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Federal Trade Commission Sues Largest Christian University in US Over Advertising

December 28, 2023

Lucille Barilla

The Federal Trade Commission is suing the largest Christian University in the United States for deceptive advertising. The agency says a trio of issues are at the root of customer deception as Grand Canyon University’s feet are held to the fire for illegal actions.

The FTC said in a press release that it filed a suit in federal court against GCU, its marketer Grand Canyon Education, Inc., and its president and CEO Brian Mueller. The suit claims the university used deceptive advertising and engaged in illegal telemarketing toward its student body and prospective students.

The complaint says the university misled prospective doctoral students about how long it would take to finish its accelerated program. It allegedly marketed the school as a nonprofit and continued to call prospective students who submitted their contact information on the school’s website but requested not to be contacted.


In the complaint, the FTC specifically stated that the university told prospective students that the total cost of its accelerated doctoral programs was equal to the price of just 20 courses (or 60 credits). In truth, the university “requires that almost all doctoral students take additional ‘continuation courses’ that add thousands of dollars in costs.” The DOE said in the press release that GCU “deceptively advertised” a lower price for its doctoral programs, adding that about 98% of students ended up paying more than the advertised cost. 

“Grand Canyon deceived students by holding itself out as a non-profit institution and misrepresenting the costs and number of courses required to earn doctoral degrees,” said Samuel Levine, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “We will continue to aggressively pursue those who seek to take advantage of students.”

GCU announced plans in November to appeal a $37.7 million fine imposed by the Department of Education. According to Fox News, this fine circles back to previous allegations that the Arizona-based higher learning institution misled students about the cost of its doctoral programs.


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