House Republicans are demanding an investigation into the Biden administration for fining the largest private Christian university in America.
The Biden Department of Education fined Grand Canyon University a whopping $37.7 million last November for allegedly telling “lies” to students.
“Grand Canyon … repeatedly told prospective and current doctoral students starting in 2017 that their degree program would cost between $40,000 and $49,000,” according to Insider Higher Education.
“But that figure was based on completing a program within 60 credit hours and failed to account for continuation courses needed to complete the dissertation program. Students on average need nearly 10 continuation courses to earn their degree,” the site reported at the time.
According to House Republicans, this narrative is false. Led by Rep. Andy Biggs, they sent a letter this week to DOE inspector general Sandra Bruce claiming these allegations have been “refuted.”
“A group of House Republicans, led by Arizona Rep. Andy Biggs, sent a letter Monday to the Department of Education demanding an investigation into their $37.7 million fine recently imposed against Grand Canyon University (GCU), the largest private Christian school in the U.S”… pic.twitter.com/XUQ0LekZVi
— American Principles (@approject) April 10, 2024
“The allegation has already been refuted 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 its just-completed audit,” the letter reads.
“ED’s allegations and subsequent fine are not based on students’ complaints—not a single supposedly-harmed ‘victim’ has been identified—but on the Department’s own claim that university officials incorrectly marketed the cost to complete GCU’s doctoral programs,” it continues.
Does this case sound familiar? It should, because it seems to resemble the case former President Donald Trump is facing for allegedly defrauding banks in the state of New York. Except just like with this case, no victims have been identified.
The letter continues with the Republicans accusing the DOE of “using its unchecked power to inappropriately target GCU.”
“ED’s actions … are a direct result of their well-documented disapproval of successful for-profit colleges and their unexplainable opposition to GCU’s 2018 conversion from for-profit to non-profit, which was supported by the Internal Revenue Service, the Higher Learning Commission, the State of Arizona, Arizona Private Postsecondary Board, and NCAA Athletics,” the letter reads.
“Since GCU first appealed ED’s refusal to recognize their non-profit status in 2021, ED has targeted the university. The Department of Education appears to be using its unchecked power to inappropriately target GCU. This outrageous fine and the ‘evidence’ supporting ED’s allegations must be investigated,” the letter continues.
In a statement issued to The Daily Caller prior to sending the letter, Biggs said, “The Department of Education’s egregious fine against GCU is yet another example of a weaponized federal government.”
“The ED is utilizing its unchecked bureaucratic power to unjustly target a Christian university. The fine and ‘evidence’ supporting the ED’s allegations against GCU must be investigated,” he added.
The letter by Biggs and other Republicans also compares the exorbitant fine faced by GCU with the much smaller fines faced by other schools.
“Compared to recent fines imposed by the Department for much more serious allegations, this fine was grossly inappropriate,” the letter reads. “For example, Michigan State University was fined $4.5 million for a systemic failure to address years of sexual abuse and harassment,” the letter reads.
“Temple University was fined just $700,000 for lying to U.S. News & World Report for years about its online M.B.A. program to sustain high rankings and attract more students. Given the actual harms committed by these two schools, there’s no reasonable explanation for ED’s disproportionate punishment of GCU,” it continues.
The school has for its part also pushed back on the DOE’s fine.
“This is government overreach,” GCU president Brian Mueller said in November, according to The Liberal Washington Post. “This is the weaponization of a department that has an opinion that isn’t shared by anybody else. There’s no corroborating evidence to indicate that there’s something nefarious going on here.”
In a separate statement published on GCU’s website, Mueller also accused the Biden administration of unfairly and maliciously targeting it.
“I have spoken to thousands of students, parents, employees, alumni and community stakeholders in Arizona and they all tell me the same thing: We need to fight this tyranny from federal government agencies not only to stand up for ourselves but to ensure this type of ideological government overreach and weaponization of federal agencies does not happen to others,” he said.
“American people are losing confidence in the federal government to be fair and objective in their operations and there are clearly no checks and balances to prevent this type of behavior from the Department of Education, which is out of control and continues to broaden its authority and selective enforcement powers,” he added.
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Author: Vivek Saxena
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