Judge greenlights racketeering lawsuit against Grand Canyon Education

An article from site logo Dive Brief Judge greenlights racketeering lawsuit against Grand Canyon Education

Plaintiffs say the company misrepresented Grand Canyon University’s doctoral programs. The company says students couldn’t have been “caught by surprise.”

Published May 12, 2025 Ben Unglesbee's headshot Ben Unglesbee Senior Reporter Grand Canyon University Costs and marketing for some of Grand Canyon University's doctoral programs are at the center of a racketeering lawsuit filed by current and former students in 2024. The image by GrandCanyonU is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 Listen to the article 4 min This audio is auto-generated. Please let us know if you have feedback. Dive Brief:
  • A federal judge in Arizona ruled last week that a class-action racketeering lawsuit against Grand Canyon Education can proceed. Plaintiffs are seeking a jury trial. 
  • Last June, two plaintiffs sued the company — which provides marketing and educational services to Grand Canyon University — over allegations it recruited students like them into the university’s Ph.D. programs by lying about the costs of degrees. 
  • Grand Canyon Education unsuccessfully sought to dismiss the case, arguing in a November motion that students were informed of possible additional courses and costs, and “could not have been caught by surprise, let alone duped by a so-called fraud.”
waitToLoadAds.push(function() { googletag.cmd.push(function() { if (window.dfp_visibility == 'mobile' ) { googletag.display('dfp-hybrid1-mobile'); googletag.pubads().addEventListener('slotRenderEnded', function (event) { var adUnitPath = '/21662595662/highereddive/highereddivehybrid1'; var onProformative = false; if (onProformative && event.slot.getAdUnitPath() === adUnitPath && !event.isEmpty ) { var adUnitPathWithVisibility = adUnitPath + '-mobile'; var selector = '.pf-comments__ad-wrapper [data-container-ad-unit-id="' + adUnitPathWithVisibility + '"]'; if (!$(selector).closest('.pf-comments__ad-wrapper').hasClass('borders')) { $(selector).closest('.pf-comments__ad-wrapper').addClass('borders') } } }); } }); }); waitToLoadAds.push(function() { googletag.cmd.push(function() { if (window.dfp_visibility == 'desktop' ) { googletag.display('dfp-hybrid2-desktop'); googletag.pubads().addEventListener('slotRenderEnded', function (event) { var adUnitPath = '/21662595662/highereddive/highereddivehybrid2'; var onProformative = false; if (onProformative && event.slot.getAdUnitPath() === adUnitPath && !event.isEmpty ) { var adUnitPathWithVisibility = adUnitPath + '-desktop'; var selector = '.pf-comments__ad-wrapper [data-container-ad-unit-id="' + adUnitPathWithVisibility + '"]'; if (!$(selector).closest('.pf-comments__ad-wrapper').hasClass('borders')) { $(selector).closest('.pf-comments__ad-wrapper').addClass('borders') } } }); } }); }); Dive Insight:

The plaintiffs — which included one current and one former GCU doctoral student — alleged in their original complaint that Grand Canyon Education “propagated false information about the true cost” of GCU’s doctoral programs, including through enrollment applications, sales representatives and marketing materials. Two other plaintiffs were later added to the lawsuit.

They argued that the company promoted program costs typically based on a number of credit hours — 60 — that few doctoral students were able to complete their degrees within. They also alleged that Grand Canyon Education created “artificial bottlenecks” in programs, extending the time to complete degrees. That added costs in the form of tuition for continuation courses, which were often necessary to finish dissertation reviews. 

In their lawsuit, plaintiffs cited analysis from the U.S. Department of Education showing that between 2011 and 2017 about 43% of GCU Ph.D. students paid $10,530 in additional costs for continuation courses, while another roughly 35% paid $12,636 or more. Only a small fraction — fewer than 2% — paid no extra costs for continuation courses.

GCU, a private Christian university, split from Grand Canyon Education in 2018. Brian Mueller is both CEO of Grand Canyon Education and president of GCU. In their lawsuit, plaintiffs allege that the company has “exploited its control over Grand Canyon University” to “orchestrate and profit from this fraud scheme.”

The misrepresentations about doctoral program costs, plaintiffs argue, amounts to a racketeering scheme in violation of the Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations, or RICO, laws. 

In moving to dismiss the case, Grand Canyon Education asserted that documents providing cost estimates also noted that 60 credits were the minimum required and that the plaintiffs signed acknowledgment forms that disclosed “many learners will need additional time and continuation courses.”

“Not only is Plaintiffs’ theory of fraud disproven, but also Plaintiffs’ attempt to convert a garden-variety fraud claim into RICO is unavailing,” Grand Canyon Education said in its November motion. “To support their RICO claim, Plaintiffs assert half-truths, generalizations, and a careful omission of inconvenient facts to weave a fictional tale of fraud peppered with racketeering buzzwords.”

In ruling that the case can go forward, U.S. District Judge Steven Logan dismissed one of the claims against Grand Canyon Education and let the others stand. 

Logan gave plaintiffs until May 20 to resubmit their complaint with revisions to the dismissed claim that they were harmed by Grand Canyon Education’s investment of proceeds from its alleged racketeering enterprise. The judge noted that “additional facts could remedy Plaintiffs’ claim” on that point. 

“This is the first step in holding Grand Canyon accountable for misleading graduate students about the cost of their education,” Chris Bryant, an attorney with the National Student Defense Network, which filed the complaint together with law firm DiCello Levitt, said in a statement Thursday. 

A spokesperson for Grand Canyon Education declined to comment on the litigation Monday.

Filed Under: Policy & Legal, For-Profit Higher Ed Dive news delivered to your inbox

Get the free daily newsletter read by industry experts

Email: Sign up A valid email address is required. Please select at least one newsletter. Daily Dive newsletter example Editors' picks
  • Two students walk down a staircase inside a campus building while another group students gather in the corridor. Image attribution tooltip SDI Productions via Getty Images Image attribution tooltip 3 takeaways on higher education innovation from the ASU+GSV Summit

    Ongoing challenges could spur the sector to build new kinds of institutions and adopt disruptive practices, higher education experts said. 

    By Natalie Schwartz • April 11, 2025
  • Rep. Ilhan Omar speaks before a post saying "Slashing Education to Pay for Tax Cuts for the Rich." Image attribution tooltip House Committee on Education and Workforce Democrats. (2025). [Photograph]. Retrieved from Flickr. Image attribution tooltip House education committee advances sweeping higher ed bill

    Republicans say the plan would save $330 billion and spur institutions to lower costs, but Democrats argue it would create barriers to college. 

    By Natalie Schwartz • April 29, 2025

ES by OMG

Euro-Savings.com |Buy More, Pay Less | Anywhere in Europe

Shop Smarter, Stretch your Euro & Stack the Savings | Latest Discounts & Deals, Best Coupon Codes & Promotions in Europe | Your Favourite Stores update directly every Second

Euro-Savings.com or ES lets you buy more and pay less anywhere in Europe. Shop Smarter on ES Today. Sign-up to receive Latest Discounts, Deals, Coupon Codes & Promotions. With Direct Brand Updates every second, ES is Every Shopper’s Dream come true! Stretch your dollar now with ES. Start saving today!

Originally posted on: https://www.highereddive.com/news/grand-canyon-education-university-racketeering-lawsuit-proceed-judge/747821/