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Grand Canyon University

  • Grand Canyon University Reviews

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    Ranking: #70
    For-Profit: Yes
    Country: USA
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    Accreditation: North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCA-HLC), The Higher Learning Commission.

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2.9
273 Reviews
5 68 
4 55 
3 25 
2 48 
1 77 
0 0 

 

Grand Canyon University Reviews:

Great Experience and Great Faculty

Ed.D Organizational Leadership - October 18, 2020
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I started my doctorate program and wanted to drop out after 3 classes, but I attended my first residency and the passion of the faculty and the support I got changed my mind. This was not an easy road by any means, there was no hand holding, no nonsense, I work full time and have a husband and two children at home. From day one the faculty tell you to read the syllabus and follow the dissertation templates. My Chair (Dr. Dooley) is amazing, my Content Expert (Dr. Scott) I found on my own, and my dissertation is right on track. My counselor (Ms. Roundtree) I have had since day one has always worked with me when signing up for classes and billing (I pay out of pocket), so I save a little out of every paycheck and make every submission count so I don’t have to take additional extension classes. All of the resources are available (free): refworks, the online library (even inter- library loans), through the DC Network, even writing guides and research guides are made available for free.

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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful

Current student

Secondary Education - October 2, 2020
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Honestly, it is so much easier to leave a bad review. When you are upset, you want the world to know but when things go great you don’t need to publicize your experience. I am currently in year 2 of my education and it has been amazing. Of course the price is high. But it is distant learning that accommodates your schedule, can’t expect it to come a cheap price. Classes are smooth sailing and faculty has always been responsive. I literally just got off the phone after reading a review of someone who is also from NYC saying that their degree isn’t accepted in NY. My field experience counselor reassured me that my program leads to licensure, and fully accredited and accepted in NYS. However, there Are many programs that do not lead to licensure, so be sure with your enrollment advisor and Be sure what you are signing up for. I don’t regret it yet! I’ll be back in another two years to give my final thoughts.

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7 of 9 people found the following review helpful

I love GCU

Nursing - June 23, 2020
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I have just completed my BSN and will begin my classes for my masters in nursing ed next month. I LOVE this school. The professors are outstanding and have all given my classes a way to teach them. In fact, several have their private cell phone numbers so that they could be reached anytime. I love that the classes are taken one at a time and that they are only 5 weeks long. I chose to take breaks in between classes, which was nice. At GCU, you pace yourself. The tuition is high, but if you take the time to look for scholarships, you'll be fine.

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9 of 11 people found the following review helpful

Great school

Ed.D Organizational Leadership - November 23, 2019
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I think due to rolling enrolment and the online platform, it is easier for the university to accommodate and accept more learners. Many of the lower functioning students fizzle out in the first year or two and certainly by the dissertation phase. I have found the program to be great, lots of work but providing a great breadth of information in a cutting edge technological setting. Ive spoken with students at residency who are disgruntled about grades and different stuff, much like Ive read on here, and in most cases its surprising they’ve gotten this far given their current abilities. The university is of a far higher calibre than these individuals would have you believe.

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64 of 73 people found the following review helpful

Uneducated with a degree in education.

Bacelors of Science in Elementary Education - November 23, 2019
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In 2015, I enrolled in GCU to become a teacher. I was determined to gain as much information necessary to be the best teacher possible, but failed. In 2019, I completed my degree but learned that I was not taught what is needed to pass the Teacher Certification Test for Arizona or any other state. The only thing I did learn was to write an essay with the correct in-text citations and a very long lesson plan. Nothing on teaching the content that the State requires. So $50,000+ in student debt, $120 for every test attempt (8 as of now), and 4 long years of jumping through the hoops I am still not a teacher or teacher candidate. As soon as I graduated my counselor would not return emails or calls, I was no longer paying them. I am now on my own trying to figure out what to do next to reach my goal to teach.

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101 of 133 people found the following review helpful

Good Experience

Master of Education in Special Education - November 22, 2019
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As someone else already posted, I'm glad I didn't read the negative reviews before I began. The first two classes were all about learning how the online classes and resources work and were crazy easy so if I had stopped there I would have been disappointed. Since then the classes have been incredibly relevant to my job as a special education teacher. My student adviser is kind and helpful. Some professors offer a lot of helpful feedback, others less so but I haven't had any bad ones yet. I'm over half way through, was able to get a teaching job on a provisional license, and continue to learn valuable information weekly.

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63 of 66 people found the following review helpful

Deplorable and Despicable

Industrial and Organizational Psychology - November 6, 2019
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I enrolled in an online grad program with GCU. The first few days of class were treacherous to locate help. I dropped the classes in the first week. GCU staff explained I would not have any charges if I dropped the first week. A month later, I received a 900 bill for initiation fees which was placed on my credit. I really can't see how GCU purports Christian values when it's clear they arbitrarily charge whatever amount after a student has been enrolled. I asked multiple staff to apprise me (4 years ago) at what part of their documents expressed I owed an initiation fee, but no one provided this information. Thank God I'm receiving a master's degree with another university that offers much more academic excellence and integrity. I'm glad I had this adverse experience at the beginning since it prevented me from getting a degree at an opportunistic nest of iniquity.

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49 of 71 people found the following review helpful

Do not go here

Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) - November 1, 2019
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I notified the school I had not received my tuition reimbursement on multiple occasions. They finally recut the check. I again notified them a week later I had not received the check. They said I had to wait 9 days. Upon waiting more days I still had not received over 3,054 check. I notified again. This time someone had forged my signature. Had to ask for it to be filed as fraud. Now the school refuses to give me any updates to move the situation along. They will not give me anyone’s Information aside from one school person to talk to. She won’t provide me any information or follow up. She only tells me to call the bank who cannot talk to me because I’m just the payee. The institution is the claimant. I have all of the emails as evidence. I’ve done everything in my power and the school refuses to give me any information on the money that they took from the federal government and refuse to release or give me any information on.

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49 of 64 people found the following review helpful

Fucking joke

Ed.D Organizational Leadership - October 23, 2019
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Going on a super long rant. I got my Master's degree from GCU which was stupid. Didn't learn anything just did a shit ton of homework. This was paid in full. Made the stupid decision to go back with them for a doctorate degree along with my husband this time. First week in, and its a shit show. We turn in our assignments. We get the same fucking grade! It was a B which is not bad, but you have to wonder what you can do to improve. Well, the feedback is so unhelpful and to make matters worse, identical. Emailed the idiot instructor and she said to refer to the feedback she left, again, unhelpful. She absolutely sucked. Came to realize really quick, that this program was a joke and dropped it within the week. Didn't matter though, they charged. I refused to pay it out of principle, but now I need a transcript of my masters degree and guess what? I have a hold on my account and now my master's degree is pretty much nonexistent unless I pay $1,600. They are holding my degree hostage for ransom! Fuck that institution. And the christian bullshit is well.. bullshit. They will give you that shit however they can but are totally okay with kidnapping my degree. Ugh!

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50 of 109 people found the following review helpful

waste of money

RN to BSN - October 7, 2019
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I am currently attending GCU. It has been a complete waste of time, energy and money. I have take 5 classes, so far each class has taught me nothing. The classes are meant to "introduce" you to college, I feel like a freshman in high school. The classes "teach" you time management and how to take notes. Assuming you already graduated high school you will clearly know to do these basics. To sum it up DO NOT waste your time or money at this joke of a "college", they are just money hungry and over priced.

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43 of 80 people found the following review helpful

Great Experience

RN to BSN - October 6, 2019
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I just wrapped up my online ADN to BSN program and decided to look at reviews of GCU as I am getting ready to enter their MSN program in mid November. I am glad to say I had the wherewithal to not look up reviews prior to starting my BSN as I think all the negativity would have turned me away from such a great experience. Yes, it is a very expensive place to pursue undergrad and grad school education but I fell this is worth it with the course design being setup the way it is. I worked full time and spent 10-20 hours a week on school. This was mostly done on the weekends as my job is Monday-Friday. I believe you get out of it what you put into it. I had to put myself on a rigorous schedule to be able to work and obtain this degree. It is my degree I am working for not someone else's so I took full accountability for each success and failure. There were a few struggles. The instruction for the Stats class I took was very vague, the SPSS program that was utilized was difficult to navigate and the class itself was very hard, it also did not help that the instructor did not seem to very familiar with how to make the program work. During my capstone there were several different signed documents that were needed that had very which resulted in having my mentor sign several documents over. The professor was very forgiving in that she understood how this confusion would come about and allowed for them to be obtained and turned in late as long as we had reached out to her as soon as we or she noted the error. I was successful in this program because I put in the effort, as would anyone seeking an online degree from any institution. The instructors make every effort to be available to you during times that work best for them which is more than anyone could hope for if they sought out guidance at a brick and mortar university. One of my professors was so impressed with my level of work that she swayed me to pursue my grad degree when I wasn't sure I wanted to continue. For anyone who can stay focused and accountable for their work, I HIGHLY recommend GCU for obtaining your online degree!

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83 of 93 people found the following review helpful

Grand Canyon University Financial FRAUD

Master's of Education in Secondary Education - October 4, 2019
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This supposedly Christian University did not apply my district discount for tuition. I was told I would receive a 10% discount because I was an employee at a school district. After I completed the Master’s Program for Educational Leadership. I checked online to see what my balance was, only to find out I was being charged full price for tuition. When I attempted to resolve the matter with them, they basically told me there was nothing they could do and that I would be stuck paying the full amount. If you plan to attend here, make sure you get any discounts confirmed in writing, but honestly, save yourself the headache and pursue a quality education elsewhere. THIS UNIVERSITY IS THE WORST!

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35 of 62 people found the following review helpful

TERRIBLE STUDENT SUPPORT

Applied Management - September 30, 2019
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Where. Do. I. Even. Begin. The student support system GCU has for their 100% online program is absolutely ridiculous. My student support advisors have not been helpful since they transferred me twice form my original advisor. HOW TERRIBLE that I have been misinformed with my financial aid, putting me in debt +$7,000... Having to wait +6 months to restart my education with GCU when I technically did not need to wait if I DIDNT CHOSE TO, and when I give them my availability, they chose to ignore it and call me whenever they feel like it. I am an adult taking my classes online BECAUSE I have tremendous time restrictions. When I am unable to get in contact with my student advisor, they email me a few times a week and still chose NOT to call me during the availability I have provided them (which is 2-2:45pm CST, not unreasonable time frame considering it is during operative business hours). Here is the tickler, I myself am an Enrollment Advisor and work with 100% online students. The level of support I provide my own students by FAR exceed ALL levels of support GCU has provided me during my journey with them. I regret ever spending money on this school. This is FAR from an investment. This experience had so much more potential to be excellent, but thanks to my last 2 student advisors, you made my entire experience an absolute nightmare.

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28 of 39 people found the following review helpful

Graduate Student

Executive MBA - September 26, 2019
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After beginning my education with GCU I discovered this university hires a majority of adjunct professors. Which means that these are other full-time working professional who are adjunct professors working part-time to make extra money. They are not full time faculty nor are they set up for tenure. Some times you will get a great teacher but most of the time these are people who have never taught in a traditional university setting before. I wish I had known what I was entering into with GCU before enrolling. If you are lucky enough to get a full time faculty professor they are GREAT and worth every penny. However, all of the adjunct professors are not worth half of what I am paying to attain my master's degree.

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29 of 37 people found the following review helpful

Horrible instructors

Bachelors of Science in Health Science: Professional Development and Advanced Patient Care - June 5, 2019
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Do not go here. I got sucked in by the Admissions Officer/Sales Person and thought that it was a Christian University and that the learning/instruction would be better here even though it was pricey. I am a 4.0 student and my experience has been horrible. I am going back after 20 years and finishing my bachelors degree and after the fluff classes that I was told were required, not sure they were, I am now in my core classes. My first one is being taught by a woman who I do not believe is even 30 years old. (checked her linked in page) But..... she has her Masters!! Apparently that makes you magically able to be an instructor. She has taken points off for lack of citation, even though I gave a whole list, not using APA style, even though I downloaded and used the GCU template, for not separating my DQ support comments into 3 days. She's has not done anything to help even though I have begged. She has been rude and flippant! And now my GPA is down to a 3.77 which is unacceptable. For the money, you can do better elsewhere, and based on what I have read here, I should have done my home work. I got sucked in!

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51 of 124 people found the following review helpful

Horrible experience but at least the degree is accredited

Master of Education in Special Education - May 21, 2019
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It's difficult to be too hard on GCU when their degrees are accredited and do actually help you get a job. That being said it was a very poorly run program from start to finish. I did a 100% online masters degree in special education that terminated in full licensure for my state. That is the only saving grace of the whole program. Licensure. But the degree is NOT respected by anyone in education at all. I know from experience just how looked down on GCU degrees are. I'm just grateful when I tell people I have my masters....very few ever ask from where. I think the biggest pain point with this degree was the complete and total lack of help or guidance with my practicum and student teaching. You finish your degree TOTALLY unprepared to teach at all. In my opinion, I shouldn't even have my degree with the lack of planning and help that was given to me. You had to go out into your local neighborhood and find schools that would let you do your practicum assignments. Which can be hard in special ed to ask total strangers to let you come in and work with their kids. All I had was a form for them to sign saying I had completed the tasks. They never talked to anyone at GCU, and if you couldn't find a school that let you do a particular practicum, GCU would just change it anyway to make it work. I live in Utah and teaching schools in Utah require hundreds and hundreds of hours of practicum and student teaching. When teachers I worked with found out how little I had done it was a running joke. Nobody could believe I could have got my license with as little as GCU has you do. And the worst part was that GCU doesn't communicate with any practicum schools and even with your student teaching school.....they barely communicate. My student teaching school was floored at how little communication there was. All I had were sheets for them to sign each week. My school even asked me what type of things I was supposed to be doing and who they could call. I had no idea. I was just told that the school would take me on as a student teacher. When I showed up nobody really knew what to do with me. As my student teaching progressed, the school got more and more frustrated and it was really uncomfortable. They were realizing before I did that GCU's teaching program was very poorly run. With GCU online you really have to do everything yourself. At the end of the day though, I did get a Masters in two years and became fully licensed to teach in Utah. For as crappy as their program is, for as much as I cringe when someone asks where I went to school, I'm a teacher.

