Grand Canyon University

I have been at GCU for two years and I have found it to be a positive experience. I was impressed from day one. My enrollment counselor walked me through each step in a professional manner. Every question I had was answered promptly. My instructors have always shown that they are well educated and were interested in my success. None of my classes were rubber stamped. They expected you to perform at a high level and I was constantly challenged by my instructors and course work. I loved their research library and always recieved superb help from their librarians. There were technical glitches at times, but their technical support staff was excellent. My counselors call me frequently and unsolicited to check in on my progress and to see if i have any problems. I would not say GCU is a perfect university, but overall, I felt comfortable there and will miss it when I graduate soon. I definitely feel I am a better person for attending GCU.

Anyone considering attending GCU should be Required to read the University Annual Report. It is only after tremendous disappointment with the quality of the education and now questions regarding basic institutional integrity that I did. It is truly scary. For instance, did you know that GCU only has "Conditional" Certification from the US Department of Education. Or that those students in, for instance the Liberal Arts Programs, could be taking a course of study that may already been deemed to have little if any worth, by the Department of Education. This is based upon the fact that it does not prepare students for any employment setting. Please, if you are considering GCU make sure you understand what you are getting yourself into as education is not only a commitment of time, but also of money.

This college is one i attended online for 2 years. The entire 2 years i was enrolled in the school, i never once had a class where i could completely enjoy the class for the constant bickering that the classes had in them. They do however split you into groups and these groups are diverse as anything. I was in the eastern time zone when the rest of my class could have been in the mountain time zone or even on the west coast somewhere. in these groups you are supposed to work together with one another by way of chat rooms. I was always 3 to 4 hours ahead of everyone and with a work schedule could never meet with these people at the right times. not to mention i was mocked the entire time because of the way i speak with a southern dialect. the councelors were never where you could get to them and they are constantly changing your advisor and financial aid advisor. not to mention they hiked up my tuition as soon as i told them i was going to take a class off. they are rude when you call in for support and the way they treat people for problems with the software and/or website is crazy. after taking 1 class every 8 weeks for 2 years i have a debt of $28,000 to pay back and i did not even get a diploma or degree. at first i was advised that i could teach in the state of Ga with an online degree from any acredited college. that was changed about 3/4 of the way through the major. so i then decided to keep attending and change my major to communications. That was a slap in the face. the tuition went up and i was rarely ever in a class of more than myself and the teacher. I would NOT recomend this school for anything. also when you get a statement from the school that says how much you owe them, and you call to make payments of which you can afford, the person on the other side laughs at you and says "i cant take that, you must pay what you have or go to collections where you can set up payments" now these payments are huge numbers, more than any middle class citizen can afford, $1500.00 a month. How absurd... Do not attend this school if you have other options...

I am at the end of my first semester at GCU and have had a generally good experience so far. One thing I can say right off the bat is that I have had good experiences with staff and administration from day one. Obviously there is variation when it comes to personalities and people who are more committed to their job than others, but before I approached GCU I tried to work with several other colleges and did not have good experiences. The impression I have is that my needs and comfort is important and professionally addressed. There is always someone available during office hours to assist me and though it does seem that there is a considerable workload on the administration, my advisors work together and always get back to me either same day or within 24 hours. If they are not available and I need something resolved right away, I am redirected to another advisor immediately. I have been told that there is no quota or commission for students enrolled and I was not rushed into enrolling as I have been at other places such as Ashford University. As far as the value goes, it is a private university and so they are a little bit more expensive than some places, but not unreasonably so. I am a financial aid student and have witnessed what has been mentioned as those who are not "able to handle the work", or something like that. There are those who have not been in school for 25 years that do not have sophisticated writing skills, however, the first three courses that are standard for online students teach basic principles in communication, critical thinking, online school organization and function and software instruction (such as Microsoft Word). These are easy A's for students like myself who have a good grasp on technology and writing skills, but those who I have mentioned seem to benefit from this How To Succeed 101 type of instruction. The teachers have all been very attentive and responsive and call before the class starts to introduce themselves and make sure you are prepared for class. They make an effort to be available as much as possible and give feedback on a regular basis. The Angel system through which online school takes place is relatively user-friendly and doesn't take much time to get used to for someone who is generally used to technology, but might be a challenge at first for someone who struggles with computers. I cannot attest to the experiences of those who have reviewed before me, but I have no complaints about my experiences so far and wanted to throw my line in to give a more balanced representation for those looking for an online school experience.

