Grand Canyon University

The FTC has filed a lawsuit against Phoenix-based Grand Canyon University alleging deceptive advertising practices.

In a complaint filed last week in Arizona federal court, the FTC accuses GCU of misrepresenting the costs and number of courses required to earn a doctoral degree at the school, which the agency alleges masqueraded as a nonprofit.

According to the lawsuit, GCU pays 60 percent of its revenue to Grand Canyon Education, a publicly traded company that is also named as a defendant, along with its CEO Brian Mueller who is also the president of GCU.

The complaint alleges that GCU represented that students can earn a doctorate though its “accelerated” doctoral programs after completing 20 courses (or 60 credits), costing somewhere between $40,000 and $50,000, when the school requires nearly all doctoral students to take additional “continuation courses,” which cost thousands of dollars more.

“Most of the students that enroll in GCU doctoral programs never receive the doctoral degree for which they enrolled,” the lawsuit states.

The complaint also claims the defendants are responsible for “millions of abusive telemarketing calls” to consumers who specifically requested on online forms not to be contacted and to individuals on the National Do Not Call Registry.

GCU offers online and in-person courses in undergraduate and graduate programs. Last fall, GCU said it had more than 25,000 students attending classes in-person and over 85,000 students taking classes online.

In October, the U.S. Department of Education announced a $37.7 million fine against GCU over similar claims that the school misrepresented the costs of its doctoral programs. GCU is appealing the fine.

In response to a request for comment, a GCU spokesman said the university doesn’t dispute that doctoral students take continuation classes or incur additional costs but that such costs are adequately disclosed to students.

With regard to the other allegations, GCU President Brian Mueller said in a statement provided to TINA.org that the school has “legal nonprofit status” and that GCE, on behalf of GCU, “only reaches out to those who have inquired about GCU’s programs or otherwise expressed interest in attending the university.”

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