Grand Canyon U takes nonprofit fight to the courts as Biden presidency nears

HIGHER ED DIVE

Hallie Busta

February 2, 2021

UPDATE: Feb. 2, 2021: Grand Canyon University is taking the U.S. Department of Education to court in an effort to require the federal agency to classify it as a nonprofit institution for the purpose of receiving federal financial aid. In a filing Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona, the university argued that the department’s decision to regard it as a for-profit is “arbitrary and capricious” and lacking “fundamental fairness.”

Among its complaints, Grand Canyon contends the department exceeded its authority by “questioning” aspects of the school’s new relationship with its former parent company, which is now its education services provider. The university also challenged the basis of the department’s ability to determine whether an institution is a nonprofit or a for-profit.

The university announced last month that it planned to sue the department, its latest move in a years-long battle to revert to nonprofit status with the department.

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