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In testimony before Congress, Education Secretary Miguel Cardona vowed to “shut down” Grand Canyon University (GCU), one of the nation’s largest and most successful private universities, but his motives were purely political. Seem.
Secretary Cardona’s department fined GCU $37.7 million, the largest fine in agency history. By comparison, the Department of Education fined Pennsylvania $2.4 million for failing to report Jerry Sandusky’s sex crimes and Michigan $4.5 million for failing to address sexual assault by Larry Nassar. did.
What is the basis for this unusual fine? The department alleges that GCU failed to provide the doctor with adequate information. Tell students that they need to complete their dissertation and take the course at the same time. This is a pretextual deception.
The Biden administration has laid siege to Grand Canyon University through a coalition of various federal agencies and politically motivated bureaucrats.
Cardona’s testimony and public records requested by the Goldwater Institute show that the government’s real motive is not any wrongdoing on the part of GCU, but hostility to private, affordable education that does not toe the line of nationalist political parties. It’s clear.
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By any standard, GCU is a success story. Initially with less than 1,000 students and few courses offered, he now enrolls over 100,000 students across programs and offers degrees in every conceivable field.
GCU is known for supporting Phoenix’s low-income communities. We have a successful track record of graduating students and placing them in good jobs, including in industry. We respect the diversity of perspectives and ideas. And most impressively, GCU has not increased tuition fees for students in over 15 years.
This is in stark contrast to public universities, which are plagued by extreme ideologies, bloated administration, and crippling student debt.
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One would think that the Biden administration’s Department of Education would take credit for this success.Instead, it is surrounded the university Through coordinated efforts among various federal agencies and politically motivated bureaucrats.
When news broke of the government’s attack on GCU, the Goldwater Institute, where we work, filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the U.S. Department of Education to clarify communications between senior officials at the department and other federal agencies. I asked for it.
Secretary Miguel Cardona and the Federal Communications Commissioner during a roundtable discussion at the Johnson County Central Resource Library as part of the Department of Education’s “Back to School Bus Tour 2023: Raise the Bar” campaign in Overland Park, Kansas. Jessica Rosenworcel, chair of the association. September 5, 2023. (Aryn Yun/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
We also looked at the number of student complaints filed regarding GCU’s graduate programs. Apparently, no record of complaint was made. Instead, the department produced 800 pages of almost completely redacted records.
What is the federal government hiding and why aren’t Education Department officials letting the public know how and why they imposed the largest fine in history on one of the nation’s largest and highest-performing private schools? ?
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Cardona’s Congressional testimony and certain records produced suggest why: The federal government’s decision to attack GCU was a political decision, not a coercive one.
When the agency imposed the fine on GCU, it did so through a ceremonial press release, which is strange at best, and a government agency that should conduct an impartial investigation and bring only legitimate enforcement actions. This is especially strange for .
We now suspect that the press release was done in coordination with the White House. Emails between Shinn Inouye, the Education Department’s assistant secretary for communications, and senior department officials reveal that Inouye coordinates the department’s messages with the White House.
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In an email dated October 6, 2023, Mr. Inouye asked senior officials about the documents they were “sending to WH” and said:[l]ast is asking for editing. ”And Mr. Inouye said: “WH has been cleared. I’ll send it to the reporter now.”
Secretary Miguel Cardona speaks at the National Safe Communities Summit held at the University of Hartford on June 16, 2023 in West Hartford, Connecticut. (Bing Guan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Unfortunately, the majority of these communications were redacted. It is therefore unclear what kind of “permission” officials in charge of investigating and prosecuting the case will seek from the White House.
But what is clear is that politicians and political appointees seem more interested in directing media coverage than in fairly adjudicating legal claims. This should surprise all Americans.
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Mr. Cardona’s testimony that he seeks to “shut down” GCU makes it clear that the federal government has no interest in allowing private universities to provide a successful alternative to the status quo of higher education. .
And as the department refuses to provide information on this unusual fine, the public is left wondering why the Biden administration isn’t providing more information. focused on improving higher education In the United States, politically motivated prosecutions instead only harm students seeking to receive an affordable, high-quality education.
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Stacey Skanky is an attorney for the Goldwater Institute, which is suing the Department of Education to compel public records production.
