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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 failed My first class because I kept having technical issues, they took out 2 loans in my name to help pay for my tuition which I still don’t understand when I also had full financial aid assistance and some kinda scholarship from gcu itself. I’m still enrolled at gcu but want to switch to another university can someone please help me figure out how to do this without paying these people any more money? Can I also be included in the lawsuit?
I would like to be included in this class action suit. My story is the same. One week into the program I knew it wasn’t going to work for me. None of these “fees” were disclosed to me as I was rushed into the program to “take advantage” of a tuition break. I owe over $1500 for three days of an introductory course. Clearly, this is their standard practice. It seems very un-Christian for a self-proclaimed Christian institution.
Right. I just had this done to me. They kept contacting me left and right and I never rushed like this during my undergrad. I owe 5,876. I never owed my whole college career smh. I want my time and money back.
I would like in I have 2010-2016 issues with this, I have fought and fought I am out of fight and at a dead end. I have over 72k in debit because of them. Even with a GI bill…. help!
Please include me, I was told not to drop a class and do my best, however I knew I was not going to pass the class. I paid $ 1600 for the F I received. The counselor’s advise you to stay in the class.
We need legal advise on this. Please contact me.
I completed my first class at GCU. I have had several technical issues. Can’t get in. Couldnt find how to drop. They have contacted me several times. Basically daily, during my business hours and via email. On my credit I have a loan taken out that was reported in May, figured it was for that first class. I got an email yesterday stating I owe and will be sent to collections. My balance for one class is 2,226.67 cents. I took a federal loan out to cover this… I have attended my local University and never had anything like this. Was just sent an email back and they said I owe a different balance because they sent a portion of my loan back. Doesn’t make sense to me.
Please include me. I dropped a course due to Coronavirus and now owe $1,800.00
I have doubts that this will legitimately improve my withdrawal fee due to the GCU policy, but I have finished my first course in my program with an A and insist I pay less than the $1800 I have to pay for returning my student loans.
I would like to be involved with this too, I continued to tell my counselor that I was injured and I was told to adjust my laptop, you got this, etc. I started week three and called again and was told I would have to pay for the class, but if I passed it I would have to pay for half of the cost which is still approximately $700-$800.00 . I wish I was made aware of this before. Now I’m supposed to go through the disability office and provide my notes from my doctor who is not in the office until next week. I felt so much pressure to continue because I was told my degree was being retired. After reading the comments I’m probably going to have to pay for the class in full anyway and I’m a 4.0 student. I wish I would have read all the reviews about GCU But at the time I started there weren’t too many reviews and now I have been reading them and I’m appalled at how GCU can get away with everything they do.
How do you get involved with this class Action? My husband is being charged $4000 for a failed class. He obtained this extra charge during a family emergency, in which our son was in the hospital for over month!
I was a previous student and when I attempted to complete my program, I was told I would be required to take additional courseS AFTER my course work was 98% complete. I would be required to pay for loans in addition to additional course work SMH
I too had tried to withdraw after only attending the first two class assignments. I found the classes not what I was expecting . I thought that by simply notifying the school registrar that I was no longer going to attend classes and to drop me from the program that would stop everything. It Didn’t. Now i’m hounded by collectors for something I thought I had finished.