Former Students File Motion for Class Certification In Case Against Grand Canyon Education
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 27, 2026
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Former Students File Motion for Class Certification In Case Against Grand Canyon Education
RICO Suit Alleges Grand Canyon Education Hid True Doctoral Costs, Leaving Students to Pay Millions More Than Promised
Washington, D.C. — Former Grand Canyon University (GCU) students filed a Motion for Class Certification on February 26 in their case against GCU’s for-profit service partner Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (GCE), that accuses GCE of defrauding them and their fellow students for millions of dollars by lying about tuition costs. By seeking class certification, the students ask the court to formally recognize the classes of doctoral students affected by GCE’s practices so that their claims can be addressed collectively.
The students’ original RICO lawsuit was filed in June 2024 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona by Student Defense and the national law firm DiCello Levitt. The students allege that from 2017 through 2023, GCE misled prospective students about the cost of doctoral degrees at GCU. The motion for class certification outlines the following evidence:
GCE/GCU was aware that almost all doctoral program graduates needed to pay for costly continuation courses, but did not share that information with prospective students, or with the GCE employees who recruited the students.
Every student who applied to a GCU doctoral program before November 2023 received information detailing a “total program cost,” but it omitted the high likelihood that they would have to pay for continuation courses to complete the program.
In a 2019 Q3 Earnings Call, GCE CEO and GCU President Brian Mueller told investors that “every student who starts a [GCU online] program knows the full cost of the entire program before they begin.” However, both GCE and GCU knew this statement was not true for doctoral students.
In May 2025, a federal judge denied Grand Canyon University’s motion to dismiss this lawsuit. The ruling was one of the first federal court decisions in recent years that RICO claims against a for-profit education company are actionable. GCU disbursed more Title IV Direct Loans than any other participating institution from 2022–2024, exceeding $1 billion annually.
GCE’s deadline to respond to the motion for class certification is March 30, and Plaintiffs will reply on April 26.
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About Student Defense
The National Student Legal Defense Network (“Student Defense”) is a non-profit organization that works through litigation and advocacy to advance students' rights to educational opportunity, and to ensure that higher education provides a launching point for economic mobility.
About DiCello Levitt
At DiCello Levitt, we’re dedicated to achieving justice for our clients through class action, environmental, mass tort, securities, financial services, antitrust, business-to-business, public client, whistleblower, personal injury, and civil and human rights litigation. Our lawyers are highly respected for their ability to litigate and win cases—whether by trial, settlement, or otherwise—for people who have suffered harm, global corporations that have sustained significant economic losses, and public clients seeking to protect their citizens’ rights and interests. Every day, we put our reputations—and our capital—on the line for our clients.
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