Biden's education secretary vows to shut down the largest Christian university in the USAfter Department of Education Secretary Miguel Cardona vowed to shut down Grand Canyon University (GCU), the largest Christian university in the U.S., GCU officials are pushing back, telling Fox News Digital the crackdown stems from "deeply held bias."
Cardona made comments during a House Appropriations Committee hearing about cracking down on GCU and other universities like it on April 10.
Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., asked Cardona how the administration is working to shut down GCU, which she called "a predatory for-profit school."
Cardona openly embraced their enforcement methods, declaring "we are cracking down not only to shut them down, but to send a message to not prey on students."
The GCU president argued the federal investigations are tied to the Department of Education denying the academic institution's effort to convert into a nonprofit institution in 2018. The department denied GCU’s nonprofit status for purposes of federal student financial aid, which continues to classify the school as a for-profit entity.
Mueller explained that having a nonprofit status would help the university gain full access to grant-writing and research. Furthermore, GCU would also have access to federal dollars due to the institution's large Hispanic population, which it can't access due to its current for-profit classification.
Founded in 1949, GCU was a nonprofit institution until 2004. In an effort to increase capital for the university to avoid closing, they partnered with private investors in order to obtain capital and grow the university.
The university returned to being a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt Arizona nonprofit status in 2018 in which they stated was approved by the IRS, Higher Learning Commission, State of Arizona, Arizona Private Postsecondary Board, and NCAA Athletics.
However, the Department of Education rejected its nonprofit request. After failed negotiations on the university's nonprofit status, GCU pushed back with a lawsuit arguing the department's decision was "arbitrary and capricious" in 2021.
An official from the Department of Education responded to claims made by Mueller in a statement sent to Fox News Digital, claiming the department determined under the Trump administration in 2018 that GCU does not meet the Higher Education Act’s definition of a nonprofit because the majority of GCU’s revenues were allocated to a former owner, a for-profit entity.............
https://www.foxnews.com/media/largest-christian-university-nation-alleges-being-unjustly-targeted-federal-agencies
