Miguel Cardona admits he has a vendetta against a Christian college
Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona recently admitted that it is his goal to “shut down” one of the most successful Christian colleges in the nation. He is doing so under false pretenses.
While testifying before the House Appropriations Committee about the budget for the Department of Education earlier this month, Cardona said that the department is “cracking down” on Grand Canyon University to “not only to shut them down, but to send a message to not prey on students.”
If Cardona were being honest about protecting students from predatory colleges, there would be no issue with his comment, but that is not the case. Cardona is targeting Grand Canyon University through a range of fishing expeditions meant to give the impression that the college is defrauding students by misrepresenting the cost of some of its programs.
In October, the Biden administration’s Department of Education announced it was fining Grand Canyon University $37.7 million, claiming the school “lied to more than 7,500 former and current students about the cost of its doctoral programs over several years.” According to the department, “GCU falsely advertised a lower cost than what 98% of students ended up paying to complete certain doctoral programs.”
The fine came after several other investigations by the Biden administration into the school failed to yield sufficient evidence of any wrongdoing. The school still maintains it did nothing wrong and is appealing the fine.
By saying that his goal is to shut down Grand Canyon University, Cardona essentially is admitting that he and the Biden administration levied the fine against the university because they harbor a personal vendetta against the college and have little regard for the good of the thousands of students that attend it.
The root of this animosity is twofold. First, Grand Canyon University is arguably the most successful Christian institution of higher education in the nation and has a conservative lean. The school currently has more than 100,000 students enrolled through its online and in-person programs. Secondly, the Biden administration has been openly hostile to for-profit colleges, and the university was a for-profit school for a number of years before switching to non-profit status. This change in tax status was recognized by every single relevant agency except for the Department of Education and the Federal Trade Commission. Coincidentally, both agencies have open investigations into the school.
The department is also trying to hide its paper trail in the matter. The Goldwater Institute, an Arizona based think tank, was forced to sue the agency after it failed to comply with a public records request into the department’s decision to fine the university.
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As far as targets for political harassment go, Grand Canyon University may be among the most sympathetic victims. The school has not raised its tuition in more than a decade, despite significant inflation in the overall economy, and it offers an affordable program that helps students avoid crushing student loan debt. Far from predatory behavior, this sets Grand Canyon University apart from most colleges that have little concern that their bloated tuition rates will saddle their students with crushing student loans destined to hold them back from financial stability for years.
If Cardona really wants to send a message to colleges and universities that they cannot “prey on students,” he should look to the high-priced institutions that have convinced multiple generations of students that taking out gargantuan and crippling loans is a pathway to success.
