Arizona state agency finds no wrongdoing by GCU amid school’s ongoing FTC battle

PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) — Grand Canyon University is continuing its legal fight against the Federal Trade Commission and the U.S. Department of Education as another Arizona state agency finds no wrongdoing after allegations that the school misled current and prospective students on the costs of one of its doctoral program.

On Monday, GCU reported that the Arizona State Approving Agency (SAA) for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has completed a risk-based audit and that the school did not “have any substantiated findings.” The SAA said: “There are no findings impacting the continued approval of Grand Canyon University at this time.”

GCU continues to categorically deny the FTC’s and ED’s unwarranted allegations related to the doctoral program, which are part of coordinated and targeted actions the federal government is taking against the largest Christian university in the country.

The Federal Trade Commission and the school’s third-party education accreditor previously found no problems with its marketing efforts. GCU has also refuted claims that the school cold-calls potential students, saying that it only contacts those who have expressed interest in the degree programs.

In October, Arizona’s Family reported that the feds hit the country’s largest private Christian university with a $37.7 million fine after an investigation by the Federal Student Aid office alleged that GCU falsely advertised a lower cost than what nearly all students ended up paying to complete their doctoral degrees. The feds say that GCU’s data show that less than two percent of graduates completed the program with the advertised costs.

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