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84 of 102 people found the following review helpful

Hit or Miss

M.S. in Professional Counseling - December 3, 2018
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I just started my pre-practicum for the Master of Science in Professional counseling. I will say that GCU as a whole has room for improvement. With technology there are bound to be technical difficulties. With that being said, I'd expect the professors to have the same level of empathy; however, some of the professors use English as a second language and have poor grammar when typing. Some of the curriculum contains typos along with unclear instructions to assignments. Some professors were extremely helpful. On the other hand, there were a handful of professors that were passive aggressive and defensive in the forums to myself and other students. At times I felt that the online instructors were not educated enough to be providing feedback, let alone use a basic online dashboard to interact with students. As a whole I would rate GCU at a 7 on a scale of 1-10. My field experience counselor has been more knowledgable than my actual advisor. My advisor is difficult to get a hold of and doesn't always respond in a timely manner. I found issues in my undergraduate degree at Eastern Washington University and that program was not online. All in all, I think we are bound to run into issues. I will say that the online program has been just as much of a commitment as an on campus program. Reviews are going to be based on personal experiences and interpretation. Not a horrible school though! It just needs some work.

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60 of 71 people found the following review helpful

GCU

Master of Science in Professional Counseling - September 23, 2018
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I was hesitant at first, but my Advisor Ashley Sears has helped me every step of the way towards obtaining my Masters Degree. Even through grief, medical issues and late night 12hr shifts at work she was a phone call away to say," Let's take a break and regroup and come back to your courses." I have had a great experience with their online instructors. If I had a issue or any questions I could always send a message and get a quick response. I am in my final 8 weeks Practicum and I am so exited. I am working with my Field Advisor Cody Maiocco who continues to provide guidance. I highly recommend GCU!

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41 of 49 people found the following review helpful

GCU experience

M.S. in Professional Counseling - September 17, 2018
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Overall I enjoyed being a student at GCU. I was a student from 2011-2016, completing my MS in Professional Counseling, which is a program that has been discontinued and replaced with another program to meet the state deadlines. I completed 62 credits, however have to complete an additional 2 credits due to the fact that I did not complete the needed 700 total hours. I have to re-enroll in the program and take a course which is offered rarely in order to receive my degree and have my transcripts state degree conferred on it. Make sure you keep track of your hours so that at the end of the day you do not have to experience what I did. Now they also have a system so that the hours are electronic and won't have to be faxed or e-mailed in weekly which is a bonus. I would say overall I have made an effort to be a great student and I have put in work and time and dedication. The only thing that took me so long to graduate was the practicum. Finding a site proved to be difficult, so you have to make sure you start the process sooner. GCU does not assist with that at all. As a student it is your responsibility. It is difficult when you have the responsibility of working a full time job and have to take care of yourself, but you have find a site that is suitable for meeting your needs. Overall the employees of GCU do appear to care and the professors are accessible online or over the phone. I love my student advisor and love that I am able to speak to an actual person over the phone. She has been very helpful, though I have had several student advisors over the course of being in the program. All have been very helpful and knowledgeable. I would say apply and go for the program. The program does not appear to be very difficult, but you have to make sure assignments are completed on time and you can really flourish if you apply yourself! I would recommend the program overall and believe that it is worth the time, dedication and committment. I enjoyed the flexibility of this program and never had any issues. I found it very convenient.

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41 of 45 people found the following review helpful

Horrible Institution

Criminal Justice - August 27, 2018
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Horrible school! Professors are terrible and complete morons who can't even open an attachement. Was an A student and my last professor [removed], is a complete retard who can't even open attachments and gave me a C+ in my capstone course. Tech support verified my assignments were complete and on time yet, my professor gave me two F's on assignements because he claimed I did not do them or he could not open them. When I contacted him and gave him the tech support information line he sent me an email that the course was closed and grades submitted. What a total douche! Never will recommend this school to anyone!

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41 of 71 people found the following review helpful

Graduated in 2011; Not a great program

M.S. in Professional Counseling - August 20, 2018
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I graduated from GCU with my M.S. in Professional Counseling. The only reason I chose this program was because, at the time, it was the only online program that would lead to counseling licensure in my state. I had to continue to work full-time during my master's, and since my work schedule rotated, a brick-and-mortar school was not a possibility. I recall being shocked that most of my GCU cohort had graduated from high school, let alone college. Many students did not possess the most basic writing skills. Engaging in discussions online is difficult when half the class cannot communicate effectively in writing. And I am not talking about typos and some issues with grammar. I truly cannot believe these students passed a single college class, ever. Further, when it comes time to locate an internship, you are completely on your own, with no support from GCU. I almost thought I was going to have to leave the program, deeply in debt with no degree, because I had such a difficult time locating an internship, and I worked very hard trying to find one, contacting over seventy-five organizations. GCU does not mention this when they are taking your money. The program was so-so. I had some excellent instructors, but I did not feel prepared by the time I started my internship. Almost everything I learned was from my internship supervisor and colleges at the clinic where I (finally) ended up working. I realize there are many of you who have no choice but to continue working full-time while finishing your degree, like I did, so I know you will have to complete an online program, but please consider other options besides GCU first. If I were to re-do by master's, I would have gone elsewhere.

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49 of 55 people found the following review helpful

Bachelor of Psychology

Business Administration - December 9, 2017
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I have been attending GCU for almost a year in their online program. You have two people that assist you continuously through your study: your academic adviser and school counselor. In my experience, they both are pretty consistent in their availability and promptness in responding to any of my needs. Classes are through Loud Cloud, which is an easy program to use. The books are predominately an e-book that you get free through the class site, but those not covered are easily purchased as an e-book through online vendors (thank you Crtl+F for quick searches btw). To be brutally honest, some of my classmates have been clearly academically disadvantaged and are probably getting their grades at a steal... reading their posts hurt my feelings at times because I am producing college level work and theirs resembles a high school students challenged attempt at sentence structure and spelling. That being said, the course content is very strong and the class format has a higher focus on comprehension of the content rather than just a study and test format. Papers are required, but they are rather short (less than 2000 words) and geared at helping you show what you've learned. If you take the online program, you can guaranteed do well as long as you consistently meet deadlines and follow the grading rubrics. The teachers are very hit or miss, but I have had a couple that were awesome. Some professors were clearly just there to grade and post bogus responses though. I have been just ignoring the negatives and focusing on my own work and learning the subject. Hope this helps! :)

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65 of 70 people found the following review helpful

Good luck

Nursing - October 12, 2017
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I am still currently in the RN-BSN program. I did not do my research and now I am stuck in this program. It is not like a traditional university where you can withdraw at the beginning.... but they don't tell you that. When you sign up you are signing a contract!!!! They do not care about you. They care about getting your money. I have had a terrible experience with my advisor. I told her how I work full time nights and to please to to call me after 3pm, yet she calls me every single day at 2pm. The only way to get communication across is to email them because then it is a legal document. The tech support has been great. They are polite and prompt and very helpful so kudos to them. As for everything else.... When I signed up for the program they were very misleading and told me the program was set up so that I could work and go to school. I definitely got more than I bargained for. This program has been nothing but stress and I had the opportunity to talk to some of my other classmates during our CLC group projects and they expressed the same thing. I truly believe there are better schools out there. Make sure you do your research and read the fine print before you sign because otherwise you will be surprised by all the stuff they didn't tell you upfront. Good luck.

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83 of 98 people found the following review helpful

Stay away

Master of Science in Professional Counseling - August 18, 2017
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I am about 1/2 way done with the online portion of the Masters in Counseling program. That being said I also hold an MBA, a teaching certificate and undergrad degree in finance. (I'm not stupid). This is the most frustrating program I've ever worked with. The other classmates seem to be on a different level- a much lower academic level. There is a huge amount of copying that goes on for weekly question posting. Once your answer is posted its free game for anyone to copy and re-word as their own work, there is no recourse. I am also well versed in APA format, some facilitators (I hesitate to call them professors) give full credit on APA while others will take off points for APA formatting. I've been using APA for over 10 years and my format certainly doesn't change from class to class. Some assignments are pointless, I am currently in PCN-515 and most weekly papers are personal essays yet these require references? I've had classes where weekly 'papers' are simply outlines and the entire class focuses on how to write a research paper outline, rough draft, final draft etc- in a graduate level program I would expect people to know how to assemble a 'paper'. No assignment has required more than 2000 words. Other classes have multiple powerpoints and not papers. I also realize this is a Christian University but I am not in the Christian counseling program, many of the classes have a strong religious overtone to them, which is off-putting to a secular person. Honestly- this program takes very little effort- less than 3 hours a week and I have over a 3.8 GPA. If I had to do this over again, I would pick a different online program.

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39 of 45 people found the following review helpful

GCU Student Instructors are Terrible

Healthcare Informatics - July 2, 2017
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I have been taking graduate courses for Healthcare Informatics at GCU for the last year or so, and have maintained a 3.9 GPA.... Thta seems like it may be changing though as GCU has an annoying habit of randomly assigning "Student Instructors" to these courses in order to save money. This is a problem because these are just students as well, and oftentimes do not fully grasp what they are supposed to be teaching, and end up trying to overcompensate for this by pretending to be a Road Scholar, or something. That is fine by me, but becomes a problem when you get one that is overly harsh in their grading of your work. I realize that a strict teacher is not something that can really be complained about, in fact it might be a good thing, but it IS a concern when they start taking points off of your work for little things that you KNOW you did correctly because they don't even know what they are talking about. Case in point, my current instructor is constantly riding me like Seabiscuit about my APA formatting, and references for projects, but she obviously has no clue about APA formatting herself, and seems to be just making it up as she goes along. I KNOW APA format like the back of my hand, but she finds something wrong in almost every sentence of every paragraph of my papers. So, I submit a solid 'A' paper, and when she finally gets around to grading it, I end up with a 'C-' because she is confused. Also, there does not appear to be any recourse for an online student to complain about an instructor available from GCU, and their mentality is basically, Oh Well, we got your money so tough luck. Maybe you should have thought of that before you enrolled. As well, you are almost ALWAYS directed to contact your Student Advisor about troubles with the school, but they are really just a switchboard to direct you to somewhere else, and after a while you get tired of being ping ponged back and forth by people who obviously do not care at all. The "system" (stretching that word) in place at GCU seems to have ZERO to do with helping you learn, and more to do with getting your tuition payments, and I am seriously considering dropping out now, even though I am only 3 courses from completion.. I have to warn anyone who is considering this institution to BEWARE, once they get your money, they no longer give a hoot about you!!

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37 of 45 people found the following review helpful

Good learning experience

Nursing - May 21, 2017
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I completed RN-to-BSN in GCU. Currently. I am working on my MSN. My experience with GCU is very positive. The course materials are up-to-date and related to my work. If you make your efforts in reading all materials and completing all assignments, you will learn a lot. I am very happy to have the opportunity to recharge myself. What makes my learning experience even better is that my company pays 80% of my tuition.

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38 of 44 people found the following review helpful

Lots of Better Options Out There

Master's of Education in Secondary Education - March 30, 2017
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The enrollment process was a nightmare. And then I was bounced between two different counselors who never told me the same thing. My professor was non-existent as he felt free to access YouTube videos were an acceptable substitution for teaching. Vague directions with specific expectations. Just not a positive support network. I stayed for one class and then left as quickly as I could. They charged me nearly $2,000 without applying financial aid for a non-education with an absent professor. Sounds fair, right?

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33 of 41 people found the following review helpful

DNP Student Not Allowed to Graduate

Doctor of Nursing Praactice - March 25, 2017
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Since internal review board (IRB) approvals for each student's capstone project have taken such a long time for GCU to complete - many students in the DNP program have been forced to take additional extension courses in order to initiate, complete, write-up, and submit their Capstone projects. Extension courses cost almost $2,000 each. Additionally, the program now requires DNP students to have their Capstone project reviewed and edited by a professional editor which costs another $3,000 to $5,000. The DNP students are further required to stipulate that their editors submit an affidavit to the school attesting to what they changed or recommended be changed. Many students are stress out and contemplating leaving the program as many believe GCU will never allow them to graduate. Students considering this DNP program should do their due diligence, they may never be allowed to graduate.

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67 of 69 people found the following review helpful

Level of students is VERY low

M.S. in Professional Counseling - December 21, 2016
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I had to take 3 courses in GCU to obtain my permanent license to practice since I wasn't trained in the US. I don't like online classes because I don't get half as much as I would attending an actual class. But I didn't have the time to go to a campus and this was more practical. The level of expectations from the teachers was very low - I could read the crap, non-sense, stupidity that most students would write and they would still get full points. No argument, proper reasoning and everyone sharing their own personal struggles to use as examples - who cares, this is not your personal therapy or space to vent! Not only that, a lot of times some students who were commenting just to get points and had no real clue about what they were writing, would basically repeat what I was saying in their comment - copy my ideas - and get full points. I don't know what kind of professionals these people will be but the intelligence/academic level of the students is VERY low and they still get the grades to pass. SO many times have I wanted to correct them or tell them off for copying my ideas, but I just had to bite my tongue. They are just dumb and some of their comments were just plain BS bla bla with no real content, bad writing skills (bad English as well), and no logic, and beneath any university-standard I have ever seen. Teachers in the 3 courses have been very nice, accessible and knowledgeable and admin in the university as well, very helpful and quick to reply each time. The actual content of the course is pretty complete and interesting. It's the type of students that bring the quality down. But if you make an effort and focus on yourself then it should be ok. The other day I met someone who was also enrolled in GCU with a different program who told me she felt the exact same way. I'm sorry to sound harsh but I wanted to be helpful to others by writing this review.

