Cardona made comments to his testimony before the House Appropriations Committee about cracking down on Grand Canyon University and others similar to it on April 10th.

Following Department of Education Secretary Miguel Cardona has pledged to close the Grand Canyon University (GCU) the biggest Christian school across the U.S., GCU officials have resisted by explaining to Fox News Digital the crackdown is rooted in “deeply held bias.”

Cardona made remarks during an House Appropriations Committee hearing about taking action against GCU as well as other universities similar to it on April 10.

Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn. asked Cardona what steps the administration has taken in trying to stop GCU the school, which she described as “a predatory for-profit school.”

Cardona was openly supportive of the enforcement methods they employ, saying “we are cracking down not only to shut them down, but to send a message to not prey on students.”

‘PREDATORY FOR-PROFIT COLLEGE’

“Last year, your Department took action against Grand Canyon University, a predatory for-profit college, over the school’s failure to accurately disclose its cost to students, driving up the true cost for those students requiring for them to pay for continuation courses before they would graduate – scam courses added about $10,000 or more to the cost of education to these kids,” DeLauro claimed.

“Going after predatory schools preying on first generation students. They have flashy marketing materials, but the product is not worth the paper it is printed on. Increased enforcement budget to go after these folks and crack down. Levied largest fine in history against a school that lied about costs and terminated a school from Title IV. We are cracking down not only to shut them down, but to send a message not to prey on students,” Cardona replied.

GCU appealed an $37.7 million fine that the department imposed in November, based on claims that the Arizona-based education institution misled students regarding the costs associated with doctoral degrees over a number of years.

The fine is more than the amount that is the Department of Education previously gave to schools such as Penn State ($2.4 million) and Michigan State ($4.5 million) because they did not address Jerry Sandusky and Larry Nassar’s violations, respectively.

The department stated in a press release from October that an investigation carried out through the offices of Federal Student Aid (FSA) discovered that GCU “lied” to over 7,500 students, both current and former, regarding the costs associated with its doctoral program. In the release, it was also stated that GCU “falsely advertises” a lower price for doctoral degrees and that 98 percent of students had to pay more than advertised costs.

The school was given a deadline of 20 days to either request an hearing before the Department’s Office of Hearings and Appeals or submit a response to the FSA to justify why a fine shouldn’t be placed on the table. It was also noted that the Department also imposed a set of requirements on the university to remain enrolled in Federal student assistance programs.

A GCU spokesperson informed Fox News Digital that they don’t expect that a hearing will take place until January.

“Our next recourse after that decision would be another appeal within the Department, this time directly to the Secretary of Education,” the GCU official added.

“HOLDING HIGHER EDUCATIONAL ACCOUNTABLE”

“This is far from being a few rotten apples in the bunch. Predatory for-profit colleges have engaged in a range of deceptions designed to increase enrollment and student costs to drive more revenue for owners and shareholders,” DeLauro stated during the hearing on April 10. “How are you and your agency committing to increased oversight of these institutions and are there anyway in which we can shut these folks down?”

Cardona claimed that the agency used “multiple strategies” to crack down on universities that are for profit that include “borrower defense, debt discharge, holding colleges more accountable, and holding higher education institutions more accountable.”

In relation to defense of the borrower, Cardona added that for-profit colleges were “preying on first-generation students.”

“You have a shiny brochure and a great commercial. But the product is not worth the paper it’s written on. We have students graduating 60K to 70K dollars in debt, only eligible for jobs making under 30K-that to me is unacceptable.”

‘INCREASED ENFORCEMENT’

In response to the comment of Cardona about closing down universities such as GCU In response to Cardona’s comments about closing down universities like GCU, the GCU spokesperson stated to Fox News Digital that “officials continue to make derogatory and inflammatory public statements that are legally and factually incorrect and not shared by any of the other 26 regulatory and accrediting bodies that oversee GCU.”

“The Secretary’s comments to the House Appropriations Committee were so reckless that GCU is demanding an immediate retraction, as they do not reflect the factual record in this case. He is either confused, misinformed or does not understand the actions taken by his own agency,” the spokesperson said.

GCU’s president has previously expressed his displeasure. GCU has previously voiced the Fox News Digital sentiments of being “unfairly targeted.”

“OTHER FAITH-BASED ORGANIZATIONS CAN BE Next’

Cardona’s remarks came following the launch of an online petition for “protect Christian colleges,” initiated through the American Principles Project (APP).

The petition was created to raise “light of the Biden administration’s unprecedented attacks on our nation’s largest Christian colleges” and calls for “the administration halt their crusade and let students choose the schools that fit their values.”

“The federal government’s education agenda is punishing schools that do not conform to their progressive ideology. It’s time we take a stand against this egregious abuse of power,” APP Policy Director Jon Schweppe said. “The scrutinize-and-penalize campaign against faith-based institutions is not about students’ interests or well-being. Rather, it’s part of a concerted effort to snuff out education choice and promote far-left values. It’s critical that Americans be aware of this shameful campaign and that we do all we can to put a stop to it.”

In response to the efforts of APP, GCU officials told Fox News Digital that they believe that the “American people are losing confidence in the federal government to be fair and objective in their operations.”

“There are clearly no checks and balances to prevent this type of behavior from the Department of Education,” they stated. “We support any organization that is willing to shed light on the federal government’s unwarranted and targeted actions taken against GCU. If they can make these claims against the largest Christian university in the country, other faith-based organizations could be next.”

In addition there was a lawsuit filed by The Goldwater Institute sued ED in February in federal court, citing “refusing to turn over public records” regarding the $37.7 million penalty against GCU. The Goldwater Institute claimed that the records specifically might reveal the collaboration between federal agencies, which could be an “intentional targeting of a successful university based on extraordinarily thin allegations.”