Republicans in the House of Representatives want to know why the largest Christian school in the US was fined $37.7 million by the Biden administration.
They say the massive fine may be based on “political animus” and a tool of government weaponization used by Biden’s federal agency.
Grand Canyon University (GCU), the nation’s largest Christian college, was allegedly fined for lying to 7,500 students about the cost of doctoral degrees to boost enrollment in October 2023, according to the report. desk.
But GCU has denied the allegations and is currently appealing the decision.
Four Republican members of the House of Representatives, led by Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., sent a letter to the Department of Education on Monday demanding an explanation for the massive punishment.
The lawmakers – all from Arizona, where the university is located – want to see the “evidence” the department gathered to impose such an “outrageous fine.”
Grand Canyon University, a conservative Christian university in Phoenix, Arizona, has nearly 26,000 college-aged students and another 92,000 online students
According to the Ministry of Education, the university lied about the price of its doctoral programs to boost enrollment
“The Department of Education appears to be using its unchecked power to inappropriately attack GCU,” the lawmakers wrote in the letter obtained by DailyMail.com, adding that the university is “being targeted.”
This outrageous fine and the ‘evidence’ supporting the allegations must be investigated, lawmakers say.
Arizona Republican Reps. Eli Crane, Debbie Lesko and Paul Gosar also signed the letter.
The lawmakers argued that the university is under a target after converting from a for-profit institution to a nonprofit in 2018.
But GCU’s transition to nonprofit status was supported by the Internal Revenue Service, the Higher Learning Commission, the State of Arizona, the Arizona Private Postsecondary Board and NCAA Athletics, as lawmakers pointed out.
The Department of Education’s actions are instead “a direct result of their well-documented disapproval of successful for-profit colleges and their inexplicable opposition to GCU’s 2018 transition from for-profit to nonprofit,” the lawmakers wrote.
They also cited several recent cases in which other universities fined by the department received much lower penalties for apparently much larger violations.
“For example, Michigan State University was fined $4.5 million for its systemic failure to address years of sexual abuse and harassment,” the letter said.
“Temple University was fined just $700,000 for lying to U.S. News & World Report for years about its online MBA program to maintain high rankings and attract more students.”
“Given the actual harm caused by these two schools, there is no reasonable explanation for GCU’s disproportionate punishment,” the letter continued.
Biggs told DailyMail.com in a statement: “The Department of Education’s egregious fine against GCU is yet another example of a weaponized federal government.”
“The Ministry of Education is using its unchecked bureaucratic power to unjustly target a Christian university,” he continued.
The Phoenix-based university bills itself as a Christian institution and has nearly 26,000 college-aged students and another 92,000 online students.
Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., sent a letter to ED Inspector General Sandra Bruce demanding proof of GCU’s crimes that have resulted in a $37.7 million fine against the school
Brian Mueller, the university’s president, has called the fine “overreach” by the government and claimed the institution has been unfairly targeted.
“This is the weaponization of a department that has an opinion that no one else shares,” Mueller said in November before an arena full of students and faculty.
“There is no corroborating evidence to suggest anything nefarious is going on here.”
GCU’s appeal against the fine is still ongoing.