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44 of 56 people found the following review helpful

Awesome experience

Nursing - December 7, 2016
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I graduated from GCU's online BSN program in 2014. My experience was great! It was very time consuming but I loved the shortened classes. I chose a different school for my MSN simply because I wanted a slower pace for a while. I am about to graduate with my MSN in education and will be returning to GCU for my DNP. I have found over the last few years that most of those who complain did not put 100% into the program. I had great instructors and my advisor was excellent. She was faithful to call me every 5 weeks and she also would change me out of a class to a different instructor if I wanted someone in particular. School is not easy and it is not a free ride. I spent upwards of 20 hours a week on school work during my BSN education but I learned so much. I know the DNP will not be easy and it may make me insane but I will dedicate as much time to it as is necessary to be successful. I recommend GCU. If you are having a hard time or don't have a great advisor, request another one. You are paying them so they work for you. Be sure and ask questions and make sure you understand the rules and regulations. This is adult education and we have to be responsible adults and own it.

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43 of 49 people found the following review helpful

I/O PhD program

Industrial and Organizational Psychology - November 15, 2016
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I have been a student at GCU since the summer of 2015. With any school, it has its positives and negatives. I have two bachelors and two masters from different schools. At any rate, the campus is absolutely beautiful. I'm sorry that many of have not had a good experience with school; however, I have had just the opposite. The professors are like professors at any other school I've attended, the positive and the so-so. I have not come across any professors who wasn't there to answer my questions when needed. I have participated in 8 classes and 1 residency. I've learned a lot and all the classes are coming together to where I better understand what I'm shooting for in the program. Some of the material is slightly dated; however, we are research students and researching is paramount to our success in the program and completing our dissertation. The curriculum is spelled out and it's not difficult to understand, at least for me. There are two discussion questions, the first one is due no later than Saturday at 11:59pm (Phoenix time) and the second one is due no later than Monday at 11:59pm (Phoenix time). Three responses are due to fellow students and/or to the professors' questions on three separate days. I do not understand how confusing that process could be. Normally, the initial question response and response to either the professor or other students is between 150 - 250 word count with at least one reference and in-text citation. Again not difficult to understand. All documents state this school uses APA format and again, this is something that a student should have learned in high school, if not during their bachelors' program, especially if they had to write papers. Even with my most difficult class (Statistics), the professor provided great help and I pulled an A out of the class. I am not a numbers person. The professor provided his personal phone number and email for any of us who needed extra help. and boy did I need extra help. To be honest, when we enter college life, we should not expect a babysitter because professors are not there a day camp. Loud Cloud appears to be stable and since starting last year, I have run into only two problems. One were Turnitin was down nation-wide for a day or two; however, we were kept up to date of the process. And the second were, my assignments would not attach but we came up with a work-around to ensure our assignments was submitted in a timely manner. I cannot speak on student loans that some many others have spoken about because I have not used it; though, I was told that it was a requirement to submit the FALSA (or however that's abbreviated) paperwork even though I told them I wouldn't be using student loans. I have been paying every month out of pocket and hope at the end, the government will not chase me down to repay something I never used. I supposed I had better verify with my student advisor.

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30 of 34 people found the following review helpful

Grand Canyon University Masters of Science in Nursing

Nursing - November 14, 2016
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I completed my BSN at Grand Canyon University this spring and entered directly into the Master's Program. If one attended the RN to BSN program prior to the Master's Degree program the Master's Degree program is much easier. The technology is great (major MSN with emphasis in healthcare informatics). There is some vagueness in curriculum, however, having taken other online courses this curriculum rates a 10 compared to what is out there. Questions are answered promptly and, for the most part, office hours of the instructors are reasonable. Some instructors provide better ancillary instructions for assignments than others do. The enrollment counselor and advisors are superb. The school tuition is prohibitively expensive. There are ample resources and instruction provided for any student who possesses a good mastery of English and wishes to succeed. Ample free tutoring is available for English as a second language students however, there are those who do not qualify or belong in the programs trying to make it through without legitimately doing the work. GCU has taken steps to address this issue.

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25 of 28 people found the following review helpful

RN to BSN

Nursing - November 12, 2016
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The RN to BSN program is pretty good for the most part. The instructors are pretty much hit and miss. Some of them are great and some of them are awful. They are either very easy and don't care about APA format or very strict and deduct for every little thing. There is no in between. The Capstone program has been an absolute nightmare so far. The instructor I have refuses to teach me. This is the last course I have in order to graduate. If you ask her a question she screams at you in all caps. It has been an absolute disaster. She has totally ruined the whole graduate program for me. I have hated every minute of this capstone experience. I sincerely hope they get rid of her. I have never had such a bad teacher. It is a shame someone gets paid to be this bad!

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39 of 43 people found the following review helpful

Excellent Academics - Questionable Entrance Requirements

Accounting - October 11, 2016
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To obtain a college degree, any college degree, you have to want it. You have to be willing to put in the time and the effort to attain the level of knowledge that is associated with a college degree. The level of instructors is no better or worse here than at ASU, UCLA, or USC where I have obtained other degrees. That isn't the problem that I have with GCU. My issue lies in the competency of other students with whom I must converse via the online classroom. There are some students who are barely literate, let alone the caliber of student that should be required prior to admittance to a university. While my success or failure does not depend upon my fellow students on a routine basis, there are occasions when we must enter the Collaborative Learning environment. What a JOKE! On all but one occasion, I have written the majority, once the entirety, of the project while my team mates accepted the "A" grade. In one instance, four team members had worked fairly successfully together for the week. On the last day, the fifth team member took the finished product and submitted it as his own. I filed a complaint with the instructor, but I never got resolution on the matter. This is my biggest challenge with the university. I believe it is unnecessary to require people who have never seen each other, who are often employed full-time and have vastly different schedules and availability, to work together to create a cohesive, truly collaborative end product. GCU is no better or worse than any other institution with regard to finances and response from representatives. College is expensive. College should be challenging and the level of literacy and intelligence should rise accordingly. Students who can't form a complete sentence should not be enrolled in a university. They should attend a community college where they can get remedial help before moving on to attain a college degree. In closing, GCU is a good school with excellent programs and adequate instruction. Entrance exams should be mandatory however.

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33 of 40 people found the following review helpful

An OK program

Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) - September 30, 2016
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Grand Canyon's DBA program is fairly new. I have been in the program 3 years now and have entered by dissertation phase. I do not believe I will complete my dissertation by the end of the dissertation courses and fully expect to use at least 2 or 3 extension courses. I have heard of people needing 5 + extension courses to finish in the program. The course part of the program is very soft skills heavy. There is not enough emphasis on accounting, finance, etc and too much on strategy, HR and such. What I liked: 1. The coursework was generally pretty interesting. 2. A few of the instructors were top notch and fully engaged. 3. The online classroom and resources seem pretty bullet proof. I can only think of one time that I could not log in during my three years in the program and it was resolved within a couple hours. 4. I like the idea of the residencies - however see my comments in don't likes. The residencies were great for networking with other students and honestly the other students were more helpful than the instructors. Feedback from instructors at the residencies was often contradictory. What I did not like: 1. 2/3 of the instructors are useless. They provide little useful feedback and are typically slow to respond if at all. 2. In the program, they state that you are working on your dissertation from day 1. However once I got to the true dissertation phase that was rubbish. What I thought I had was not fit for purpose or even truly useful. I more or less had to rip it up and start from scratch. 3. The residencies are disorganized and for the most part very little information is imparted to the students. They main problem is the student to instructor ratio. There are just too many students in each class during the residency and each student is working on a unique research proposal. Generally speaking the squeaky wheel gets the grease and the loudest student gets the most attention. I would have gotten more value from a solid 4 hours with an adviser one on one than a week at a residency. 4. No breaks in the program except for Christmas. It is a marathon that never ends. Classes are 2 months long and the day one class ends the new one starts the next day. It is exhausting. I would prefer a couple week break between classes even if that meant graduating later. 5. My dissertation adviser is new to GCU and has not a clue. Additionally as I mentioned before I had to pretty much start over from scratch. My adviser tries hard but just does not have the experience needed to support my needs in the program. My final verdict is that the program is average. I am not sure I would recommend it to anyone but I would not try to talk someone out of it either.

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21 of 22 people found the following review helpful

DNP Program

Nursing - September 10, 2016
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I may be wrong about all of this but online educators seem to get meaner at you progress through the program at GCU, especially those in the Capstone courses (DNP 955, DNP 960, DNP 965). I am beginning to wonder if they really want us to even graduate since so much minutia is required to moved forward. The program chair is particularly abrasive toward students. She has both a PhD and DNP but her arrogance toward students seeking the DNP is unbridled. I have been at GCU for many years and have been successful with several nursing degrees there (MSN, FNP, etc), however, there seems to be a cloud of animosity that nursing educators, retained by GCU, have toward to students. I believe much of that comes from the program chair. The Chinese say, "the fish stinks from the head down." I do not currently believe that I can or will graduate from the DNP program, although I've made almost a 4.0 average in the program. Of course, I will continue to strive ahead to meet the demands of the program. I've never failed at anything - but this may be a first. If you are planning to do the DNP at GCU - ask some hard questions first. How many DNP have they graduated? While this is a relatively new program, I know they have graduated one crop already - many of which are used as on-site educators. Honestly, I'm not a complainer - I understand how life goes, but I'm very concerned about the current DNP program chair at GCU and the contract educators that she uses. Regardless, I wish everyone the best ever as they seek out a DNP to move their career forward. Regard,,,,,,,,,,,Anonymous

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71 of 75 people found the following review helpful

RN to BSN - Great Experience!!

Nursing - August 30, 2016
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I completed the RN to BSN program in December 2015 and my experience with GCU was phenomenal! Everyone from the enrollment councilor to my last instructor was everything I thought it would be. The course work is all laid out for the entire course and it was all very well organized. It was a lot of work and required you to put in the time, but the end result was worth it. The best part was that all of the course work was applicable to the practice of nursing. If you are an ADN RN looking to earn your BSN I highly recommend GCU.

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21 of 26 people found the following review helpful

Very good experience at GCU

Masters of Education in Elementary Education - August 23, 2016
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My experience at GCU was excellent. From my initial counselor who enrolled me, to my final experiences on campus for graduation, I recommend this school. My initial counselor provided his cellphone number, and it was very easy to contact him and he always returned my calls quickly. I had no problems with classes, as once one was finished the next in line would show on my portal. My professors more often than not held doctorates, and were generally very helpful and communicative. I did not care for one professor's style, but that is bound to happen and does not reflect on the University as a whole. The classes were challenging and I was required to do a ton of research papers. The other people in my classes were very professional and a joy to do projects with. Never at any time did I have any type of financial discrepancy with GCU. However, I have seen many people on this particular review site whine and complain about things that were their own responsibility to take care of, not GCU's. They blame GCU for not being accredited, or they blame GCU because their degree did not lead to certification/licensure. Really? The blame lies solely with them for not verifying these things up front. With anything in life, do your research and make an effort to get a positive outcome. Be proactive, not reactive. I am glad I did!

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20 of 25 people found the following review helpful

Very good program for online

Business Administration - July 31, 2016
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I have read a few negative reviews about GCU and that may be their experience but it is not mine. I have attended the Bus Adm. program online for 3 years now and I absolutely love it for the most part. I have gained a wealth of knowledge that I can use in the corporate world. There is a ton of work and some of the assignments are very challenging so you really have to work hard in order to be successful. If you do not have any experience in classes like accounting or marketing, I would suggest getting a tutor because they can be really hard. I am excited because in 8 more weeks I will receive my BS in Bus Adm. and I have a 3.0 GPA. Since I have attend GCU I have had maybe 3-4 Advisors but for the past 2 years, I have had the same one and she is very helpful and she always return phone call. One time I had to call the top person over the program that I am in and I received an immediate phone call back and my problem was resolved. In order to be successful at GCU or any online school you have to stay on top of your work and put forth a lot of effort but in the end, it is truly worth it. I will say that they can afford to charge less for the classes because I think they are to high. Yes, you may come across an instructor that is not so good but that happens at any university. What I would say if that happens, stay in touch with your Advisor or someone higher and keep notes of the issue, I did and it worked to my advantage. GCU has one of the best online setups and I would not change that at all.

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10 of 12 people found the following review helpful

GCU review...Very Good School!

Nursing - July 27, 2016
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I AM JUST ONE WEEK SHY OF OBTAINING MY msn from GCU. I have had a very good experience with the school in general, it is true that I went through a few lecturers who were awful but I also had lots of very good instructors . If you are disciplined, hard working and ready to study, GCU is a right fit for you. I will not hesitate in recommending this school to anyone. I was an online student with a bachelors degree from a different country, it is true that they will not spoon feed you but of course am used to not being spoon fed, therefore I have worked so hard to succeed and I will finally see the light at the end of the tunnel in a week's time.

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18 of 25 people found the following review helpful

Find another school

M.S. in Professional Counseling - May 29, 2016
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Grand Canyon University does not require any sort of testing before being accepted into the M.S. in Professional Counseling program, and unfortunately, this shows in the quality of the many of my classmates. Some classmates are not able to form coherent sentences. Most are barely able to write at a high school level. The quality of the instruction is lacking in most cases as well. There have been times when I, and other students, have asked for feedback and the instructor is unwilling (or perhaps unable) to provide any insight into the topic. Other instructors have been so awful, I've lost my interest in learning in those classes. I've felt like I was alone. I am basically teaching myself and learning from textbooks. I listen to my coworkers talk about their counseling program classes, and I am envious. They're actually learning how to do counseling. I feel like I'm learning how to fake my way through it. If I were an employer, I would require some serious intelligence testing before I hire anyone with a GCU degree, simply because the program does not actually teach, but still passes out counseling degrees. It is not surprising then that GCU is not CACREP accredited.

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29 of 36 people found the following review helpful

Christian Views my ASS

Business Management - May 27, 2016
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If you do not know what it means to pull they wool over someone's eye's, well then let me introduce you to GCU. AT first the state that they will do what it takes in making sure that all your credits are transformed over and that they will assist you in making the correct chose when attending GCU. Well the only thing they did was to pull me in to the school and about half way in turn around and tell me that the credits that I had would not be transferred over. When asked why it was that they did not meet their standards and that there was nothing anyone could do about. The Christian values that they announce and stand behind are not for them, but more of a line that is used to attract students. This school was all about money, money and more money. The instructors for the most part know how to read off a book and some do have experience but not in the field I needed. Most of their material was obtained from FEMA web-sites or other free sites that anyone can get at no cost, but GCU makes sure that they will charge you. My advice to students is make sure you research the school not once or twice but three times and have someone there with you so that they can bring you back down to earth when they try to paint a pretty picture. The values that GCU has are none, I would be a shamed if I were them to say Christian views and values.

