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UPDATE:
- A judge dismissed this case Dec. 19, 2019.
A Grand Canyon University student has filed a class action lawsuit alleging that the private, for-profit school deceptively markets the value and nature of its professional programs by misleading its students to think it has accreditation that it does not.
Additionally, the students argue that the university further misrepresents itself to students by taking out loans for students without their knowledge or consent.
The Grand Canyon University accreditation class action lawsuit was filed by Katie Ogdon who signed up for Grand Canyon University Master of Science in Psychology with an emphasis in Health Psychology program.
Ogdon says she did this because she was told that the program was a suitable way to reach her intended career.
However, she claims to have later discovered that the school did not have the appropriate accreditation to allow her to qualify for licensure as a mental health therapist in California, as she had intended.
Allegedly, the school uses “advisors” who market unaccredited professional programs to students. Ogdon states that these advisors recommend that students take classes that will not allow them to quality for licensure.
According to Ogdon, the school enrolls thousands of students per year in unaccredited programs. She notes that primarily, these students aim to pursue careers in the healthcare and educational fields.
The Grand Canyon University accreditation class action lawsuit states that Ogdon and many other students are financially injured by this practice, because they are effectively tricked into paying for education that is useless.
She states that no student would knowingly enroll in a professional degree program only to obtain a degree that is not accepted.
The plaintiff further stresses that this scheme prohibits students from transferring their coursework to an other institution — one with an accredited program — because an accredited program will not accept Grand Canyon University course credits.
The Grand Canyon University accreditation class action lawsuit states that GCU systematically puts profits ahead of its students best interest.
She notes that the school is a for-profit university, but argues that the school tricks students into thinking it is non-profit because of how GCE, Grand Canyon’s educational services business, was strategically distanced from the school.
The Grand Canyon University accreditation class action lawsuit contests that the school’s profitability relies on the low quality of the education provided which prevents the school from proving the accredited programs sought by many professionals.
Ogdon explains that the school hires low-quality professors and pays them a low wage, often on a part-time basis.
She asserts that the school spends only 15 percent of its revenue on faculty salaries, whereas most four-year accredited universities spend around 70 percent of revenue on faculty salaries.
The school is allegedly lacking in training and support for these underpaid professors and doles out substandard educational materials to students.
Allegedly, these elements make the program profitable for the school, but prevent it from meeting the standards necessary for accreditation.
The Grand Canyon University tuition class action lawsuit then goes on to say that the school intentionally keeps students in the dark about the nature of their education in other ways. The also school perpetuates this scheme through information misleadingly presented by the school “advisors.”
Additionally, Ogden says that the school is mostly funded by the tuition of students gained through student loan programs.
She argues that this means that the federal government is “wasting hundreds of millions of dollars each year of unaccredited degree programs which do not advance students or their professional careers.”
Ogdon notes that many students at Grand Canyon are online students, explaining that the school gains a significant portion of its revenue from these students.
School representatives are reportedly told to recruit students by glossing over the school’s method for procuring student loans to pay for a Grand Canyon University tuition. Specifically, Ogden says that the representatives do not explain that the school takes out loans on their behalf, nor do they tell them the amount of the loans.
Allegedly, the school relies on the fact that that most student loan payments are not due until after a student has graduated, so many students at Grand Canyon University complete their studies before they realize that they are in thousands of dollars in debt without their previous knowledge.
These allegations are not the first launched against Grand Canyon University over misleading marketing tactics.
If you pursued higher education, how did you choose your educational institution? Share your experiences in the comments below.
Ogdon is represented by Annick Persinger, Hassan A. Zavareei, and Kristen G. Simplicio of Tycko & Zavareei LLP.
The Grand Canyon University Accreditation Class Action Lawsuit is Katie Ogdon v. Grand Canyon University Inc., et al., Case No. 1:20-at-00363, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California.
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61 thoughts onGrand Canyon University Class Action Alleges Accreditation Scam
In 2015 I decided to research college universities in Arizona to pursue a Ph.D. in psychology. One day I entered the GCU website and I submitted my contact information online to enquire information regarding the Performance Psychology Program. Two hours later I received a call from a recruiter asking me about my past education and qualification. I shared with the recruiter my academic achievement and goals. Every week he continues calling and telling me about this wonderful Ph.D. program. I remembered asking the recruiter to meet in person to go more in-depth about the Ph.D. Every time he refused to meet and reported that they do not meet in person. Looking back now, he was like a car salesman. Like many other students, I felt in their scam and trap. I attended from 2015 to 2018 and after I figure out the rip-off, the lack of support from staff, advisors, and all the obstacles GCU creates to complete the dissertation to make money, I dropped out immediately. Besides, I did not know the school was for profit after i dropped out. The advisor tricks the students into thinking it is not profit. The advisor and staff misled me all way until my internship/ dissertation. I feel like a fool, getting myself in student debt not knowing GCU’s fraudulent practice. I know a lot of professors are aware of the scam, but money talks.
