Grand Canyon University

I had nothing but a wonderful online experience! First, before even starting, find out if your State recognizes GCU for your increase in pay for a masters degree if you are a teacher. I did. While attending in 2005 and 2006 I was studying concepts and strategies that I only began hearing about here regionally until 2010. I am continuing to be pleasantly surprised when attending professional development sessions and hear about something I learned through GCU.

Administration terrible...faculty always nice...education value was to pay a high price for a subpar education. It was not because of the faculty, it was because of the content. Writing two papers per week was ridiculous for working people. Sent emails to counselors, tech support, etc and would hear back in a week, two weeks, never....

Outstanding! The professors were helpful and responded very quickly to questions, e-mails and phone calls! I was very impressed. The counselors also answered my questions in a professional manner as well as getting the answer to me in a timely manner! The university gets high marks from rating agencies! GCU is rules!

I took the time to stop by the GCU campus when I was in Phoenix this past summer since I wanted to actually see the campus from where I received my Master's degree. I really had no idea what to expect. It was a pleasure to be there. The campus is beautiful and the people were very helpful and friendly. The campus visit matched perfectly to the experience that I had online with this university. The professors were outstanding and always helpful and showed concern for the students. They participated in the discussions (discussion board) and answered questions and e-mails promptly (within 24 hours). About half way through my program, they changed from the Blackboard to the Angel delivery platform. Even that went quite smoothly. I was really impressed all around. If anyone in teaching is looking for a real solid master in education program, I feel that this is the one!

This is a great university. I found the degree program to be wonderful. I have recommended GCU to my colleagues and two have decided to begin their master's degree programs there as well. I would encourage people to read the reviews from people who have graduated from GCU; not the reviews from those that have not. You will not get an accurate picture of GCU from those who have not completed a degree program ('sour grapes'). Do your research at professional sites/sources. You will see that GCU is for YOU!!!!

This university has an outstanding master's in education program. I highly recommend it! There are some technical issues once in a while with Angel, however the program and professors are great.

Look at the professional sources. They include Barron’s Profiles of American Colleges 2009 Edition, OEDb’s Online College Rankings 2009, U.S. News and World Report College Guide, Academicadvice.com, Onlinedegreereviews.org (New - Best Online Colleges for 2010; their most recent summary), PBS (College, Inc. GCU is referred to as a model For-Profit University) etc. You will find that after doing your own research and reading what the professional say (not people who couldn’t hack it) you will understand that GCU is a GREAT UNIVERSITY! Again, look at these sources yourself and decide. Don’t let someone else influence this important decision.

I decided to get a MAT for two reasons: review changes in educational practice and theory since I got my BA and of course for the pay raise. I and several co-workers decided on GCU because of the $1,000 scholarship offered to us. I completed the degree in 16 months after doubling up last summer. I now have the master's and the pay raise to go with it. However... This degree experience was nothing but frustrating. Out of ten classes, only TWO of my professors seemed to actually read the assignments I submitted. In one class, my co-worker received the EXACT comments on his paper as I did on mine. One of my co-workers accidentally turned in a template paper provided by GCU in a completely different course instead of the paper she wrote and still received full credit on it! The assignments, especially the group assignments, had very little bearing on what a teacher actually needs to do, with the exception of the Reading in the Content Area course, which I found very useful. But that was one class out of 10! Many of the assignments were so vague and often based on outdated information that even the professors had difficulty interpreting them. On several occasions, GCU made changes to the order of the modules without reading its own documents, which made references to other documents. The Tech class text was out of date, citing "emergent technology" resources that are already passe. And don't try to contact anyone in finan aid or advising! My "scholarship" was not applied until AFTER I had graduated. They entered the wrong amount on my loan app so my final semester wasn't paid for until early August (it started in May). And I only learned of this when I got a bill two months after the semester began. Everytime I called, I was told "I'm not sure why that is happening, but I'll look into it and get back to you." No one would ever get back to me. My co-worker, who finished at the same time I did and had met or exceeded all requirements (according to their online MyGCU site) still has NOT received his degree, so his pay raise is in jeopardy. When he calls everyone says "I'm not sure why that happened, but I'll look into it and get back to you." He still has not heard back from any of the three people he has spoken to. So, if you want an easy degree just to get a pay raise and don't mind struggling with an institution to get paperwork done correctly or the frustrations with assignments that have little to no real-world application to your life, Grand Canyon University is for you! If you want to spend your money wisely, avoid GCU as if you life depends on it!

I am extremely happy with my educaiton at GCU. It has done essentially three very big things for me: 1. Made me a better teacher. 2. Advanced my salary. 3. Allowed me to teach on the college level in addition to my secondary education position. The teachers were great. The staff was helpful. The application process could have gone a bit smoother but nothing too bad. The financial aid went smoothly as well. Some individuals have written that they had problems. You will not as long as you follow the drop date rules spelled out by the university. Overall, I give it an A+!

I was in the situation of not being able to attend a traditional university for my graduate program (as I did for my B.A. and teaching credential programs). After searching for quite some time, looking for a university that had a distance education program that would meet the needs of my demanding schedule and that would be challenging and rewarding I decided on Grand Canyon University. During my 20 months of study, I found the staff to be very professional and personable. The instructors as well as the support staff (from office staff to tech support) were all very helpful. They always went the extra mile which made me feel that I made the correct decision. In fact, I never once wished that I had picked another school. The work load was heavy. I had to really time manage. I teach 45 hours per week so the 15-20 hours per week I had to devote to my graduate work stretched me to the extreme. Reflecting on that time I sometimes wonder how I was able to do it. However, the bottom line is I highly recommend GCU. I cannot speak for other areas outside of education, but I do feel that the Masters program in Education at GCU is top notch.

This university really pays attention to students' concerns and ensures that faculty follow the guidelines. They have a requirement for faculty to respond in 48 hours, I think. But I know that if faculty do not respond within the time frame, then the student can complain. Students have an item that specifically asks for faculty responses in the time frame set by the university. They have problems with posting degrees in the National Clearinghouse where other institutions and potential employers can go and check if the prospective employee actually got the claimed degree. Other than that, this is an excellent institution where you feel free to discuss religiuos issues without the hesitant concern of offending others or of being censured. I would recommend this university to anyone. I am sad though that they are not able to offer a doctorate program where I can further my education. The wonderful thing about this university is that they have on-campus and online classes. So the on-campus expertise is transferred to the online environment. You are required to submit your assignments on time and without delay. Of course, it is up to each instructor to enforce this requirement as it happens at any B&M university. However, I had instructors who were not very patient and made us submit our work on time. They took points off if we did.