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29 of 33 people found the following review helpful

Get ready to owe your soul to the GCU company store

Nursing - May 27, 2016
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Really not what I thought it was gonna be. Lots of silly deadlines, group work sucks the most, and you all get graded for whatever free loader or should I say free loaders that fail to do their part. I am 45 years old A honor student even in nursing school so yeah I have no problem putting out the effort, but this school is terrible. Price is also very expensive, I was being told something different from my financial adviser when I found out I had been charged 4,000 more worth of student loans than I was made aware of. Honestly I would look into UTA they have one of the best ADN to BSN programs around.

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26 of 31 people found the following review helpful

Shame!

MBA in Marketing - May 19, 2016
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Would not reconmend! Much like the majority on here have previously said, this school is just in it for your money. I was originally instructed to apply for a grant and was approved up until my first class ended. Then they continously called asking for $800 to pay for my "books" that I used in my online class and that I would have to continue to pay for the classes because somehow my "grant" readjusted itself and was denied last minute. Then, when I asked for my full course schedule, they kept running me in circles, telling me to check the website when I demanded to see my personal schedule. They were attempting to sign me up for fluff courses explaining it was all mandatory but yet I saw it nowhere on their website. Everything feels so insincere and it became clear to me this was a scam. Even now I have fully withdrawn from the school and they still try contacting me to see if I want to continue my degree. No thank you! Be honest up front and definitely don't tie religion into your lies. They should be ashamed..

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21 of 25 people found the following review helpful

Run Away

Business Management - May 6, 2016
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Everything was going well. I spent four months communicating with my contact at Grand Canyon University (GCU). I thought that I had asked every question imaginable. Once I made my first post as an online student, suddenly a wealth of information was provided. Much of the information would have influenced my decision to attend a different college. My biggest complaint is being lied to by the people at GCU. I started recording my phone conversations with GCU. It is only fair because they record all of the conversations that I have with them. As far as I can tell, I am within my legal rights as a first-person member of the conversation to record the conversations. I have caught them in several lies. I do not get myself involved with litigation, so these recordings are merely for my benefit. It took several months before I could get someone to admit the “mistake” that has cost me about $18,000. I could have stopped attending this university and gone somewhere else, but I had spent a great deal of time convincing the VA to pay for my classes and filling out paperwork. I am not sure that the VA would have continued to pay for a different school. I will never be proud enough to hang my diploma on the wall. I will be obtaining my master’s degree from somewhere else. This time, I will be sure to let the person know that I will be recording the conversation.

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21 of 27 people found the following review helpful

A shame before God.

Sociology - May 4, 2016
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I am at the end of the first class that Grand Canyon University, said I must take and pay for. But, the degree I wanted was social work and I was told I could take the social work class, but I had to find somewhere to get the hours I needed as volunteer services which was 400 hours. I called the board for social services in my area and found out that GCU is not accredited for social work. So when I contacted my student adviser. She told me that the degree does not lead to a license. Of course I asked her what was the degree valid for if I can not get a license. This was something I truly wanted to do. To help many in the community who are less fortunate. Now, they are telling me that I will have to pay for three classes even though I have not taken nothing but one class. So, now I am stuck at their school that lied to me about having a relevant social worker program. I am so disappointed and I believe that this type of fraud to students who are receiving student loans that are guarantied by the US government should be looked into. They should not be able to commit fraud at their leisure.

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20 of 23 people found the following review helpful

RN-BSN program

Nursing - April 14, 2016
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I am in my third class in the RN-BSN program. I really enjoyed my first instructor but this last one has been a mess. She is very vague on assignments on exactly what she is looking for and takes off points for everything. I really try hard to make A's on my papers and she will demerit you to death. A lot of the problem is really her lack of clear instructions. Also, the group assignments are awful. So many people don't really care about them and they expect everyone else to carry their load. It really makes it hard to make a decent grade on them. I don't understand when they give you the end of course survey and you honestly tell them this stuff, nothing seems to change. It is still a mess on the next course. I am really not too happy with my experience so far. I will continue on but it has not been a very encouraging environment.

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14 of 16 people found the following review helpful

Poor Quality of Masters Students

M.S. in Professional Counseling - February 18, 2016
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Let me start by saying this is part review and part frustrated vent. But please think twice before starting a Master's program here. My experience so far has been fine as far as the teachers, staff and curriculum. I have many years in the behavioral health field but need the Masters to get to the next level. I'm truly enjoying what I'm learning and have good experiences with my profs and their teaching. What is really starting to leave me utterly disappointed is the quality of students in my online classes. The majority of the discussion posts are written by students who cannot write complete sentences or critically think. Almost weekly 90% of my class doesn't read the instructions on what the discussion posts are about. Assignments are turned in that completely leave out the answer to the very specific question by the professor. They either don't answer the question at all, they don't cite their work, they call five sentences a solid post or they tell each other,"GREAT POST!" when the work is clearly below high school level. I just find it incredible that this is a Master's level class with the academic work being produced from students that are in these classes. They don't know how to comprehend the work or write at the graduate level. And like another reviewer wrote...it's the same people in every class! It's sad really, I'm paying a lot of money and spending all my time on these classes...which I should...only to feel like there's not a University level quality among the students. I'm getting A's so I know I'm doing something right, but my patience is wearing thin for what should be an vigorous academic environment and just isn't coming close to what I thought a Master's Degree would be like. If you're looking for an on-line masters program consider yourself warned.

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25 of 30 people found the following review helpful

Poor school, bad staff

MBA with an Emphasis in Leadership - February 13, 2016
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The platform they use for their online classes is horrible. You cannot tell what needs done and when - a due date for a discussion post versus when comments are due. The syllabus stinks. You have to go the student handbook for late policies and finding numbers for IT help is like wandering down a labyrinth. I wanted to talk with my program director and was told I could only talk with my adviser. The assignments are poorly written, the syllabus had typos. Stay away!!!

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11 of 14 people found the following review helpful

Stay away

Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) - January 31, 2016
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In short I have never seen a more unethical University . I was billed for fees that I was not advised of and registered for a class without my knowledge or consent. I have complaints filled with both the BBB and Arizona Attorney General's office . I only wish I had done a google search I would never gone near GCU

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18 of 20 people found the following review helpful

Save your money and run!

Business Administration - January 12, 2016
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Do yourself a favor and STAY AWAY from Gran Canyon. First off, they have about 300 potential students (mostly Seniors in High School) assigned to what they call an Admissions Representative. This person is actually a COMMISSIONED SALES REPRESENTATIVE assigned to a region of the US. They are very difficult to reach and difficult to get answers from. You find out very soon that everything goes through them - I MEAN EVERYTHING! You cannot contact anyone at the University for real, only your representative. If you want to talk to someone at GCU, you have to wait until your representative gets you an answer (in our case it was sometimes weeks). We missed a deadline and were not told by our Rep that there was a fee associated with it. When our child decided not to go to GCU, and told them we were unaware of any fee, we were repeatedly billed for the fee. They would not cancel the fee regardless of our struggling financial circumstances. We also found out that the school has a pretty low reputation across the board and yet the tuition and fees for GCU are among the highest for a Christian school in the nation. Overall, the lasting impression is that this is a BUSINESS first and NOT a ministry. They are not interested in helping mid to lower income families get a degree at a Christian University - they are mostly interested in making money, building their facilities so they can compete with Liberty University (which is very similar by the way). There is no financial assistance for those in need of help, no compassionate response to those who cannot pay their exorbitant tuition, and no access to department heads, faculty, staff, student information representatives for parents who want direct answers to questions in a timely manner. It's kind of like the whole goal is to get your kids signed up for a program, get them to sign a contract (PLEASE DO NOT SIGN ANYTHING!), and then gouge you for fees if your child withdraws or decides not to attend. Advice: Send your kid to a junior/community college the first two years and then let them finish at a reputable university so they have a degree that is worth something! This will save them about half of the total cost of a college degree! Be advised, the directors who run GCU are hard core businessmen, living lavish lifestyles, building their financial base, and living large under the covering of a "Christian University". That's not right! As Christians, we are supposed to help those in need, provide assistance to those seeking education, making Christian Education accessible to everyone, not just wealthy parents who want to send their kids to a "Christian" baby-sitting school with bed checks and separate dorms so nothing bad can happen. WAKE UP PARENTS, get smart and skip GCU!

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18 of 25 people found the following review helpful

DNP Program

Nursing - December 31, 2015
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DNP Instructors mostly over committed adjunct faculty mostly from other institutions; as with many institutions (some with high ratings) these faculty in quality vary considerably Syllabi woefully poorly written especially discussion questions and have not been routinely updated throughout; it appears because they are seeking AACN accreditation for their DNP program that they do not want to draw attention right now to this problem. Typhon is not intuitive and poorly organized and explained despite several references or documents trying to explain it. When this program is advertised and listed as Self-Learning...believe it!!! An online fast paced self-learning format is not for everyone. GCU should certainly stick to the Post-MSN with an APRN certification for this program consisting of 12 eight-week courses.

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25 of 28 people found the following review helpful

Great College

B.S. in Elementary/Special education - December 29, 2015
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I am a new student to Grand Canyon University. After taking two classes and passing both with an A I can say I would enroll all over again. There is a lot of work and research that goes into being an online student. One must be disciplined and dedicated. I will be graduating in 2019 and plan on obtaining my Masters Degree as well.

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19 of 21 people found the following review helpful

Derek Harada and Sheia Dwyer are wonderful

M.S. in Professional Counseling - November 18, 2015
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I am an online student at Grand Canyon University. Advisor Derek Harada is wonderful. Professor Sheia Dwyer is wonderful. Love Grand Canyon U. I am an online student in the Master of Science in Professional Counseling program at Grand Canyon University. My enrollment advisor, Derek Harada, is a wonderful enrollment advisor who gives me a phone call every week to see how I am doing in my online class. My professor, Sheia Dwyer, gave me a phone call because she was concerned that I wouldn't successfully pass the online class. Professor Sheia Dwyer is very responsive and asks thought-provoking questions during the class. This is the final week of my online class, and I am sad that the class is coming to an end. My experience as an online student at Grand Canyon University has been very positive and wonderful. I highly recommend Grand Canyon University.

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12 of 16 people found the following review helpful

Good program but buyer beware.

Master of Science in Professional Counseling - November 8, 2015
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If you're considering this degree program, there are several things to consider: 1) If you want a government job in counseling, don't go here. The university is not CACREP accredited and the VA requires this. Unfortunately, no adviser told me this initially. 2)Very solid curriculum. I am licensed and working in the field but please see point #1. 3) Internships are required and must meet your own State licensing requirements in the end, though you can meet the State of Arizona's to get the degree. It's a great program for people working in the field who have a network in place and have a place lined up to intern or 'real' options lined up. The internship is the student's responsibility entirely. 4)Like most colleges, GCU is a for profit institution and the online programs are a 'cash cow'. As you can tell by other reviews, they will gladly take your money if you decide to drop out or not attend after classes have started. You better be a responsible individual to do the program and don't complain about not reading their refund policies. 5) IMPORTANT - I measured their curriculum against my peers in the field and GCU is solid. Spoke to two librarian friends at major universities (U of Michigan, U. of North Carolina) and GCU has exceptional library resources. They give you most tools to be successful but the lack of CACREP accreditation is problematic. You will be prepared for your State licensing exam coming out of here if you do the work but if you are planning to work for the Federal Government, go some place else. I imagine it is just a matter of time before individual states start following the Fed's lead, so beware. Hope this helps. I had a great experience here but trying to keep it real for potential students who may not be aware of Federal licensing standards.

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20 of 20 people found the following review helpful

1,495 dollars to drop a class within the first week

M.S. in Professional Counseling - November 6, 2015
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During the first full week of online classes, I tried to drop my online class and withdraw from Grand Canyon University. I was told that if I dropped my class, that I would have to pay off a 1,495 dollar balance within 3 months. Most real colleges/universities allow you to drop a class within the first 2 weeks without penalty.... Now, I am stuck and have to take this online class, even though I have significant health problems....The Grand Canyon University Policy Handbook states that students are entitled to a 75% tuition refund during Week 1. However, Grand Canyon University is threatening me, telling me that if I don't pay my balance of 1,495 dollars within 3 months, my case will go to collections

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22 of 28 people found the following review helpful

Disaster

Bacelors of Science in Elementary Education - November 1, 2015
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I highly recommend not going into debt getting a degree from GCU and here is why. I am a foreign educated Elementary school teacher who was required to have an American degree to teach in my state. I hold multiple bachelor degrees from another country and have taught as a teacher there for 9 years. At the time I chose GCU because they were accredited and were available for online education. I was convinced by the financial counselors there that the cost of the student loans would be able to be paid back because of the teaching salaries I would earn. I was told that because I had foreign degrees that were accredited, I could achieve an American degree in 3 years instead of 4. The truth was that even though I was a student that achieved a 3.8 GPA, it still took 4 years, the student loan kept piling up to the tune of almost 50K. I constantly found my professors far from adequate to teach these courses and my experiences with GCU staff were horrible. It required intervention many times through the years by the Dean to get continuing messes they caused cleaned up. Although I have great American references from my student teaching and a good GPA it has been over two years with no job opportunities. Lots of substitute jobs which don't pay the bills. I have excellent reviews by teachers and students and their parents but no prospects for a classroom of my own. It seems that in this field it is so political and that nepotism is running rampant. My loan interests have risen beyond the point of no return. None of these issues in this field were ever brought up by GCU. They had an extremely hard time finding a school to take me in as a student teacher as most schools were looking for student teachers from more well-known universities. Bottom line is GCU Degrees in Elementary education are not the ones you want to present to a future school for a job. They are not well looked at unless you want a charter school or work in a risky area where they are desperate to keep teachers. Save your money and look for a better institution to spend the next 4 years at. These are my opinions but this mistake will affect me the rest of my life and the debt will stay with me past retirement. You need to consider all the facts from all sources before you make these types of decisions.

