A Phoenix-based conservative think tank is suing the U.S. Department of Education over a multimillion-dollar fine levied against Grand Canyon University last October.
The lawsuit from the Goldwater Institute is the latest development in an ongoing back-and-forth between the federal government and private Christian universities. This comes after the Department of Education fined the school $37.7 million for deceptive marketing of its doctoral program. The Goldwater Institute said it wants access to communications between government officials to shed light on the federal investigation and subsequent fines.
Representatives from the Department of Education told The Arizona Republic that federal officials do not comment on pending litigation.
The institute announced in December that it had filed a public records request for documents that “provide meaningful information to the public on issues of public interest and federal government activities.” The request seeks communications between certain officials regarding the department's investigation and requests records dating back to 2021.
The Goldwater Institute alleged in its complaint Wednesday that the department violated the Freedom of Information Act.
The Department of Education responded to the Goldwater Institute the day after the request was filed, writing that the department's average request processing time was approximately 185 business days, or approximately eight months. About a week later, the department announced it had found about 7,000 documents in line with the request, resulting in an estimated $2,100 in fees. These fees were later reduced.
The Goldwater Institute sent notices to federal agencies last month asking if and how they plan to respond to the request, but the Goldwater Institute is required by law to They are required to respond within 20 business days. The department said due to the large volume of records requested, it is unable to provide an estimated date for completion of the request at this time.
The school had previously promised to appeal the record fine originally imposed by the department, but was later sued by the Federal Trade Commission over similar concerns. In a December lawsuit, the FTC alleged that GCU misrepresented itself as a nonprofit organization and misrepresented costs associated with doctoral students and degrees.
GCU President Brian Mueller has frequently disputed the claims, describing the controversy as “government overreach” and saying schools are being targeted because of their religious affiliation. This claim was upheld in a statement from the university last December, which called the claims “baseless.” The university has denied all allegations of fraud.
Helen Rumel covers higher education for The Arizona Republic. Please contact hrummel@azcentral.com. Follow her on X (formerly Twitter). @Helen Rummel.