I HAVE BEEN ATTENDING FOR ONE YEAR AND HAVE SEEN MAJOR CHANGES HAPPENING TO THIS UNIVERSITY. THE SCHOOL USED TO CARE ABOUT ITS STUDENTS AND NOW THEY ARE A DOLLAR SIGN. THEY ARE ON THERE WAY OF HAVING A REPUTATION AS BAD AS PHOENIX. THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS ONLY CARES ABOUT PROFIT AND THIS USED TO BE A CHRISTIAN COLLEGE. THEY HAVE A POLICY OF NOT GIVING BACK ANY MONEY AFTER THE FIRST WEEK OF CLASSES. THEY HAVE BEEN TAKEN TO COURT MANY TIMES FROM DIFFERENT STATES AND THOSE STATES ARE ALLOWED TO HAVE TUITION PRORATED LIKE IT SHOULD BE. THE ADVISORS ARE STUDENTS AND MAKE CRITICAL MISTAKES. THE PROFESSORS ARE BEING PAID VERY LITTLE AND ARE NOT VERY MOTIVATED BECAUSE OF THAT. THE ATTENDENCE HAS EXPLODED DURING THE RECESSION AND THE TEACHERS AND STAFF ARE OVERWORKED. THE ADMINISTRATION IS HAVING A HARD TIME KEEPING UP WITH EXPANSION, BUT THEY THINK EVERYTHING IS GREAT AS LONG AS THE CORPORATION IS MAKING LOTS OF MONEY. I FEEL THAT THIS UNIVERSITY SHOULD STOP CALLING ITSELF A CHRISTIAN COLLEGE AND COME CLEAN THAT THEY ARE TURNING INTO A DIPLOMA MILL. I HAVE HEARD FROM ANGRY TEACHERS THAT THE UNIVERSITY IS TAKING ON POOR STUDENTS LIVING ON GOVERNMENT LOANS THAT DO NOT HAVE THE SKILLS TO BE THERE. THE UNIVERSITY WILL TAKE ANYONE THAT CAN GET A GOVERNMENT LOAN AND SOME OF THE TEACHERS ARE FED UP WITH STUDENTS WHO CAN'T DO THE WORK. THERE IS A SCAM GOING ON OF TAKING POOR PEOPLE AND STUDENTS THAT CAN NOT DO THE WORK BUT CAN GET GOVERNMENT LOANS. THE POOR STUDENTS ARE LIVING ON THE LOANS FROM THE GOVERNMENT AND THE UNIVERSITY IS GETTING RICH ON THE INCREASE AND EXPLOSION OF ATTENDENCE. ONLY A LARGE CORPORATION FOR PROFIT WOULD BEHAVE THIS WAY AND THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT IS GOING ON AT THE UNIVERSITY.

I have attended online universities in the past, obtaining two degrees this way. I attended Grand Canyon for one semester, and the web interface rarely worked, and when it did it was horrible. The teachers are rude and unresponsive, and if you have a question for anyone, good luck getting anyone via email or phone. For a "Christian" college, they are beyond criminal and inept. You would be better off printing your own Diploma with a 49 dollar printer from Wal-Mart than wasting your money here.

I was attending GCU for a semester, and the school signed me up for more classes and now I owe over $2000 for classes I never attended and NEVER wanted. I am stuck paying for them and I have argued it to death with GCU advisors with no avail. I am not allowed to appeal the charges and I had to pay $75 just to withdraw from the school after all of this mess!! I am so disappointed. The classes themselves were not to my liking and I didn't learn very much even though I had to do tons of work!