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15 of 20 people found the following review helpful

Master's in counseling

M.S. in Professional Counseling - October 13, 2015
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Gaining internship is very difficult to impossible. There are too many counseling students per internships. I live out of state and the places I have tried to acquire an internship told me the school needs to first inquire for their students. The schools in this state set up the chance for the students. Now I have completed all my bookwork and received a 3.1 GPA and cannot find a place to work towards an internship. University doesn't seem to care and if they care too much they no longer work for the university. I owe all this money for schooling and do not a place to complete an internship. Be careful when you go to this school if you are looking for a counselor's.

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11 of 14 people found the following review helpful

Great Experience!

ED in TESOL - October 8, 2015
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What a great experience! Approximately 44% of students starting a bachelor's or master's degree will not finish! That is a sad fact! It requires great effort, study and commitment to complete a degree program. Unfortunately, those who do not see it through need to vent. They use this website as an outlet for their frustrations. If you take the time to view many of the colleges' reviews (regardless of which college or university you choose), you will see that almost half are negative reviews. This is in line with the 44% failure/drop out rate I was talking about earlier. GCU is no different. My experience has been wonderful. I was an online student that finished a master's in education. Immediately I saw my pay increase over $10,000 annually. Many of the frustrated individuals that could not hack the requirements and want to blame the university for their failures don't seem to understand that GCU is a respected regionally accredited university that provides an excellent education. Had they 'stuck it out' they would have realized that.

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33 of 37 people found the following review helpful

Grand Canyon University equals University of Phoenix plus God and Cheerleaders.

English Literature - September 27, 2015
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You will never get into any graduate school in any sort of a traditional degree like English, Sociology, History, or Anthropology because you don’t learn the same things at GCU that the students are apparently studying at the regular schools. So your only option is to get your Master’s degree from GCU too or go to University Of Phoenix or Walden or one of the online schools to get one of their degrees and then hope you can get a job teaching at one of the online schools because regular colleges are never going to hire you to teach at a regular college with a degree from GCU or University Of Phoenix. So just hope that University Of Phoenix and GCU floods the market with so many graduates that finally someone will let you into graduate school. Even if the other schools would let you in they would probably realize you don’t know anything pretty quickly then kick you out. The employees constantly change at GCU and the “professors” are not permanent and you end up dealing with a bunch of GCU graduates as your teachers and they work for GCU too, so that is how you get your degree. Forget going to conferences and stuff like that – it isn’t happening. It is basically like a giant University Of Phoenix thing with Christianity and cheerleaders mixed in so that it appeals to parents and kids who have tens of thousands of dollars to throw away on a sort of fake degree.

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11 of 24 people found the following review helpful

GCU unprofessional, pedantic, nursing instructors

Nursing - August 15, 2015
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The BSN degree program suffers from multiple weaknesses. Below are some of the sophomoric behaviors of these instructors: -Instructors deduct significant points for exceeding word count with no notice. -Students are forced to work in groups where the other group members drop out without notice or warning and being responsible for the missing work. -The "spirituality" class which is a thinly disguised Christian fundamentalist xenophobic oratory. -Teaching assistants making corrections on style supposedly to the APA- in opposition to what the APA blog specifically clarifies as the proper method (this writer has an MA in English Literature, and degrees in 2 other subjects as well) -Reading assignments are often egregiously overloaded, obvious attempts to cover the reported curriculum and not actually addressing the issues. -Disrespect by a number of the instructors to working, experienced, intelligent, well established RNs, which goes against the very issues concerning validation of nurses' experience and value as addressed in the courses. -Obvious errors supposedly covered by "that was a mistake you were supposed to find"- rather questionable, given the experience If you use this program, you will learn about the issues covered. But if you put true effort and spirit into the course, you will have a lot of frustrations. Be advised to look at GCUs settled litigations, (misrepresentation of job placement- federal fines of $5M), and other issues which may be found by "Googling" 'GCU complaints' or 'GCU instructor problems'. If you want a quick (though intense) course, then this fits that category, but I will not be pursuing my MSN here, nor do I recommend this program for a decent overall learning experience. Good luck, don't let them push you around (funny how the worst of the instructors list 'anti-bullying' as one of their foci) and caveat emptor, and spread the word- together, we can combat these disgraceful institutions. Oh, and by the way, to those who might thing this is “sour grapes”: I have a 4.0 average- strong 4.0. This review is for fair warning based on many years of real life expectancy of educational programs. -k

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29 of 36 people found the following review helpful

RUN AWAY!!

Masters of Education in Elementary Education - May 22, 2015
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This University is 100% about money and doing whatever it takes to get your money in their pockets. One of their enrollment counselors visited my school and completely lied about the cost of tuition for a degree. I enrolled at the school and was about to begin classes when I read over some fine print that the counselor had glossed over and discovered that I didn't actually qualify for a grant he has promised me and guaranteed me I would qualify for. This doubled the cost of tuition and I was so outraged that I called his boss to report this. She didn't seem bothered at all that he had directly lied to me. Needless to say I dropped out as fast as possible and began attending a real school where counselors were very honest and helpful instead of salesmen trying to close a deal. Also, you will never ever be able to reach you student service adviser. I called this person often and she never answered the phone or returned any of my messages.

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14 of 23 people found the following review helpful

This is a good School

Christian Studies - May 2, 2015
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I am at the tail end of my Bachelors degree at Grand Canyon University. I have been an online student the whole time. I have had a very good experience. I have had conscientious advisors who have responsible directed me in the student loan department. I have not been encouraged to borrow all I can. They have worked with me to make wise decisions all along. The classes have been decent and worthy. Yet, I admit there are some classes I would have preferred not to take but I would probably say that at any University. Since I have been on the Den's List this whole time I have been here, I can not really give any information on tutoring services. I have passed each class with either an A or B. The Instructors are great and will generally work with anyone wiling to apply themselves. I had health issues that forced me to take a couple months off and I got alot of support. I have never been made to feel like a number. It is apparent that there is general care about my success at GCU, what more can anyone ask? I was told that my review would not be excepted if I scored GCU a ten so I was forced to lie to give it a smaller rating. I believe that GCU is worth a ten star rating. Name one perfect school! In my opinion Grand Canyon is darn close.

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21 of 23 people found the following review helpful

Great Job

Master's of Education in Secondary Education - April 27, 2015
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I have just completed my studies in Secondary Education leading to certification here in New York in February of 2015. I am starting my student teaching in the fall. I have read the some of the reviews posted on this site about GCU. I must say I have experienced none of these bad experiences over my course of study. All of the counselors and instructors went out of their way to insure that I understand the required for each of my classes and they helped me with all of my concerns. Over the year I have been there, I have never had a dispute that was not address and taken care of. I must say that on some occasions my professors were late getting back to me on issues with my class but they always text or email me on the classroom board or on my personal email. My experience was great and the staff was very very helpful. Cons, Would be that the DQs were not very clare but the professors were very good at posting add-on to the syllabus to insure we understand what was to be done. I would strongly recommend GCU to teachers if they are willing to put in the time required to complete the course. The classes were very very challenging. You will have lots of deadlines and group work that must be completed on-time. Great School GCU!

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13 of 14 people found the following review helpful

Don't GoThere

Organizational Leadership - April 18, 2015
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Most of the good reviews here come from undergrad and ground students and Masters. I'm an online student which is why I gave them a 3 in technology. To the student who rated GCU and has not attended yet, why are you on the board talking about the students who did go. I attended GCU last year for a year. I recently left and decided to go to another school that I was accepted at. I see the reviews have gotten a lot worse since I read these reviews last year when I was looking for a school. I was a doctoral leadership student I left with a 3.6 grade point average. I worked for that 3.6. The professors are constantly rude and don't know what they are doing. They don't reply to discussion in 24 hours. They are rude to their students online. One professor said the dean was telling them to stop giving out A's if the students can't write the paper should have no errors. Most of the professors don't know APA. The professors don't go by the rubric a and barely read the assignments and papers. My advisor told me that the financial aid paid for the residencies, which is not true, a residency will cost at least 3,000 dollars. They say they are the cheapest but they aren't. They don't have scholarships and my advisor told me they are told to push the loans and not even talk about outside help the student could get. Also your advisor is your financial aid officer and your academic advisor. The school I'm transferring to already gave me 5,000 dollars in scholarship money. They prefer loans to cash because they can ring up the bill, young students don't pay attention. They tried to put a charge on my account after I withdrew. I called the federal financial aid and told my advisor what the federal financial aid said in an email. Guess what they dropped the charge and my account cleared for a Christian school looks like I have god on my side.

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18 of 25 people found the following review helpful

Impressed to Date

Doctor of Philosophy in General Psychology with an Emphasis in Performance Psychology - December 9, 2014
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I find the online learning system to be a bit buggy here and there, but overall it works pretty well. I found out that they are building it in-house, which is providing a live learning environment for tech student as well as an end-user product. I, quite frankly, was shocked by the bad reviews. I have completed two other online degrees, and there was nowhere near the level of difficulty or attention to detail paid to my papers. My current instructor has been late getting each grade submitted, but based on the detailed notes, feedback, and correction that she includes within the papers, I'm not going to mention it to anyone. After four years at my other school, I never one time feel that anyone actually read through a single paper that I submitted as I never received such a high level of constructive criticism. My instructor checked every citation and reference as well as providing comments on how I could improve my content, or a call out where I provided a good section. My first instructor didn't provide quite this level of detail, but it was apparent that she read the papers. I too noticed poor writing skills in the initial course, but my second course is much smaller, and I think that some folks were not able to proceed. I have had to work hard to meet the expectations of my instructors - harder, honestly, than I initially expected, and to call this a degree mill is an insult to those of us working to succeed in the programs. My adviser checked up on me every week during my initial course, they had a couple of issues that I had to work out - extra documentation and the like, but overall, admissions, enrollment, registration, and now attendance have been smooth. My adviser now checks on me only at the beginning of each course, and that's more than other school has ever done for me. I do think that there is a bit of turnaround in the admissions and enrollment areas as they have students working a lot of these positions, and they may have to leave to focus on studies, or perhaps they have graduated. It's understandable to me. My adviser does seem a little amped-up sometimes, though, so I will be approaching him with questions to at least put my mind at ease based on what I've read here. I hate that others seem to have had a bad experience, but I am writing about what has, to date, been positive to try to counter that a bit.

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19 of 21 people found the following review helpful

GREAT SCHOOL

Masters of Education in Elementary Education - December 7, 2014
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I started my degree back in June. It took a lot of work on my end but the support I received to get into GCU was wonderful. There is a lot of work that goes into getting any degree. I am learning so much about different techniques to use in a classroom. The instructors do a really great job with feedback and taking students through assignments that can be confusing. If you are looking for an easy way to get a degree this is not the program for you.

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15 of 18 people found the following review helpful

Don't do it.

Nursing - November 20, 2014
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50% good instructors and 50% incredibly awful instructors in the nursing program. The marketing department at Grand Canyon University is exceptional and has managed to give the nursing, and all other programs, a remarkable reputation. In this case, it is undeserved. The clinical placement people did an amazing job getting students clinical experiences in the local hospitals and great hands-on experiences. Some professors really cared and went out of their way to help students while others were collecting paychecks and couldn't have cared less. They were condescending and unhelpful and hostile when challenged. I graduated with honors from the program this past year and am especially proud of that accomplishment because there was very little support or help from half of the instructors. The good ones -- and you know who you are -- deserve medals for working in that environment. It's expensive and time-consuming for all involved. I understand all programs have their areas where improvements may be implemented, but this program could use them at almost every level. The Dean of Nursing appeared to be too busy having meetings, luncheons, and her photograph taken to supervise her personnel. Very disappointing.

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12 of 17 people found the following review helpful

JOKE

RN to BSN - October 26, 2014
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Decided I decided I wanted to be a nurse after having been in education for 12 years. Went to a cc and then decided on GCU for the BSN bc of cost and convenience. RUN RUN RUN. My first class was an absolute joke. There were others that did not do what is required in posts and yet got all the points. Good for them for not having to work and get an A. Then my second class came. For week 1 the instructor did not use the same grading criteria that had been provided. I informed her that her criteria was different. Her response, "Your paper is graded. What do you want?" I informed my advisor and sent screen shots. She tells me the class will be audited to ensure instructor is professional and doing what is necessary. Week 3 she again grades with a different rubric, in fact it was the rubric for the next weeks assignment. I get 70% which is failing in nursing bc passing is 76%. The issue had not even been addressed and I seriously wonder how I even got 70% bc the entire paper was graded with a rubric for an assignment not even remotely related to the writing prompt. I have attended and graduated from ASU with honors. I am proud of this. A degree from GCU is worthless and will be seen as such by others. I am eating the cost of GCU and have enrolled at ASU.

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14 of 21 people found the following review helpful

Ahead of their time in the Deep South

M.A.T - October 6, 2014
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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.

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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful

GREAT University! I am SO GLAD I chose GCU!

Nursing - August 18, 2014
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I am almost done, well, four more classes. I am so glad I chose GCU for my RN-BSN degree. ALL of my Professors are GREAT and so HELPFUL. I remember I used to attend Western Carolina University, Cal Poly, Pomona, and other community colleges. I have NEVER met any Professor that are SO GREAT, so helpful, professional, kind, and understanding like professors at GCU. I am doing online, but feel so close to my professors at GCU. I learned SO MUCH, all up-to-date information. I am currently in "Trends" class and my co-worker thought I'm doing my Master degree in Nursing. My co-worker received a Master degree in Nursing Educator from Cal. State Fulleton and her CLC assignment (course re: "Support your BILL SB 352" they (five students) only wrote one page letter "Brief" to oppose this "BILL". I feel I am learning so much more in BSN program. I am so ADMIRE my Professors and GCU staffs. They all are extremely helpful. Of-course you have to study and do your homework in order to learn and earn your degree. I am strongly encourage anyone to return school for BSN choose this school. You will be so GLAD that you did (like me). I don't work for the school. I am just an experienced RN living in California, returning to school for BSN. I am just a student who just LOVE GCU, and SO GLAD I chose GCU. Just in my Cardiac (Tele) unit there are seven of us attending GCU. My CNO asked us if I like GCU. We told him what a great school to attend! (our hospital and Benefactors given us scholarships to return to school).

