The most prominent Christian university in the US may face severe penalties due to a federal investigation into possible dishonesty.

Allegedly, the federal government is imposing a $37.7 million fine on the nation’s largest Christian university for misleading students about graduate program costs.

The U.S. has issued the largest fine ever to Grand Canyon University, which has over 100,000 students, mostly in online programs. Education Department. The university dismissed the allegations as “lies and deceptive statements.”

The school issued a statement categorically denying all accusations made by the Department of Education and vowed to defend itself against these false claims.

A Department of Education investigation discovered that Grand Canyon University deceived over 7,500 present and past students regarding the expenses of their doctoral programs.

As far back as 2017, the university told students its doctoral programs would cost between $40,000 and $49,000. The department discovered that fewer than 2% of graduates finished programs within the specified range, while 78% paid an extra $10,000 to $12,000.

The department explained that the extra expenses often arose from “continuation courses” necessary to complete dissertation requirements.

According to Richard Cordray, GCU’s deceit hurt students, shattered their trust, and resulted in unexpectedly high student debt levels. “Today, we are holding GCU accountable for its actions, protecting students and taxpayers, and upholding the integrity of the federal student aid programs.”

The Biden administration is issuing the fine amid a broader push for accountability among U.S. universities. The Education Department has just approved a new regulation that may reduce federal funding for for-profit college programs if graduates cannot repay loans, and they intend to provide students and families with more information about college outcomes.

Grand Canyon has 20 days to appeal the fine. The department is additionally imposing new conditions for the school to keep receiving federal funding.

Grand Canyon University may not mislead students about the cost of doctoral programs. They must reveal the average price paid by graduates.

Additionally, it must report any other investigations or lawsuits and send a notice to current doctoral students explaining how to file a complaint with the Education Department.

The department reported that Grand Canyon has been the top recipient of federal student aid in the U.S. for the past four years.

Grand Canyon recently stated that federal agencies were unfairly targeting them with “frivolous accusations” in response to their ongoing lawsuit against the Education Department.

Grand Canyon faces a lawsuit after being denied nonprofit college classification. It became a for-profit college in 2004 after investors saved it from financial collapse. It applied to become a nonprofit again in 2018, but the Trump administration blocked the move, saying the college remained too close to its previous parent company.

Both its accreditor and the Internal Revenue Service classify it as a nonprofit.

Responding to the fine, Grand Canyon said its cost disclosures have been upheld in court during a separate lawsuit by the accreditor. It said the fine is part of a “disturbing pattern” by the Education Department, adding that the agency declined a request to address the issue through a federal mediator.

The university claims that this demonstrates its agenda-driven motivation to harm GCU and the coordinated efforts against it.

The university enrolls roughly 20,000 students at its campus in Phoenix, but most of its overall enrollment comes from students who take online classes from outside Arizona. By 2021, it had registered 80,000 students in online programs, with a nearly equal division between undergraduate and graduate programs.

Advocacy groups for student loan borrowers applauded the fine.

Aaron Ament, president of Student Defense, highlighted the consequences of colleges deceiving students: wasted time and money. “We’re glad to see the Department of Education take action to prevent graduate schools from misleading students about the costs of their programs, and we hope they will continue to crack down on these types of predatory schemes.”