I, too, was decieved and duped out of more money by GCU. After being enrolled in the wrong degree of courses and it taking months to be switched around. This gave an inaccurate course pathway causing issues in the end to prove whether or not I completed all coursework for my degree and not the incorrect one. In addition, a week prior to graduating I was informed I had not completed all coursework for my degree but could still participate in graduation. But, I had to return in the summer or fall to complete my last class. Keep in mind, I did finish all coursework which qualified me for student teaching. Turns out that I started at GCU when the classes were only 3 credits. Towards the end of my degree, they switched to 4 credit classes. Leaving me short credits. I found that to be unfair, since if it was still 3 credit courses I would have been done. I’m the end what was I going to do, not continue and finish my degree?
GCU was a great school when I initially went for Business Management. After they introduced a Cyber Security / Computer Science program and I switched my major to this program, I can not advise anyone attend that program.
Through over a year of attending the Comp Sci program, only 1 or 2 instructors stayed through the course of each class. Every other instructor would never grade work, assist when messaged, or show up to video-meetings until the last week of class. It was horrible and completely turned me off the computer science as I would turn to online resources to complete my classwork.
After switching Universities, I was surprised to find that the last year of Comp Sci credits are invalid and not accredited. I ended up doing another year of computer science in the new University, switched back to Business Management, and found that most of my GCU credits in the Business Management field would transfer.
I was glad to finish out my years of full-time university with an undergrad degree when it could have been a graduate had my comp sci credits transferred.
I too was ripped off by GCU. Shortly into my program I was essentially forced to change programs because the degree program in which I enrolled was suddenly done away with and replaced by a different degree plan. Subsequently, I had to take different classes than originally planned. My program was online and I was often billed without my knowledge for e-books that I did not use nor was I aware they had been charged to my account. I rejected excess loan amounts on a few occasions to reduce my debt, however, many times I was not informed that cost of living stipends were even offered until the check arrived. Advisors did not return calls or emails in answer to questions. In the end I graduated with significant debt which forced me to change my plans toward pursuing a graduate degree. I simply could not afford any more debt and paying this back has been an enormous burden. I was never fully informed as to what the financial aid department was doing nor was I given an accounting one semester to the next. I was deceived and the school profited immensely by making charges to my student loans of which I was unaware or was ignored when I protested.
I would like to know more about the criteria to join I this lawsuit. Was making A’s and B’s until it was time for the methodology research and all of a sudden I am told I have it all wrong and need more classes. Had no idea that they had exhausted my loan funds and wanted me to pay for additional courses out of pocket. Their practices are deceitful. Also had a course where the professor quit and we had no instructor after the first week. I informed them of this and requested a refund but they refused and I had to pay for another class from my loan funds. I ended up dropping out because I could not afford to pay for classes out of pocket.
Help!! I think I’ve been scammed by GCU also!!!
The way I was recruited was a bit sketchy and I am realizing now that I have been badly deceived by GCU’s secondary education sales people (won’t call them advisors – they’re sales people).
I have to agree with everything that I’ve read here in this class action lawsuit because I’ve asked so many times to drop a course that I’m in only to be told that if I drop the class that has already been paid for I have to pay again that would be 2,380 and it’s already been paid I’ve said from week two that this class is not something that I want to continue in I’ve struggled with it I had all A’s at first and getting into this course it’s been very difficult.
I keep getting redirected when I say I want to drop the class I’ve been told several times to wait a week and then revisit when I already know I don’t want to continue but I’m faced with paying a second time for a class that is already been paid for it’s so frustrating three courses away from finishing my masters degree and I’m told I can’t drop the course without paying a second time it doesn’t seem fair at all.
Can you please tell me if this lawsuit has been resolved? I was looking into GCU for a Masters in School Counseling.
Go to a reputable school – GCU is not one of those. All these reviews are not false – I just completed their DNP program and still haven’t officially graduated yet – it’s been over a month and they are giving me the run-around. This school is way overpriced for the BS you’ll be forced to put up with anyways.
I would love to know the state of this. I am working on a doctorate and due to their lies about accreditation I may not be able to upgrade my license when I finish.,
I just completed my Education Specialist (EdS) in Teaching and Learning program at Grand Canyon. I am not able to upgrade my licenses because of the lie they told me. Grand Canyon was not accreditive when I was going according to the Georgia PSC.
Count me in. I’m supposed to have a Masters in Healthcare informatics, my coursework involved just writing papers
Count me in I have been withdrawn from school and a hold is place I talked to my student services advisor and she explained it takes 3 weeks to send funding back remind me if I’m withdrawn why is they still trying to get my funding I had a 0 balance now I got a credit and she talking about setting up a payment plan why should I when I had a 0 balance and I asked to speak to financial aid she told me she had to deal with it cause she has all the information and financial can’t tell me anything until next week when it’s process never heard of that because student services and financial aid are two different things. The courses has nothing to do with the degree you are seeking either.