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19 of 20 people found the following review helpful

Excellent Online University and Nursing Program, RN-BSN

Nursing - July 27, 2014
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I have taken seven RN-BSN courses and really love it. Instructors are EXCELLENT and counselors are GREAT (especially Millitary Enrollment Counselor are the BEST). Instructors are very supportive and EXCELLENT. Courses are very interesting with latest information for learning. I just don't understand why some people given bad reviews about GCU. You have to read and do your homeworks no matter what school you attending. All my professors are very very good and graceful. I am so GLAD I chose GCU to do my BSN and I highly recomanding to anyone that have a very busy schedule, then this school will fit well for you. My friends went to University of Phoenix, Brandman, and were very unhappy because they have to attend class and stand up in front of class for presentations, plus many more on top of it. I don't know what more I can say except I am VERY HAPPY with GCU. Four more courses for me to EARN my BSN. I am so proud of GCU. Most nurses in my hospital already graduated from GCU and said the same thing about this university "great school, great RN-BSN program". Some of them already started MSN program.

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17 of 18 people found the following review helpful

RN=BSN (GCU ADDING EXTRA COURSES IN MY CURRICULUM)

Nursing - July 8, 2014
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I took Statistic, Patho., Health assessment, Speech/Communication, and two Psychology courses. I don't need to retake these class. GCU is VERY supportive and AGREED I do not have to take them, BUT GCU added two more classes which I do not need (to make up for money ??). This will prolong my graduation. The thing is English is my second language and I have been trying extremely hard to pass all previous classes with good grades. Two extra classes is a lot for me due to English. It has been extremely stressful making me so depress and just want to stop all total.

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17 of 19 people found the following review helpful

I love it!

Nursing - June 28, 2014
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I was scared off initially by all of the negative reviews. Once I started my courses I soon realized that a lot of the people who failed probably deserved it. I put in a lot of time into each and every class. I see people answer discussion questions that appear to have little or no effort. They seem to be trying to skim by and BS their way through. Which in my opinion is why some fail and get angry. You only take once class at a time and the work load can get heavy at times. I agree the most annoying part of the class are the CLC projects. I have had really great groups where I spent less time than I would writing a paper, and others where only a couple of people do the majority of the work. But this does not only happen at GCU, I have a friend who had the same experience at a local University. It is true that each instructor is different, but each instructor is different at any college you go to. Nurse should have experience with this as nothing is ever the same. I feel so supported at GCU, they always check in on me and have always helped me to succeed. Do not be fearful of what people are saying to you. Not every student tries 100% or does work honestly. My guess is, someone who goes from an A to an F probably plagiarized. Someone did this in the last class and the teacher flipped out and made it clear that you will be failed. I see that sometimes people post things that are sighted incorrectly and that is a form of plagiarism.

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25 of 26 people found the following review helpful

great school

Leadership- Disaster Preparedness and Crisis Response - June 27, 2014
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I started college at Florida state and ran out of time and money. Years later with a career and kids I chose to go back and get my degree online. I chose GCU and obtained my Bachelors degree. I graduated and I am now finishing up my Masters here at GCU. My wife is also an alumni of GCU with her BSN and MSN from GCU. I have nothing but great things to say about GCU.

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16 of 17 people found the following review helpful

Simply Wonderful!

Master's of Education in Secondary Education - June 27, 2014
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GCU is simply wonderful! I had the pleasure of doing the MEd degree online several years ago. The program was excellent as where the vast majority of the professors! The university truly takes an interest in each and every student . My degree allowed me to earn more. It has also made me a better instructor. For individuals who are not afraid of working hard as so many seem to be these days, I highly recommend this university.

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10 of 12 people found the following review helpful

Starting Program in a few days!

Nursing - June 26, 2014
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I went on this site to read reviews and was very surprised at the negative responses. I was initially concerned and then questioned why I was even researching reviews. Virtually everyone I know who has gone here to obtain their BSN has been very happy with the program and personally I have found them to be very welcoming and supportive every step of the way during the admissions process and I look forward to achieving this degree with them. Nursing school by its very nature, is not easy and I do not expect that this will be either but I am willing to do the work and as far as the grading process, all nursing programs have a more stringent grading scale with 75% as a failing grade. This should not have been a surprise to anyone. I will post an update further into the program.

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11 of 13 people found the following review helpful

Enjoying it and still continueing too

B.S. Psychology - June 18, 2014
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AWESOME SCHOOL I have been going here for a year and I love this school and have recruited one of my friends who is doing the exact program I am doing. I think that with any school it is what you make of it. I did have a problem and had considered transferring but I remained with the school and gave them the opportunity to fix the problem in which they did and Iam set to possibly graduate if all goes well in may of 2015.

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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful

Bad Experiance

Masters of Education in Elementary Education - June 16, 2014
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I live in Illinois and was assured by the recruiter that the University's program would be accepted. I contacted the state, they never responded to me. I completed the courses and earned me masters...then months later, Illinois tells me they do not recognize them. Have a masters I can't use now. Online teachers were not bad, but it became frustrating that my counselor always changed and no one had direct answers for me.

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9 of 14 people found the following review helpful

Good so far

Master of Education in Special Education - June 6, 2014
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I am currently enrolled at GCU for special education and have two classes left before student teaching. The counselors vary when it comes to returning emails or answering questions. I noticed I was paid more attention to during the first few months. Now help comes and goes. The teachers also vary just like on a regular campus. Some are GREAT and go out of their way to answer questions. Others are often MIA. I've asked and seen other students post questions just to wait a few 3+ days for an answer. Every week we need participation, two DQ's, weekly journal, and a 1250 + paper, so returning questions needs to be done in a timely fashion. The question to instructor forum will often get you no where if you have a professor who is not "present". BUT like I said, I've had excellent professors that reach out, so it varies. Technical issues are not uncommon (right now I cannot access the forum due to tech difficulties), but you can live chat with tech support for smaller issues. They are very helpful and patient. The tech people for Taskstream and the library are also great. Small tech issues are not a huge deal, but I've had one paper not fully submit and although tech support contacted the professor (So did I four times) I ended up with a zero. Contacted my counselor and got in return "The grades have closed. You got an A for the class. Good Job" Hello? that was not the issue. I went from a 97-98 to 93 but I guess that does not matter. The work we do is challenging and absolutely relevant to my field of study and I enjoy gaining the knowledge through material etc. So far, it has been expensive (as expected from colleges in general) but I've received help ironing it all out (so far). I am too invested to go elsewhere, but I don't think I would anyway. I like this school overall and would recommend it to others (So far). I will leave another review after I finish the program if my opinion changes. To others also attending - stay strong!

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12 of 14 people found the following review helpful

Shocked.

RN to BSN - May 26, 2014
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I'm shocked by the comments that I read here about GCU. I'm finishing my last class right now. I've had excellent communication with both the academic advisor, Jordon Alsop; and the financial advisor, Amy Lapa. My progress has progress exactly as promised and I graudate in 3 weeks. The instructors were a mixed bag. Just like you would get in any University. Some were excellent (Glenda Deahl) and some were average. I had instructor support through every class, from day one until the last day. I got responses from instructors within 24 hours every time I posted and I only had one grade discrepancy throughout my year long journey and it was resolved the same day. I've had numerous colleagues go through the same program and I haven't heard one single complaint except that it's expensive. I looked around at other RN to BSN programs and this program is a steal. Most estimates that I received for other programs were double what I've paid at GCU. I'm highly recommending the program to every new grad that I know.

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16 of 18 people found the following review helpful

Pleased overall

Nursing - May 13, 2014
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I just completed the RN-BSN program at GCU. 8 people from the floor i work on have also completed online nursing degrees there including my nurse manager. It was very conducive to my active work schedule and not overwhelming. I can see where people who are not comfortable with technology may have some problems however, if you know the basics of powerpoint and Microsoft word you will be fine. This is a great option for people who are seeking a BSN without having to take all the " fluff" classes many universities require. I was able to simply take all nursing classes, aside from one short statistics class. Overall, i strongly recommend this program to all RN's who want to continue their education. I received a 3.8 cumulative GPA and worked 5/ 12 hour shifts a week and planned a wedding. Definitely do-able for anybody to succeed. I never felt scammed or mistreated. It is somewhat pricey but, to be able to complete the program in one year and not take extra chemistry, biology, ethics, and whatever else courses it was worth it to pay a little more.

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17 of 22 people found the following review helpful

GCU very distrustful

Business Administration - April 13, 2014
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If you have apprehensive about joining a school 100% of the time it is not worth the heartache. It is one thing to to be a fake, and straight blasphemy to use religion as a cover up.Leave Christ out of the phony formula. Anyone can go online, and study , without pay, noble articles and learn with out wasting hard earned money.

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10 of 21 people found the following review helpful

Avoid this school!!!

Nursing - April 10, 2014
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Like another review on here I was proud to go to this school too, at first. I'm half way done and it has been the worst experience ever. First it is way to expensive, second the teachers treat the students which are professional RNs horrible, disrespectful and the instructions are vague. I am upset almost every week with this program. I wish I went somewhere else. Also there are group projects in every class and most of the students don't help, so if you don't do the entire project yourself you get a bad grade along with your group. This is just a horrible program period.

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22 of 32 people found the following review helpful

Poor Customer service

Educational Administration - April 2, 2014
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Grand Canyon did not properly file paperwork to collect funds for the military G. I. Bill. They did not contact, but instead listed it on my credit report and put a hold on my transcript. I had to resend the paperwork to the school a year later and the military paid them in FULL. I'm still unable to get my transcript and promised to clear my credit and never did. I've called and emailed many MANY times, but once they got there money they are unwilling to help.

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14 of 20 people found the following review helpful

Masters of Health Administration

Health Administration - March 29, 2014
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I have graduated with my Masters of Health Administration, and landed a position within a top tier hospital within two months. The education was phenomenal and the amount of time I spent doing the EBP was well worth the experience. Those that have complaints obviously were looking for a Christian experience or a handout with funding. I was well prepared and had no religious feelings about my education!

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17 of 18 people found the following review helpful

Great Program RN-BSN student

Nursing - March 11, 2014
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I am learning so much from GCU materials. I love my on-line professors. I don't believe any bad comments about GCU. My instructors are all very supportive and very understanding. I love Ms Chrystal Davis Carter. She is enrollment counselor. She ALWAYS there for me. She never tired of me asking questions over and over. I feel like I am her only student. She never hang up phone until I am fully understood my subject. I really love everything about this school. And of course you have have to study hard to pass your class. Courses are very interesting and everything are up-to-date. For a private University GCU prices are not bad. Library and tutoring staffs are incredible. They are soooooo helpful and NICE. I am not an easy student but I love this school and have NOTHING bad to say about GCU. I would love to obtain MSN after my BSN.

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15 of 17 people found the following review helpful

Disappointed and moving on

B.S. in Elementary/Special education - February 14, 2014
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This is my experience as a student of GCU who took nine courses and was enrolled in the B.S. Elementary Education/Special Education program. Everything was fine until a few months ago when I had to contact my local school district to request practicum placement. Most of the 12 courses that make up the major courses for this program require field experiences that must be completed in an actual classroom. My contact with the school district was positive until right after they asked me for a formal letter or email from my school officially requesting placement on my behalf. My adviser sent the email right away, and that is precisely when I stopped hearing back from my contact at the district (they hadn’t asked me what school I attended before this point). I followed up with them several times afterwards via phone and email, and no response. My heart sank. I am left to assume that the name Grand Canyon University does not turn heads in my area (NJ) as a viable provider of teachers. Also, I do not feel that it is the job of students to do public relations for them. Since few in the education field have even heard of this school much less their online teacher education program, they should have PR people travel the country and establish relationships with school boards nationwide before placing unsuspecting students in the awkward position of having to win the confidence of the powers that be. Considering the ridiculously high price they charge per course, roughly $1,800, they can certainly afford to do so. Speaking of price, I am now enrolled in a local not-for-profit university, and the price I pay for tuition is roughly $900. Yep, I can take two courses at a locally reputable college for the price of one Grand Canyon University course, a name that prompted local educators to cease communication with me. Academically speaking, the courses can be rigorous and relevant. Instructor quality varies (there were some excellent ones in my 9 course stint, but they were in the minority). One constant, however, is student quality. Just like the three other for-profits that I attended prior to GCU, they have an open enrollment policy, and let me tell you, they do let ANYONE whose financial aid clears in. Here you are working your behind off on your assignments and you’re in a class full of people who I just cannot believe ever passed the sixth grade in terms of writing skills, comprehension of what is being discussed, and ability to stay on topic. And what’s more, you see these same people in class after class. This does diminish some as you get to the more advanced courses, but please know that I did take one senior level course and a few junior level courses, and I still found too many of these students than I cared to. If you don’t mind explaining yourself to EVERYONE who asks you what school you attend AND have money to pay off an undergrad loan for the rest of your life, then I would say go for it. If you care about the quality of your education and the reputation of the college that grants you a degree, I say go elsewhere. In all fairness, Grand Canyon University might be respected in the Phoenix area; if you live outside the area, however, there are no guarantees.

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24 of 34 people found the following review helpful

GCU Nursing Scam

Nursing - February 7, 2014
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Please read this and the other reviews and take them seriously. I have begun my BSN education after being a nurse for 8 years. It is a terrible waste of money and time at GCU. My instructor is irritated at questions for the instructor. My counselor tells me to bear it because we're veterans and we can. I am utterly overwhelmed and the technology to assist me on the GCU website takes a class in and of itself to navigate. If you have time and are not working and have a lot of computer tech experience, this college may be right for you. If you are looking for ease if use and classroom support you must look elsewhere.

