Grand Canyon University scores court victory in battle over nonprofit status
Natalie Schwartz
November 11, 2024
The U.S. Department of Education applied the wrong legal test when denying the institution’s request to be considered a nonprofit, an appeals court ruled.
Dive Brief:
The U.S. Department of Education applied the wrong legal standard when denying Grand Canyon University’s request to be considered a nonprofit, a federal appeals court ruled last week, scoring a major win for the 123,000-student Christian institution.
In 2019, the Education Department said it would continue treating Grand Canyon University as a for-profit for Title IV federal financial aid purposes. The decision kicked off a protracted legal battle over the university’s status, with a federal judge siding with the department in 2022.
But a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously overturned that decision Friday, ruling that the Education Department held the university to a stricter standard than required under the Higher Education Act.
