Grand Canyon University, the nation’s largest Christian university, is fighting back after the U.S. Department of Education vowed to shut it down.
“Going after predatory schools preying on first generation students,” Education Secretary Miguel Cardona recently told a House panel. “They have flashy marketing materials, but the product is not worth the paper it is printed on. Increased enforcement budget to go after these folks and crack down. Levied 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.”
Grand Canyon appealed a $37.7 million fine imposed by the department in November on allegations that the Arizona-based school misled students about the cost of its doctoral programs over several years. Like many schools, the time needed for students to complete a degree program may exceed the time that a school estimates. It’s often most prevalent in post-graduate degree programs when students are working full-time or responsible for families.
The fine is much larger than what the Department of Education 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 comments and historic fine are leading some observers to say that the Biden administration is targeting Christian colleges in an attempt to erase faith-based university education.
“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,” a university spokesperson told Fox News. “He is either confused, misinformed or does not understand the actions taken by his own agency.”
Cardona’s comments came after the announcement of a petition to protect Christian colleges launched by the American Principles Project. The petition began in “light of the Biden administration’s unprecedented attacks on our nation’s largest Christian colleges” and 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,” said Jon Schweppe, the group’s policy director. “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.”
–Dwight Widaman | Metro Voice