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9 of 14 people found the following review helpful

Great Experience

MBA with an Emphasis in Leadership - January 16, 2014
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I received my MBA from GCU in October. I found the coursework challenging but managed to graduate with a high GPA. I had no issues during my 21 months as a student. I found the support to be exceptional - especially as I am a product of a public university so that was all I knew. I would call with a question and always had a rsponse that day or the next. With my two boys both attending a state university now I can tell you that IS NOT the norm. Peoole complaining about financial aid sound like they are 1) chasing a stpend or 2) failing courses and not understanding you pay for every class you take. If I lived closer to AZ, I would have my boys attend ground campus without reservations.

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13 of 15 people found the following review helpful

Love this place!

General Psychology - November 11, 2013
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GCU is my third online college. The cost of the degree I am taking (MS in General Psychology), and the one I completed here (BS in Psychology) have been great value. There is no way on Earth this place is a diploma mill, I work very hard for my grades, and this is not an easy place to study, and nor do I want it to be. I want it to be something I have to work for. When I completed my BS I looked at other institutions and had no problem being accepted in two other colleges I applied to for my Masters, but in the end chose to continue my degree with GCU. The only downside I have ever had was one "instructor" who referred me back to my Academic Advisor because I was struggling in the course. Not very helpful, but ever other instructor, and my advisors have been amazing. Love this place and have recommended it to others who are also enjoying their experience.

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16 of 21 people found the following review helpful

Program is redundant and doesn't offer meaningful classes

Masters of Education in Elementary Education - October 29, 2013
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This program is really overpriced, you can get the same instruction at any other school for about half the price. The philosophy aspect was interesting, but is it really all that relevant when there are so many other issues facing education today? Instructors will not hesitate to give you a bad grade because this school can make more money off those who are forced to repeat a class. Not very ethical. This school is run like a business. They spend all their money hiring Dan Marjlee to coach B-ball and on expensive commercials instead of hiring good teachers.

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15 of 20 people found the following review helpful

Almost done with MS

General Psychology - October 2, 2013
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I have been attending GCU for 2 years and will finish my Masters in Gen Psychology in a few months. One of the things I enjoyed about GCU was you do not waste time writing papers about your goals. I have attended other graduate schools where goal statements centered around every program change. These were in depth papers. If you do not know why you are in graduate school, there may already be a problem. Also after studying graduate level psychology I see benefit for goal statements and the encouragement they can offer, but it was not for me. All my professors have been responsive and knowledgeable, and my academic advisor has been assessable. I did have an academic advisor change during the first year, but there were no issues. Financial aid overall has went well. I did not realize my thesis course (last course) was only 2 credits and as such financial aid will not cover the expense, so I have to pay $1050 out of pocket. This would have been better to know sooner than later. I have taken 2 leaves of absence (more than 2 weeks) for summer break with my kids, and appealed a grade which was changed to an "A", without any issues. Regarding the CLC assignments, they can be tedious if the group fails to plan and communicate daily. Expect to work harder than you would if doing the project yourself, as you have to effectively communicate with others, and everyone may not be as motivated as you. I can report in 3 out of 4 classes where CLC assignments were required, the CLC project went very well. Keep up with progress daily. There is no "hand holding" at GCU, but the professors in psychology want you to succeed. I expect to maintain a 4.0 through my last 2 courses and it has been challenging and rewarding. I am reviewing schools including GCU for possible enrollment in a doctoral program. There will be issues at every school, but if you want a quality education in psychology GCU should be considered.

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21 of 24 people found the following review helpful

do NOT go here, good lord save yourself!

Professional Counseling - September 11, 2013
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Two words; diploma mill. Don't believe me? Before you start at this diploma mill, ask ASU or UofA if they accept Bachelors from this school into their graduate programs. Even before their laughter dies, it will become apparent to you. I have taken 5 courses from this farce, and three of them were fluff classes. I took a 'critical thinking' course and my instructor sounded like Jenny from the block and spoke ebonics. No joke. I continued on thinking that the core classes would be good. Wrong again. Most of your fellow class mates' grasp of the English language is lacking. I already work in the behavioral health field and every day candidates resumes come in with this school on them and unless they have years of experience, they are shredded. This is a diploma mill, people. A DIPLOMA MILL. I have years of experience and I just need the paper, and it doesn't matter where it comes from. If the paper matters to you, steer clear of this 'school'.

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21 of 35 people found the following review helpful

BEWARE!!!

Secondary Education - August 31, 2013
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Really wish I'd read these reviews before enrolling in GCU! I got sick 10 days into my first course and had to drop. Now I owe GCU over $2000 for all the hard work and effort they invested during those 10 days. Quite the little scam they have going in the name of higher education. Grand Rip-off University would be a more accurate name for this institution. They weren't the first college I attended or even the first online school, but they were the only ones I ever felt I needed a shower after interacting with - and the first with which I have a complaint.

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15 of 26 people found the following review helpful

6 Years at Grand Canyon University

Christian Studies - August 23, 2013
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I started Grand Canyon at the age of 56. I decided to go through my Bachelors and Masters program. Most of my instructors during my programs were very good, but there were a few that needed some work. When I experienced problems they were usually taken care of. If I had any problems with individuals I immediately asked to be re-assigned to someone else where I was paying the money for my education. I experienced many great changes that GCU made while I was attending. Being able to attend online classes was an excellent experience for me.

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21 of 28 people found the following review helpful

Worst Experience of My Life

Organizational Leadership - July 19, 2013
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The worst experience of my life. This place takes taxpayer money (through the form of financial aid) and privatizes to greedy shareholders...but then why not. Their CEO ran University of Phoenix into the ground several years back and then came to GCU like a parasite, ready to suck off a new host. Bottom line, they are only in it for the money.

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17 of 26 people found the following review helpful

worst experience

Nursing - June 24, 2013
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I had the worst experience with this school. will never recommend this school to anyone. all they want is your money, doesn't even matter if you gpa is 1 they will still enroll you as long as they get paid.

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15 of 27 people found the following review helpful

Happy Online College of Education Student

Bacelors of Science in Elementary Education - June 19, 2013
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This review is based solely on my experience as a fully online student majoring in Elementary and Special Education. You should know right away that many of the teacher education courses require 15-20 practicum hours to be completed in an actual school setting. You will not be completing all of your course work online. My first two GCU classes were what I call “Welcome to College” and “Welcome to Online Courses” courses. They were extremely easy and redundant, especially since I had taken so many online courses before. You take one course at a time at 7 weeks a pop with GCU online, so that added 4 months to my completion time and $3600 to my debt load. I accepted this all things considered. I imagine there are people out there who are not tech savvy and/or have never taken a college course before that might benefit more from these courses. Anyway, after those first two mostly unnecessary courses, I took Critical Thinking. That course taught me a lot, and I have enjoyed every course since. I have taken them seriously and prepared for every assignment as if my life depended on it, since I am investing too much in this to take it less than very seriously. I have had classmates who are obviously phoning it in, and I have had serious students such as myself, and everything in between. Many of my instructors keep office hours at the Phoenix, AZ campus and were just a phone call away. Those same instructors would call me periodically and check on me or to follow up on a question I had posted in the course’s discussion forum. They have all been engaging and effective at the very least. Financial aid has been seamless for the most part, and I initially had some issues with eligibility that required an FA officer who loves a challenge. Needless to say she got the job done. There have been a handful of times where my FA adviser did not respond to my emails and/or voicemails right away, but she took care of the situations which prompted me to call or email in the first place and eventually got back to me to follow up. I get the impression that she is spread thin, and I totally get that since I am at my job, too. I received an $800 institutional scholarship after completing my third GCU course. I also received a smaller one for starting a class during the Christmas break. I transferred in all of my credits from three previous colleges. I am nearing the end of a dual major program, B.S. Elementary and Special Education. So far, so good, but if my experience changes I will definitely update this review accordingly. In terms of GCU’s credibility, I was offered a teaching position for when I complete my program by a principal who never heard of GCU. My point is that there a million private universities throughout this country that nobody’s heard of. If you deliver the goods in your interactions with people, particularly people in positions of granting opportunity, your best asset will always be yourself. Likewise, your worst asset can be yourself. Anybody that has a preexisting bias against for-profit schools or online degree programs is not somebody whose opinion or approval I am going to seek. I have spent 25 years working with and for the products of the traditional, not-for-profit university system, and I have seen the good, the bad, and the ugly, the brilliant and the absolutely useless. Remember that you are the sum total of all of your experiences, educational and otherwise, and the name of the college printed on your diploma and transcripts alone does not have the ability, more often than not, to sell you. That is YOUR job.

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43 of 48 people found the following review helpful

run run run

Master of Education in Special Education - June 17, 2013
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I have been attending this University for a couple years now. I would not tell anyone to come hear. The teachers do not help. Actually their is not one person that cares about your future. They are not willing to hep you at all. The classwork has nothing to do with your study. They keep raising the cost. When you tell them you are going to dropout of their university and do not enroll you into any more classes they do. You should run do not even look at this University. When grading they mark you wrong when you know it is right. The ones in the office will call you for a few classes then you can not get a hold of them when you need help.

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18 of 33 people found the following review helpful

Mixed experience

Bachelors of Science in Health Science: Professional Development and Advanced Patient Care - May 30, 2013
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I am over half way done with my degree, and have enjoyed my experience for the most part. First, you have to remember this is a for-profit school which is always ran differently than non-profit state colleges. That said, it is expensive. if you are really concerned about finances forget going to a university and go to a 2 year community school. I am going to walk away with debt, but that would happen regardless of where I go. Second, most of my professors have been good. Some have been amazing (like giving me his cell phone and allowing me to ask him about a whole slew of things) others have felt like they are having teaching aids do all their work. But that happens in college. No one is going to hold your hand and baby you through it. third, the undergrad/ elective course work is relatively easy, at least that's how it seems. Now that I am doing all core work though it has been more of a challenge and I finally feel like I am learning something. I still feel like some of my classmates are copy/pasting answers which bothers me, but I'd say at this point 80% of us really are working, debating and learning. fourth, people are extremely helpful at first and you get a lot of phone calls. by year 3 your on your own. To get anything done, be proactive. The financial aid office sucks, so stay on top of it. Bug them and it eventually happens.

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13 of 14 people found the following review helpful

Great Online School

Business Administration - May 15, 2013
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I have been a student at GCU for almost 2 years and I have had the best Counselors in every areat from enrollment to financial. I get at least 1-2 follow up calls per class. If I make a call to them I ALWAYS get prompt returned calls back from them. I will have to say that I have had at least 1 or to poor instructors they did not seem to care but most of them give you good feedback and sometimes they call you or email you. I have friends and family that attend GCU and most of them have nothing but good things to say about the college. They actually believe that the work is a little more challenging than most other online schools that some of them have attended. A few have complained about a Counselor or instructor not calling them back or not being concerned but not as bad as some have made them sound. I would recommend this college for anyone interested in taking online courses because I believe that the school is fair and have good people working for them. Yes, they probably do have a few bad apples but they don't spoil my entire view of the school. I am thankful for the education that I am receiving at GCU

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18 of 22 people found the following review helpful

Questionable Ethics and Employment Practices

M.S. in Professional Counseling - May 10, 2013
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I'm also a behind-the-scenes contributor, a current online doctoral instructor in Counseling. Turnover is apparently high among online GCU instructors, most of whom are only part-time and are not treated well by the university. This department says it wants to uphold academic standards but teachers who do so are harassed and threatened, even removed from classes for the slightest complaint by a student being held accountable to minimal standards. In the short term, that may sound appealing to less capable learners(of which there are many, because GCU has no admission requirements such as the GRE or even a basic writing exam) but it ruins the reputation of a Counseling degree from this school. As long as a student pays tuition, she or he will likely get the degree regardless of whether they meet minimal academic and integrity standards or not. That makes GCU little better than a diploma mill. Good luck with this degree competing against recipients of APA-approved or ACA-approved doctorates from more reputable universities that actually uphold standards and therefore actually produce quality graduates.

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31 of 39 people found the following review helpful

they have no human compassion

BA secondary education math. - April 15, 2013
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I attended this school online in the hopes I would complete a degree in education. What I got was a nightmare and money ripped out of my hands. I was scheduled to do two classes (they tell you HAVE to register for two classes one per semester. Anyway, I was also in IVF treatments and was fortunate enough to get pregnant with twin girls. My goal was to get a couple classes under my belt before my girls would arrive. At 21 weeks I got hospitalized, just a week short of the first class ending adn the second class hadn't even started yet. I told them and they didn't care at all. They gave me a B for the first class (I was doing well in that class so they couldn't fail me) and then gave me an F for the class that didn't start yet. In the meantime from 21 weeks to 24 weeks I struggled to keep my girls from deliverying. Tortured with needles and experiments. Finally at 24 weeks, I went into convulsions and almost died on the table. they performed an emergency c section and delivered my girls, unfortunately they were taken from me by an infection and died shortly after. When I got home I tried to plea with them if I could get the money back for the class I didn't attend and they were fully aware I couldn't ahead of time. They made me write up my horrible experience of losing my girls with asking me of their death certificate. A panel reviewed my case and told me that I was denied. This school has no soul. I buried my children around that same time. Luckily I went on to have two children however, I was too afraid to go back to school for fear I would lose all my money like the last time. What was even worst was that they had me on a call list and kept asking me to re-consider. I almost blasted the person on the phone. Never again.

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26 of 40 people found the following review helpful

Previous Employee-PLEASE DO NOT ATTEND

Organizational Leadership - March 27, 2013
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I lasted 8 weeks here (including the 3 weeks of bs training) and quit on my own accord after being mentally abused by my direct manager and her supervisors. The school may spit the christian game but they don't walk the walk. I was forced to work without breaks, our talk time was logged and presented to the division on an HOURLY basis. No drinks or snacks at our desks (at least that's what MY boss said.) I was told at one point that I cannot speak to the person who sits across from me or behind me. I was not able to speak to finance or academics, we had to go through our manager for everything. They plaster numbers such as REG's, talk time, dials, conversion percentages, etc. ALL OVER the walls, in meeting rooms, on desks, everywhere. It was horrible. I felt like I worked in a sweat shop. What's sad is we all cared about our students but the environment was too much to deal with so I walked out one day. I remember a meeting we had with the CEO and we were told to step up enrollments or we would all lose our jobs. I hate to bash a school and I'm sure some who have earned their degree here are doing just fine but if you want an ethical and helpful experience, do not attend here or be sure you do your research.

