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Grand Canyon Education Inc. d/b/a Grand Canyon University is facing a class action lawsuit accusing it of refusing to refund tuition charges when students notify the school of their intention to drop classes or withdraw their enrollment.
Plaintiff Lee Ward says he signed up to take online courses from Grand Canyon University, a for-profit college. According to the Grand Canyon University class action lawsuit, nearly 80 percent of the college’s students take courses online and have never visited the campus in Arizona.
“Defendant has assembled a massive marketing and recruiting operation to keep new students enrolling, even though tens of thousands of students drop out each year without a diploma or anything to show for their time as a student,” the Grand Canyon University class action lawsuit states.
The majority of GCU’s funding comes from the federal government, the bulk of which comes from tuition financed through federal student loans and grants, the Grand Canyon University class action lawsuit alleges.
“Since students in many of GCU’s online programs quickly realize that their ‘classes’ and ‘curriculum’ are nothing more than a sham, Defendant’s refund policies are critical to its financial results,” Ward alleges in the GCU class action lawsuit.
According to the Grand Canyon University class action lawsuit, online students are charged excessive fees when they drop a class or withdraw from the college unless they do so before classes begin. If a student drops the course in the first week, that student will be charged at least 25 percent of the tuition. However, a student who fails to drop the course or withdraw after the first week will reportedly be ineligible for a refund. These refund policies are listed in the University Policy Handbook.
“Federal law and regulations do not allow GCU to keep federal grant or loan amounts when a student promptly withdraws from a course,” Ward alleges. GCU has adopted practices designed to discourage online students from dropping or withdrawing from courses so that it can prevent students and the federal government from getting refunds, the GCU class action lawsuit alleges.
Emails and phone calls are not valid methods of dropping classes, according to the GCU class action lawsuit. Although there is an online drop request option, it is not easily accessed by students. Further, the form is written in a manner that discourages students from completing it, Ward alleges.
Ward says he experienced issues when he tried to withdraw from courses in the first week of classes. He says he submitted the withdrawal form online and received an automated notice on the screen indicating his request had been sent, but he says he never received a confirmation. He completed the form three times in the first week without response, the GCU class action lawsuit says.
In the second week of classes, he again submitted the online withdrawal form because he still didn’t receive confirmation. He received a response informing him that, because he waited until after the first week to withdraw, he would still owe the full tuition. He claims he should not owe the full tuition because he initially submitted the withdrawal form in the first week of classes.
Ward has filed the class action lawsuit on behalf of himself and a Class of all Grand Canyon University students whose tuition was not properly refunded or recredited.
The GCU class action lawsuit asserts claims for breach of contract, unjust enrichment and declaratory judgment.
Ward is represented by E. Adam Webb and G. Franklin Lemond Jr. of Webb Klase & Lemond LLC.
The Grand Canyon University Class Action Lawsuit is Lee Ward v. Grand Canyon Education Inc. d/b/a Grand Canyon University, Case No. 1:17-cv-01749, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia.
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135 thoughts onGrand Canyon University Class Action Challenges Non-Refundable Tuition Policy
I would like to be added to this Class Action Suit. I attended Grand Canyon 2021-2022. I had withdraw from school because it was really expensive. It’s very upsetting to hear I was being overcharged. Because I had to take two loans out in addition to my financial aid.
Thank you!
I’m enrolled currently and they are not abiding by Pell grant program requirements and still waiting for my loan check. They used my loans and not scholarship money to pay my 2100 classes on GOD! I get government funds and am not allowed to know ANYTHING
In GCU October of 2017, I registered for courses. I immediately had to drop them & notified a professor within 1 day of beginning courses. I received no telephone calls, no emails, no letters. 5 years letter, I’m being hit with 1 tuition course of $2365.00 that is now sold to a collections agency.
I have located the tax document (which is the SINGLE THING I RECEIVED EVER) from GCU that I never applied to my taxes as I did not use their services.
I believe that $2365.00 should be DELETED & REMOVED due to the incompetency of reaching out to me until sending an invoice 5 years later! I TRIED to drop out!
It’s just super interesting that they have charged for the ONE SINGLE course & not the rest, so it appears they were well aware that I was dropping the terms.
I dropped it quickly enough that my Pell Grant was deleted and appears to not even exist within my Student FAFSA information!
