New Grand Canyon University Lawsuit Alleges School Lied About Doctoral Degree Program Costs

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A proposed class action lawsuit accuses Grand Canyon University of repeatedly and persistently lying about the true cost of its doctoral programs, including through marketing materials and in enrollment applications.

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The 45-page Grand Canyon University (GCU) lawsuit says the school, since at least January 1, 2017, has operated a “racketeering scheme” meant to induce students into enrolling in Grand Canyon University doctoral degree programs.

In particular, the suit alleges GCU falsely told prospective students that they could obtain their doctoral degrees by paying a total tuition amount equal to 60 or 65 times the cost per credit. Grand Canyon University also falsely told prospective doctoral students that the “total estimated cost” of their degrees will be the estimated tuition plus “specifically itemized fees,” the case shares.

In reality, senior GCU executives have known for years that “almost none” of the students at GCU complete their doctoral degrees with just 60 or 65 credits and that “artificial bottlenecks” in the doctoral dissertation process created by the school’s own policies and procedures have required at least 70 percent of doctoral students to pay thousands—or tens of thousands—more in tuition for “continuation courses,” the complaint charges.

“The truth of the matter is that the ‘Total Program Cost’ stated in the enrollment agreement that GCE distributes to prospective students significantly understates the actual total costs that they would need to pay to complete their degrees.”

According to the complaint, the Office of Federal Student Aid (FSA) in October 2023 fined Grand Canyon University $37.7 million after an investigation revealed that the school “lied to more than 7,500 former and current students about the cost of its doctoral programs over several years,” including by falsely advertising a lower cost than what nearly every student ended up paying to complete certain doctoral programs.

Since January 2017, defendant Grand Canyon Education (GCE), which controls GCU, has reaped millions each year from the alleged fraud scheme, in violation of the federal Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), the lawsuit alleges.

In one plaintiff’s case, the suit says, the Fairmount, West Virginia resident was required by GCU to pay more than $8,400 in additional tuition for continuation courses after he had already paid for the 60 credits he expected to need to complete his Ph.D. in general psychology. The second plaintiff in the RICO suit was required to pay nearly $8,700 in additional tuition for four continuation courses after she finished all 60 credits toward her Doctor of Education degree in organizational leadership, the filing relays.

“For thousands of students like Plaintiffs and the other Class members, who enrolled in doctoral programs with dissertation requirements at Grand Canyon University, GCE’s fraud caused them collectively to incur tens of millions of dollars in losses as result [sic] of either having to pay more to obtain doctoral degrees or, for many of them, having to leave those programs without ever graduating due to the unexpected costs.”

The proposed class action aims to recover “tens of millions of dollars in tuition that Plaintiffs and other Class members had to pay due to GCE’s fraud scheme.” According to the complaint, GCU received roughly $1 billion in federal student aid for the 2022-2023 school year, including more than $18 million for first-year doctoral students.

The Grand Canyon University lawsuit looks to cover all persons who enrolled in one of the doctoral programs at GCU on or after August 1, 2017.

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