A conservative legal group in Phoenix, Ariz., is suing the U.S. Department of Education (ED) over the $37.7 million fine it issued against Grand Canyon University (GCU), according to a lawsuit filed last week.

The Goldwater Institute, which describes itself as the nation’s preeminent liberty organization, filed the lawsuit against the ED to obtain documents explaining the why behind the fine, the lawsuit said. Goldwater Institute attorney Stacy Skankey said that the suit seeks to “hold the government accountable and get the answers the public deserves.”

“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,” Skankey said in a statement. “Why are the feds targeting GCU, a popular university that seems to be doing everything right? That’s exactly what we’re going to find out.”

In October, the ED gave GCU the largest fine ever issued against a university for allegedly misleading students about college costs, The Roys Report (TRR) previously reported. However, University President Brian Mueller called the fine “ridiculous” and questioned if the penalty is religious persecution, in a November press conference.

Based in Phoenix, GCU is the largest Christian University in the country with more than 118,000 students, mostly online.

The Goldwater Institute said after the fine was issued, it submitted a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to the ED to obtain relevant emails between ED officials and other federal agencies. These records could help inform the public about the “extraordinary” and “unprecedented” fine that is based on “thin allegations,” a statement from the Goldwater Institute said.

However, the ED failed to respond to the FOIA request within the required 20 business days, according to the statement. “Instead of being transparent, federal bureaucrats are keeping the public in the dark,” the statement added.

The lawsuit hopes to compel the ED to comply with the FOIA request and to provide the Institute with the records.

Attorney Skankey noted that GCU’s $37 million fine is excessive compared to the $2.4 million fine Penn State received for not reporting Jerry Sandusky’s sexual abuse of boys. She also compared GCU’s fine to the $4.5 million fine issued against Michigan State for its failure to address Larry Nassar’s sexual assaults.

“Contrast those small fines and those egregious crimes with the government’s complaint against GCU,” Skankey said. “The purported reason for the unprecedented fine was that the school insufficiently informed Ph.D. students that they may have to take continuing courses while completing their doctoral dissertations.”

Skankey added that the ED made “broad claims” against the university, failed to cite any student complaints, and reportedly didn’t visit GCU during its investigation.

ED claims that GCU “harmed students”

The ED and the Office of Federal Student Aid (FSA) accused GCU of misleading more than 7,500 current and former doctoral students about tuition costs, according to an ED press release.

ED and FSA claim that GCU advertised that its doctoral programs cost between $40,000 and $49,000, but fewer than 2% of its graduates paid that amount. Most students paid as much as $12,000 more in tuition for required continuation courses, the ED said.

“GCU’s lies harmed students, broke their trust, and led to unexpectedly high levels of student debt,” said FSA Chief Operating Officer Richard Cordray in the press release. “We are holding GCU accountable for its actions, protecting students and taxpayers, and upholding the integrity of the federal student aid programs.”

However, GCU’s continuation courses are common in doctoral programs and the university prominently discloses the potential extra costs in its marketing materials, President Mueller contested during the November press conference.

Two days after the press conference, the university announced that it was appealing the ED’s fine to stand up to the government’s effort to “target” the university.

“GCU goes above and beyond what is legally required and is considered by its peers to be a leader in higher education transparency,” Mueller said in the announcement. “Rather than applaud such efforts or work cooperatively with GCU in a matter that could easily be resolved in a 10-minute phone call, the Department has instead chosen to impose a record fine, which speaks to their agenda and motivations.”

Mueller supported GCU’s high transparency claims by citing results from a preliminary internal GCU study, examining disclosures of doctoral programs at 100 other universities. He also cited a 2022 report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), examining broader financial disclosures in higher education.

The GAO report shared that 91% of the colleges reviewed “do not include or understate the net price in their aid offers,” 41% of which do not provide a net price in their offer to students.

“If we really intended to deceive students, why would we choose the smallest degree program we offer — doctoral — which is less than 5% of our students and involves our most experienced students?” Mueller said. “If our goal was to generate more revenue, rather than allegedly deceive students we could simply increase tuition 3-4% a year for a few years – as most universities have done – and no one would bat an eye.”

The university has not shared any further updates on the appeal.

Freelance journalist Liz Lykins writes for WORLD Magazine, Christianity Today, Ministry Watch, and other publications.