Grand Canyon University projects record high enrollment this year

The Christian university based in Phoenix, Arizona, on Monday estimated it would have more than 133,000 students enrolled for the 2025-26 school year. That total is approximately 8% higher than last fall, including a 10% increase in the number of students choosing to attend at the university’s main campus. About 25,000 students attend programs in Phoenix, while 118,000 study online or in hybrid settings across the country. Founded in 1949, the school says it has frozen tuition costs at its Phoenix campus for the last 17 years in an effort to make education affordable for students from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds.

The estimate comes as universities across the country are still grappling with decreased enrollment generally following the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite a 3.2% year-over-year increase in total college enrollment in the 2025 spring semester reported by the National Student Clearing House Research Center, the total enrollment for undergraduate studies remains below pre-pandemic levels.

What about the lawsuits GCU was facing? The Federal Trade Commission under the Biden administration in 2023 sued GCU over claims it had misrepresented itself as a nonprofit organization. However, the FTC on Aug. 15 voted unanimously to drop the lawsuit. Last November, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that the U.S. Department of Education acted unfairly toward the school by treating it as a for-profit institution. The department in May rescinded a $37.7 million fine it levied against the university and the Internal Revenue Service later that month reaffirmed that GCU is a nonprofit organization.

Dig deeper: Read Elizabeth Russell’s report in WORLD Magazine about the original lawsuit.