Major Christian university slapped with record fine for misleading students about cost

One of the largest private Christian universities in the United States is being slapped with a hefty fine for allegedly misleading graduate students about the cost of their programs, reported the Associated Press on Tuesday.

"Grand Canyon University, which has more than 100,000 students, mostly in online programs, faces the largest fine of its kind ever issued by the U.S. Education Department. The university dismissed the allegations as 'lies and deceptive statements,'" reported Collin Binkley. "'Grand Canyon University categorically denies every accusation in the Department of Education’s statement and will take all measures necessary to defend itself from these false accusations,' the school said in a five-page statement."

"An Education Department investigation found that Grand Canyon lied to more than 7,500 current and former students about the cost of its doctoral programs," said the report. "As far back as 2017, the university told students its doctoral programs would cost between $40,000 and $49,000. The department found that less than 2% of graduates completed programs within the range, with 78% paying an additional $10,000 to $12,000." According to the report, that extra cost came from "continuation courses" students were told they needed to complete dissertation requirements.

POLL: Should Trump be allowed to run for office?

The fine totals $37.7 million, one of the largest ever issued in such a case. They have 20 days to appeal the decision. According to the report, this comes a few years after Grand Canyon University sued for having their application to become a nonprofit college rejected; they were made for-profit in 2004 after a bailout, and in 2018 the Education Department decided their current financial arrangement didn't meet the standards to regain nonprofit status.

All of this comes amid a broader crackdown on predatory tuition and lending practices over the last decade, as regulators have shined scrutiny on for-profit colleges and universities.

In 2016, DeVry University agreed to a $100 million settlement with the Federal Trade Commission over mailers that misled prospective students about future earnings. Other for-profit institutions like Corinthian Colleges and ITT Technical Institute have outright shut down following investigations into their deceptive promises and predatory tuition practices.