Goldwater Institute sues Education Department over records related to Grand Canyon fine

Higher Ed Dive

Lilah Burke

February 15, 2024

Dive Brief:

• The Goldwater Institute, a conservative think tank, is suing the U.S. Department of Education to release emails and records related to its decision to fine Grand Canyon University $37.7 million.

• The Education Department accused the Christian university in October of lying to thousands of students about the cost of its doctoral programs, leading to the largest fine of its kind.

• The Goldwater Institute alleges in the complaint that it requested the records from the department under the Freedom of Information Act, but that the agency has not complied.

Dive Insight:

Grand Canyon has previously accused Education Department officials of collaborating with those at the Federal Trade Commission and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to retaliate against the university over an ongoing legal matter.

The Goldwater Institute made similar accusations when announcing its lawsuit.

“The records may help inform the public about this extraordinary fine, as well as coordination between various federal agencies in what appears to be the intentionally targeting of a successful university — one that’s no stranger to run-ins with the feds — based on extraordinarily thin allegations,” the think tank said in a Wednesday release.

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