Grand Canyon University Hit with $37.7M Fine for Deceptive Marketing of Doctoral Degrees

The U.S. Education Department has fined Grand Canyon University, the largest for-profit college in the country, $37.7 million for misrepresenting the costs of its doctoral programs. The agency found that the university told students that enrolling in the program would cost $40,000 to $49,000, but 98% of doctoral students needed more than the promised 60 credit hours to graduate, resulting in additional costs of $10,000 to $12,000. The Education Department stated that almost no students were able to complete their doctoral program within the represented number of credits, and many were unable to receive federal financial aid for the additional courses.