Grand Canyon University again files for nonprofit status
Jan 5, 2018, 10:55 AM
(Facebook Photo)
PHOENIX — Grand Canyon University officials said Friday that the school has again submitted an application for nonprofit status.
“This return to our historical non-profit status would convey an accurate reflection of who GCU is today and will be in the future, and brings the university full circle as it continues its transition into one of the driving forces in higher education today,” Brian Mueller, the school’s president and CEO, said in a press release.
The university reapplied after it moved to purchase “certain academic-related assets” from its ownership group, Grand Canyon Education, Inc.
The school also applied for nonprofit status a few years ago but was turned down, in part because GCU intended to outsource some of its services, such as marketing.
Under the new application, Grand Canyon Education would remain a for-profit company that would provide some services for the school, including marketing, recruitment, student service counseling and accounting.
GCU was a nonprofit school between its founding in 1949 and 2004, when it moved to a for-profit model to pay off $20 million in debt.
A return to nonprofit status would mean more access to revenues streams for the school, including donations, grants and tax breaks.
Mueller said it would also open up more opportunities for faculty, staff and about 19,000 on-campus and an additional 70,000 online students.
He also said the nonprofit status would help the school “hold the line” on tuition prices. The university has frozen tuition for on-campus students for the past decade.
The school’s updated application could be acted on by the Higher Learning Commission as soon as next month.