On Thursday, a federal judge ruled against Grand Canyon University, which had sued the U.S. Department of Education for refusing to recognize GCU as a nonprofit institution.
GCU began as a nonprofit, but was put up for sale in 2004 due to financial difficulties.
Years later, the college sought to regain its nonprofit status and split from its former owner.
Though the IRS approved GCU as a 501(c)(3) entity, and the university’s accreditor approved its nonprofit status, the Department of Education maintained GCU as for-profit because of an agreement that still provided revenue to the university’s former owner.
While federal Judge Susan Bolton ruled that the department has the authority to determine nonprofit status, GCU can still openly disagree with the opinions of the department.
