Miguel Cardona, the Biden Administration’s Secretary of the Department of Education, vowed during a House Appropriations Committee hearing on April 10, 2024, to shut down the largest Christian University in the United States, Grand Canyon University (GCU). After those comments, GCU officials argued that the Biden Administration’s war on the school was coming as the result of “deeply held bias,” Fox News Digital reports, not a desire to protect consumers.
Cardona’s pledge on the matter came during an exchange in the House Appropriations Committee with Rep. Rosa DeLauro, a Democrat from Connecticut. She pressed Cardona on how the Biden Administration is attempting to shut down GCU, referring to it as being “predatory.” Cardona, responding, told her that the administration is cracking down on the school in an attempt to shut it down.
Rep. DeLauro, questioning Cardona about the school, said, “Last year, your Department took action against Grand Canyon University, a predatory for-profit college, over the school’s failure to accurately disclose its cost to students, driving up the true cost for those students requiring for them to pay for continuation courses before they would graduate – scam courses added about $10,000 or more to the cost of education to these kids.”
She added, “This is far from being a few rotten apples in the bunch. Predatory for-profit colleges have engaged in a range of deceptions designed to increase enrollment and student costs to drive more revenue for owners and shareholders. How are you and your agency committing to increased oversight of these institutions and are there anyway in which we can shut these folks down?”
Cardona responded, telling her that the Department of Education is “Going after predatory schools preying on first generation students. They have flashy marketing materials, but the product is not worth the paper it is printed on. Increased enforcement budget to go after these folks and crack down. Levied largest fine in history against a school that lied about costs and terminated a school from Title IV. We are cracking down not only to shut them down, but to send a message not to prey on students.”
Watch that exchange here:
Responding to those allegations, a spokesperson for GCU explained that GCU thinks Cardona’s department is acting unjustly, saying, “officials continue to make derogatory and inflammatory public statements that are legally and factually incorrect and not shared by any of the other 26 regulatory and accrediting bodies that oversee GCU.”
Continuing, that spokesperson added, “The Secretary’s comments to the House Appropriations Committee were so reckless that GCU is demanding an immediate retraction, as they do not reflect the factual record in this case. He is either confused, misinformed or does not understand the actions taken by his own agency.” GCU officials also alleged that the attacks on their institution stem from “deeply held bias.”
Similarly, in a press release, GCU said, in part, “This response is prefaced with the comment that our disagreements with the Department of Education (ED) are not politically motivated. We are not anti-government and have a record of cooperation and great relationships with 26 different regulatory and accrediting bodies, none of whom have corroborated what ED is claiming. We are an educational institution that is doing an exemplary job of addressing the many challenges that are plaguing higher education while also living out our Christian mission both on our campus and in the surrounding community. That is reflected in the growing demand from students and families who are seeking a higher education option at GCU that is affordable and taught from a Christian worldview perspective. That mission, not politics, is our motivation and it is our hope that we can again put our full attention to those efforts in the near future. Mr. Cardona’s inflammatory comments, which are legally and factually incorrect, are so reckless that GCU has no choice but to demand an immediate retraction. He is either confused, misinformed or does not understand the actions taken by his own agency.”
Featured image credit: House Appropriations Committee
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