in Phoenix, the largest privately owned Christian University in the nation. The fine came without revealing any serious complaint against the school. In February 2024, the Goldwater Institute announced that it advanced a lawsuit to determine why such a massive fine was levied. Now, a hearing has been scheduled in the case for April 18th.
Acoording to the Goldwater Institute, the DOE claimed that GCU “violated federal disclosure rules regarding continuing education courses for PhD students.” GCU leaders deny this outright. Further, in a press release regarding the fine, the DOE declined to include any complaints from students or members of the public to support its regulatory action.
When a federal judge in the U.S. District Court hears arguments in Goldwater Institute v. U.S. Department of Education, Goldwater hopes to compel the federal agency to disclose the alleged violation(s), which it believes are particularly suspicious. According to Goldwater, a public statement from Biden’s Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona vowed to “shut down” GCU.
Adding doubt to the DOE’s allegations, as Goldwater notes, GCU reportedly hasn’t raised tuition in over 15 years. The manner in which the fine was announced was also suspect with Goldwater noting, “The Department also announced its unprecedented fine with a widely reported press release that was heavy on rhetoric and bereft of any serious complaints from students or the public. It also appears that the fine was assessed in conjunction with suspicious coordination among various federal agencies.”
According to Goldwater, efforts through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to determine the motivation behind the fine have gone unanswered, leading up to the complaint.
“The request seeks emails between key individuals of the Department and other federal agencies that discuss the Department’s fine against GCU. The records may help inform the public about this extraordinary fine, as well as coordination between various federal agencies in what appears to be the intentionally targeting of a successful university based on extraordinarily thin allegations. However, the Department has refused to produce the records requested and has failed to otherwise comply with the FOIA.”
As reported by AZ Free News in February 2024, Goldwater staff attorney Stacy Skankey explained, “With its motto of ‘private, Christian, affordable’ and its track record of graduating students into high-demand and high-paying jobs, GCU is a success story by any metric. And it stands apart from universities across the country that are facing declining enrollment, that are indoctrinating students with radical politics, and that are under attack for failing to defend the First Amendment.”
In an op-ed for the Washington Times in December, Jon Riches, Goldwater Institute Vice President for Litigation, wrote, “As the Trump administration prepares to tackle an ambitious education agenda, ending the shameful attack on GCU should be a top priority. This would not only correct the injustice done to GCU but also make clear the broader principle that higher education should be a domain of innovation and student achievement — not a fiefdom for ideological conformity and bureaucratic rule.”
The initial action was brought by the Goldwater Institute during the Biden Administration and saw little to no response from former Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona. Though confirmed by neither party, the hearing had initially been delay and could be reflective of the whirlwind of changes at the DOE under Trump Administration.
The upcoming hearing could present a departure from the DOE’s previous position on the GCU fine, or at minimum provide transparency that was lacking under the previous administration.
Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.
by Matthew Holloway | Mar 14, 2025 | Education, News
By Matthew Holloway |
Earlier this month, Congressman Andy Biggs (R-AZ5) introduced the Guarding Religious And Career Education (GRACE) Act. If enacted, it would direct Secretary of Education Linda McMahon to outright eliminate the DOE’s Office of Enforcement within the Office of Federal Student Aid. The office, according to a report from the American Principles Project (APP), overwhelmingly enforced actions against faith-based and career-centered schools.
According to the APP report, the vast majority of all enforcement actions, at almost 70%, were directed toward institutions of these varieties despite their accounting for less than ten percent of the total number of enrolled students in the nation.
In a press release from Rep. Biggs, the congressman cited the example of the egregious targeting of Grand Canyon University (GCU), the largest Christian university in America and the extremely questionable $37.7 million fine levied against the school as previously reported by AZ Free News.
In a letter to McMahon, Biggs urged the newly minted Secretary to launch an investigation into the Office of Enforcement’s targeting of Christian and technical schools amidst the mass reductions in workforce already underway.
He wrote in part, “It is imperative to determine the extent of any ideological targeting and to hold those responsible accountable for their actions. For example, in October 2023, ED’s Office of Enforcement fined Grand Canyon University, (GCU) $37.7 million for allegedly misrepresenting the cost of doctoral programs, an allegation GCU has categorically denied and is appealing. The claim has been refuted judicially and administratively: in federal court, by the Higher Learning Commission in its 2021 comprehensive review, and by the Arizona State Approving Agency of the Department of Veterans Affairs in an audit.”
McMahon told Fox News host Laura Ingraham that her termination of over half the Department’s staff is in fact part of a “total shutdown” of the agency. “Yes — actually, it is,” she said, adding, “That was the president’s mandate. His directive to me clearly is to shut down the Department of Education.”
In line with the actions McMahon is already taking, Biggs called upon her to shudder the Office of Enforcement altogether in the GRACE Act, writing, “The continued existence of the office appears to serve as a vehicle for weaponization rather than a tool for oversight. The targeting of Christian universities and career colleges must end.”
Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.
