Grand Canyon Education (GCE), a for-profit marketing agency for Grand Canyon University (GCU), has been sued in federal court for allegedly engaging in a racketeering scheme by students who enrolled in the university’s doctoral programs.

Tanner Smith and Qimin Wang are the plaintiffs arguing that GCE induced students “to enroll in doctoral degree programs at Grand Canyon University, which has been controlled by GCE, by lying to students about how much they would need to pay to obtain their doctoral degrees from Grand Canyon University.”

The lawsuit says it seeks to recover tens of millions of dollars in tuition and an order against GCE that it must cease making any further misrepresentations or material omissions about the costs of GCU’s doctoral program. The plaintiffs are also seeking to be named the class representatives in the class action lawsuit.

The claims pertain to the requirement for both plaintiffs to take continuation courses that added over $8,000 to the cost of their degree programs.

The lawsuit says GCE engaged in racketeering activity in violation of the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act. It also asserts claims of deceptive or unfair practices under California and West Virginia law, where the two plaintiffs reside.

GCU issued a statement about the lawsuit, saying its claims are “completely without merit, rely on misleadingly cropped documents, and are focused on practices that are prevalent in higher education.”

The statement emphasized that the lawsuit “misleadingly presents screenshots of GCU’s Degree Program Calculator” by cropping out language displayed in “full-size red font” and “that clearly and conspicuously discloses” that doctoral graduate students will generally require several continuation courses and provides the cost of those courses.

“Cropping it out is an egregious and unscrupulous attempt to portray the university’s service provider as fraudulent by using GCU’s disclosures in an unbecoming manner,” the GCU statement says.

The Federal Trade Commission filed a lawsuit in December 2023 asserting similar claims.

According to the FTC lawsuit, GCU tells prospective students its doctoral programs are “accelerated” and the total cost will be equivalent to 20 courses, or 60 credit hours. However, nearly all GCU doctoral students are required to take “continuation courses” that add thousands of dollars to the cost.

The Department of Education reported that fewer than 2% of GCU doctoral program graduates complete it within the cost that GCU advertises.

In the MinistryWatch database, GCU has a 5-star financial efficiency rating, a “C” transparency grade, and a donor confidence score of 72 out of 100.

This piece is republished with permission from MinistryWatch.

Kim Roberts is a freelance writer who holds a Juris Doctor from Baylor University. She has homeschooled her three children and is happily married to her husband of 25 years. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, gardening and coaching high school extemporaneous speaking and debate.