Breck Dumas
December 29, 2023
Grand Canyon University President Brian Mueller says FTC allegations are ‘height of absurdity’
Grand Canyon University (GCU) President Brian Mueller says the allegations made in the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) lawsuit against the school this week are “the height of absurdity” and further proof of what he says are coordinated and targeted actions being taken by the federal government against the institution.
The FTC on Wednesday announced that the agency is suing GCU, its marketer Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (GCE), and Mueller personally, claiming the defendants deceptively marketed the school as a nonprofit, misled prospective students about costs and engaged in illegal telemarketing.
Mueller said in a lengthy statement Thursday that the fact that the FTC is taking issue with GCU, the largest Christian university in the U.S., identifying itself as a non-profit entity during an 18-month window after the school transitioned to become a non-profit in 2018 is “nonsensical.”
“That transaction was blessed by the IRS, State of Arizona and our accrediting body (Higher Learning Commission), so of course we identified ourselves as a nonprofit because we were… and are,” Mueller said.