I’m currently enrolled at GCU and am going on my fifth week of online class. I am very unhappy with the assignments and didn’t realize how Christian this university really is. I want to attend my local college in Nevada,where I live and have a bad feeling, I’m going to lose my FASFA, if I withdraw. Please include me in this lawsuit.
How do I get included in this class action Law suit? Class started on a Thursday and I called them Monday first thing to let them know my divorce just finalized, and I needed to withdraw due to no finances. No where during the call did they advise they would still be charging me 25% of the class, if they had, I would have told them to keep me in and I would figure it out. To charge someone over $500 for 2 days of a class is absolutely ridiculous. To not even mention that you are charging until weeks later when its already too late to stay enrolled, is even worse to me.
I also withdrew within the first two days from the online master’s program and am being charged almost $900. I never received a confirmation and could not reach any of the financial advisors, or frankly anyone at all, for over a week despite calling 2-3 times a day for that whole time. Would love to find out how to join this lawsuit.
Please add me. Their withdrawal policy and process is a joke.
Please add me to this law suit. I tried w/d within 10 days from the walk through and downloads of Microsoft program, the MA SW degree is the same accredited program I had already taken classes from in another school. They were making me repeat the same curriculum of classes and then would not answer my emails, calls, nor revert me to any forms needed to drop the courses in the first week-2weeks of the online courses. I had asked to have them check on getting the courses waived. When I got into the courses the curriculum was the exact same! Not only that, but as a MAT teacher, I was asked to cite sources, which I did! I was accused of not siting sources. Then, I was graded down for not citing any sources in paragraphs!? Absolutely not one other student had cited any sources but myself in this course and I was failing!! Purposely! Sabotaged! I had to get out! Unbelievable that a Professor would do do but that’s what was occurring!
Add me if it’s possible. 2016 took online classes. They mailed me a check to wrong address. That check was to be cashed and pay them for said online classes. Someone else cashed check at old address. Filed a report/fraud/BBB/ couldn’t take class because couldn’t pay for class. I was using loans and FAid. Now can’t take any classes, and it’s on my credit report. This other person gets away with the money…
Please add me to the list! I just started yesterday and wasn’t aware that they were so faith (Christian) based in their work. This made me very uncomfortable and doesn’t align with my degree or beliefs. On my first day, yesterday, I asked them to drop me from the school. I was told to either finish this class or be charged 25% of the class. I refuse to pay that for not even doing ANYTHING in this school.
I’m about to call out of class or just stop logging in because I need to do other things. I should stop this now before it’s too late. You can add me to the list because ever since I been here I’ve felt like something is terribly wrong. I’ll repost if something goes wrong. One class is two months long. That’s a bit much for me. Let’s see what happens. Include me because I’m pretty sure they’ll pull something on me too. They’re too fishy for me. I’m not getting Info or updates on anything after my couple of months off. Not even my grade on my last class that I took… And when I had a problem because of assignments that required that I pay for applications and programs and books to complete the assignment, I took time off. Tech never really helped me with anything. They said “ is that all?” “ is there anything else” and wouldn’t help. Then the professor said just turn it in. And Im sure I got a bad grade.
Please add me to the list as well. I attended online 2006-2008 & dropped classes that they made me pay for to the tune of over $8000 plus they gave me F’s as well. They said that the program was nonprofit, which was a complete lie. I was in the Master of Special Ed program. They made me take classes and get endorsements that I could not use in Kansas. I had to find my own Licensed Teacher with an Administrative Degree to check me off and observe me in the classroom at Southeast High School for GCU because they could not find someone to do that. I would not have been able to Graduate without that completed. Then, the entire classes would have been a waste of money. Also, they raised the prices continuously and my debt was astronomical compared to a special education teachers pay. Also, they promised job placement and higher wages. This school should fall under the Education Defense Student Loan Relief because they for sure rape their students.
Please include my name is the Class action suit. GCU did not help me at all and the professors were absent for most of the classes. They raised the their prices without notice and did not offer what they promised.
My acceptance, loan approval. Enrollment, completion of 15 hours, course withdrawal, school on hold for 1 year, reapplication for more federal loans accepted, pre Enrollment., was put on permanent
Delay when in 2014, I received letter stating my degree would not be accepted in my working(home) state of Arkansas. I had also began paying my loans off at @$167.00 per month.
Please include me as well.