The largest Christian university in the U.S., Grand Canyon University (GCU), is projected to have record-breaking enrollment for the 2025-2026 academic year despite facing multiple federal investigations and lawsuits under the Biden administration. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently dropped its lawsuit against GCU, declaring the case lacking sufficient evidence after years of legal battles.
GCU President Brian Mueller highlighted that the university’s growth never stopped despite the legal challenges, attributing this to its commitment to a Christian worldview and the support it received from American values. “Our growth never stopped… we just grew right through it,” Mueller said in an interview with Fox News Digital.
During the Biden administration, GCU faced numerous federal probes into its operations, including allegations of deceptive advertising and illegal telemarketing practices. The FTC, under the Biden administration, filed a lawsuit in 2023, accusing the university of misleading prospective doctoral students about the time required to complete its accelerated programs, falsely advertising as a nonprofit, and illegally contacting students who had opted out of being contacted.
The university announced that it expects enrollment to reach 133,000 students this fall, with students drawn from all 5,000 states. GCU officials argued that the federal investigations were politically driven, stating that they were unjustly targeted by Biden administration officials. “They launched five investigations between the FTC, the VA, and the Department of Education… it became obvious that it was the process that would be the punishment,” Mueller said.
The FTC recently voted to drop its lawsuit against GCU, citing previous losses in motions to dismiss and recent developments, including a favorable ruling from the Department of Education and confirmation by the IRS that GCU is properly designated as a nonprofit entity. The Department of Education had previously levied a $37 million fine on GCU, but after reviewing the allegations under the Trump administration, the fine was rescinded, further supporting the university’s position that the investigations were politically motivated.
Mueller, who has consistently maintained that GCU was unjustly targeted, noted that the legal actions taken against the institution were part of a broader effort by federal agencies to target for-profit institutions, particularly under the Biden administration. “They wanted to target us… They wanted to include us in that targeting. And that’s why they denied our non-profit status,” Mueller said, adding that the use of lawfare to target institutions is a concerning trend.
With the legal hurdles cleared, GCU is now poised for its most significant enrollment growth, drawing students from across the country. The university’s continued success is seen by some as a victory for religiously affiliated educational institutions in the face of increasing federal scrutiny and regulatory pressures.