Grand Canyon University, the largest for-profit college in the United States, was recently fined $37.7 million for deceptive and illegal recruitment practices. The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) announced that they found violations of federal and state laws that resulted in students taking on excessive amounts of student loan debt.
The OIG found that Grand Canyon University illegally compensated its recruiters with incentives that rewarded them for enrolling students, regardless of the students’ qualifications for admission. The university’s recruiting efforts reached some students who lacked the necessary academic qualifications or the financial means to attend college. In addition, the OIG determined that the university also misled students by promising job opportunities that were not available and by inflating salary figures to entice them to enroll.
The money from the fine will go towards a student loan debt forgiveness program, which will assist dozens of students who were taken advantage of by Grand Canyon University. The program itself is a landmark achievement and has drawn praise from taxpayers and student loan advocates alike.
While Grand Canyon University is the largest for-profit college in the United States, they are not the only school to be accused of similar deceptive practices. There have been numerous reports of colleges misrepresenting the availability of job opportunities, exaggerating potential salary figures, and even forcing students to take on excessive amounts of loan debt in order to attend school.
It is estimated that at least $1.5 trillion in student loan debt is currently being shouldered by over 44 million Americans. The U.S. Department of Education is working to address this crisis and the actions against Grand Canyon University should serve as a warning to other institutions that similar deceptive practices will result in consequences.