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34 of 49 people found the following review helpful

RUN RUN RUN

MBA MSN (Dual Degree) Empasis on Nursing Leadership - March 27, 2013
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The Professor for the GRAD School in Nursing Is unprofessional. RUN RUN....First day and you are stuck

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17 of 30 people found the following review helpful

So Disappointed

Organizational Leadership - March 18, 2013
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Overall, I had a so-so experience with this school. The majority of courses were extremely easy and required minimal effort. If any issues arise during your time there, however, the advisors act as if they do not know how to handle the situation. The professors are basically a joke and half of the time they don't even read the assignment they are grading. They barely respond in the discussion forums and I would not even waste my time trying to reach them otherwise for questions or concerns. I had researched the school before applying and was concerned by their extremely low graduation rate... and now it all makes sense. It is not because the program is difficult, but rather because the instructors do not care about you. I feel completely used by the university, as they have shown me over and over again that I am nothing but money to them.

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18 of 22 people found the following review helpful

GCU - Not a bad university...but it some policy changes

Nursing - March 17, 2013
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I'm taking my second to last class at GCU and will graduate with my BS in Nursing. The support service is good and some of the professors seem knowledgeable and others are just here because it a job. I cannot stand those that just ask you questions instead of adding their knowledge and expertise to yours. My worst experience at GCU was the CLC assignments. Could you imagine being placed in a group with people who cannot put a sentence together, those who prefer to wait last minute and their contribution to the project is pure crap. I would have given GCU a much better grade if they did not have CLC group assignments. It's not fair to be in a group with people who are uneducated, clueless, lazy, irresponsible, dumb and for lack of a better description those who think they are slick. I have heard all the excuses in the book - from I had to leave the country, I had the flu, I work 60 hours a week, my child is sick, I had a funeral and even I don't speak English well because it is not my first language. Well for all of you I DON"T CARE! Get with the program, we are all adults and should be held accountable. The CLC is graded as a group, which is not fair. If my grade depends on another persons work I don't give a @#%& what problems they may have. I was going away on vacation last Christmas and I made sure my section of the CLC was submitted 2 days ahead so I could make any corrections if needed.Well if you cannot tell I'm frustrated because I'm in a CLC group at this very minute and 2 of the group members are not living up to their responsibility. One of them I'm even starting to wonder how they even graduated high school, YES high school. I'm paying a lot of money for this program and would rather be judged on my own merit and work. I have a perfect 4.0 and I deserve it because I have put in the work. The program is thought provoking and I did a lot of research which helped me in a lot of ways professionally and personally.Well I vented and I feel a lot better. I graduate in May.....Yeah

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25 of 27 people found the following review helpful

STAY FAR FAR AWAY

Educational Administration - March 17, 2013
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Professors are absolutely horrible. Their comments on assignments do not match the grades they give. Half the time they don't appear to even read the papers. For example, professor told me I did a great job explaining the super-philosophies of supervision but failed to match one with my own beliefs. HOWEVER, the ENTIRE paper was about experimentalism and mentioned NO other super-philosophy at all in it. The assignment directions are very vague and most professors will not support or help you as they have no clue either. The online program is a boxed set of classes where they simply check the boxes off. Its a lot of money for a terrible experience. Each week is a research essay of 1500 words plus 2 discussion questions and 3-5 responses. No consistency between professors and school policies and proper writing. One professor said never use "I" in grad work the next one took off because I didn't. HORRIBLE HORRIBLE HORRIBLE....STAY FAR AWAY!!!

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22 of 30 people found the following review helpful

Room for improvement but OK so far!

Industrial and Organizational Psychology - March 5, 2013
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I am not sure what some of the negative reviewers are complaining about? I understand what many of you are going through. I have experienced many of the same complaints that you discuss. However, several of the complaints are common to non-profit colleges as well. What do you expect? I would have hated to have some of these folks as fellow Marines, when I was in the Corps! They would have complained about everything! Yes, a University should provide excellent service by responding to your questions in a timely manner, professors grade fairly, respond promptly to individual questions, offer constructive feedback, and make sure they do their part posting lectures and what not. The support staff of any University should be ethical and fair as well. Like many of you I despise the fact that GCU is a for-profit University, but at least they try. GCU has spent a vast amount of money on student services such as the basketball arena. The dorms on the campus are new and fancy. GCU is going to add some franchise restaurants as well eventually. Has UOP spent money on student programs? Yeah right? I agree GCU should be spending even more money on student services, but the world is not perfect right? I agree that Enrollment Advisors at any for-profit University should not be pressured to "make the sale". I agree that the cost of college tuition is too high, and we should receive the best services. Do not be fooled that non-profit colleges are actually non-profit. Have you looked at the houses of most Division I college Deans live in? At least the enrollment and academic advisors will check on you and see if you need any help for the most part. I cannot recall a time when an academic advisor every called me to see how I was doing in my course of study at the so called non-profit universities. You have to be PRO-ACTIVE at any University, which means if you feel the person assigned to you is not cutting the mustard request that they be dropped! The key is to be as friendly as possible with the staff, and if one does not call you back or take care of your issue talk with someone else.

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28 of 30 people found the following review helpful

THIEVES

General Psychology - February 25, 2013
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Do NOT go to this college if you expect to be informed of things going on in your education. This is the largest form of mafia and organized crime I have every seen from an institution. I wouldn't recommend this college to a friend who had a dog they wanted to send to training school. Awful. I switched my major back to Psychology and was put in a Math class which I was informed 2 days prior to the start of class by the instructor that I would need a book that cost $125. I am a single mother who works two jobs. Even if I could have swung the $125 for the book/program that was needed for the course, there was no way that I could have gotten it in time for the class. When I called my financial aide adviser and my academic counselor, they suggested I re-juggle my schedule AGAIN after spending 2 weeks on the phone with them trying to figure out what my schedule would be after my program change took effect. I had only posted one time to this class and they informed me if I withdrew from it I would have to pay out of pocket for the entire course. I have been to several different colleges and have NEVER been required to pay for a class that I withdrew from due to the fact that I was misinformed as to what would be required for the class. The book was included in the cost of tuition for every single course I had taken before that. RUN. DO NOT GO TO THIS INSTITUTION! They will make you take out student loans and then steal them from you for stupid & pointless education credit hours that teach you nothing for a full year before you actually start working toward your degree. I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS INSTITUTION FOR ANYONE!

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20 of 32 people found the following review helpful

Not for me

Ed.D Organizational Leadership - February 12, 2013
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I took one class of this program. The instructor did not even follow the rubrics. He called me "unprofessional" when I asked why he was marking me down for punctuation/grammar when I had no punctuation or grammatical errors. The worst part is that I went into this so motivated and excited about obtaining my doctorate. This particular professor totally ruined the experience for me. The support people were very helpful, unfortunately they weren't responsible for my grade. When I finished the class, I was unable to evaluate the instructor. The option was never made available specifically to me for some reason. He also went on vacation for a week during my class. My philosophy is that he shouldn't make demands on his students when he doesn't hold himself to the same standards.

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17 of 26 people found the following review helpful

I know what goes on behind those closed doors

M.S. in Professional Counseling - February 6, 2013
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I was an employee of GCU for almost 7 years and watched it go from a small Christian faith based school into a University of Phoenix clone almost overnight. The emphasis since becoming publically traded has shifted from student service to making money and simply getting students enrolled and posting their first day of class no matter what - WARNING- if you post that first day you are stuck with the entire cost of the class. The entire online division is numbers driven where counselors will do anything to get students enrolled for fear of loosing their own jobs. The university engages in constant cover up in regards to Federal Compliance regulations, hiring practices, and sexual discrimination. A pretty female will always get the promotion over the more qualified candidates. Pretty females finishing a grad program at teh school will always be hired over more qualified outside candidates. University staff ( who's salary is funded by publically traded investors money) regularly engage in such practices as internet surfing of inappropriate sites, online gambling, sneaking away while on the clock to gamble at the local casinos. Staff sit in meetings and laugh and poke fun of their online students and regularly leave their computers unlocked on on with student information upon the screen. Had your ID stolen? It probably happened because GCU was careless with your info. Staff regularly encourage students to borrow heavily with student loans to fund school and at one point it was actually a written corporate policy to not disclose to students what the consequences of borrowing are. Staff reguarly tell ONLINE students that they can use federal money to pay for computers, cars, housing, and even for vacations ( to ease the stress of school).

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41 of 52 people found the following review helpful

GCU Master's of Ed in Special Ed

Master of Education in Special Education - February 3, 2013
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The classes were informative and thought provoking. In the online program we "met"people from all over the country and found that special education is different all across the country. The lessons were more of a jumping board where the student was responsible for their own learning; there was no spoon feeding of the curriculum. This program has proven to be more valuable than most of the required additional courses in my state for the educational diagnostician certification. After having been in charge of my own learning it was difficult to go back to the traditional classroom. I also found that thatas a result of my studies at GCU, I was more knowledgeable on many students who had taken all of their courses at that university. If you plan to have an A, plan to work hard. Know that in the long run, you will be responsible for your own learning which will make all of the difference. As a result of studies completed at GCU, I have stood out in my more recent classes; two professors have approached me regarding the pursuit of a PhD.

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24 of 27 people found the following review helpful

Masters of Educational Administration

Master's of Education in Secondary Education - January 15, 2013
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This is not a quality education! I entered this program b/c of my rual setting. I completed the courses and receive my degree with 3.5 gp, but once in my field of study and compared my preparation to that of my peers, it was severely lacking! I've had to work twice as hard in my setting because of GCU's incompetence. DO NOT enroll in this school. They are all about getting your money and that is their bottom line. When I was considering this school the counselors were available and helpful. After entering the system, finding support and help was painful and often not useful. DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY OR TIME!

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11 of 19 people found the following review helpful

BSN Student at GCU

Nursing - January 3, 2013
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Attending GCU for nursing (a cohort campus), I was excited, even proud to be attending this school; yet, I regret to admit that I'm now shocked by the disorganization, inconsistency, poor quality/unprofessional instructors (one in particular, doesn't even understand osmosis, yet tests us on the subject and don't get me started on her grammar) & overall bad treatment of us students. Our class of 9 students began w/ 30! Grading is tilted (95-100% = A); but, of course, we were not informed of this detail until we were already in too deep. The expectations unclear (eg: assignments not graded according to rubric). The Director promotes stress, zero accountability, chaos, & fear. Being offered a fat scholarship for my 4.0 transfer GPA influenced my choice, but I only learned later the program is designed to lower it- and our confidence. I feel tricked- I had other options but was treated so well by the awesome admissions counselor that I mistakenly believed the rest of my educational experience would mirror this. Reality? I have been treated like a child, publically humiliated in front of my peers as the result of an instructor who decided she hates me, and have watched many of my fellow students (several who are brillant), fail out based upon whacked tests and bogus standards. While I have no proof, I believe it is in their economic model to fail out a % of their students- after all, if you can force 3/4 to repeat the program, profits will benefit! I'm not going to suggest anyone not attend-our BSN choices are limited in AZ, but just don't enter the program blindly as I did...Make sure you have a strong spine, tons of patience, and a perfectly working laptop. They can make excuses, and they will (as in giving you your schedule the week before a new semester begins) but students are given 0 tolerance- you may even get written up! (Apparently, they do this to adults who are paying over 20K a year to be there!)

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18 of 27 people found the following review helpful

No problems at all.

Ed.D Organizational Leadership - December 16, 2012
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I graduated from GCU in May of 2010 with my M.Ed. I decided to go back and enroll in June 2010 for my Ed.D. I have to say that, from talking to my colleagues, the work I have had to complete is much more difficult and rigorous than other schools. I have had trouble with financial aid and technical issues, but these have always been solved in a timely manner. All I have ever had to do is call GCU and I can immediately speak with someone who can help out. If you are not internally motivated to get work done and are not an organized person, I do not recommend this school for you. I do not think the staff is very effective, but I also realize that I am in an online program where I work at my own pace and am more responsible for my education than a student at a brick and mortar school would be. The lectures, recommended reading, and individual research required is more than enough for any person to learn what they need to earn a degree. The only difference is that at GCU you don't have anyone there to hold your hand and constantly remind you what you should be doing. I am currently 4 classes away from gaining a doctoral degree and I have had a great experience with this school.

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31 of 34 people found the following review helpful

Graduate Online Master's & Continuing Ed Classes Fan!

Master of Education in Special Education - December 8, 2012
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I found that my educational experience prepared me well for my position in SpEd. As with any educational experience, I like most of my instructors and classmates and disliked a few. Pretty good representation on the "outside world"!, I have also found out that my ability to understand and use technology surpasses my colleagues.

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16 of 19 people found the following review helpful

DISSATISFIED

Ed.D Organizational Leadership - November 24, 2012
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I registered to take a class. Regretfully online learning is not for me. First, I was told I would be charged anything, after I withdrew. But I knew there was a $400 non-refundable fee. Then I was charged for my student loan $990. Then GCU said I owe them $1400. I told them I can make a monthly payments they said I had to pay it all or make 3 monthly installments. I said I can't they told me I am going into collections because the $50 monthly is not what they want. I am disgusted with this university. I would not recommend them at all. I realize I withdrew but that I am going to be placed into collections because they can't accept my monthly payments is disgrace. They call and email as if I am not making payments.

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14 of 19 people found the following review helpful

So far, so good!

General Psychology - November 11, 2012
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Prior to enrolling at GCU, I attended a traditional school locally. As a busy working mother and military spouse, I opted to finish my degree online. After looking into many colleges, I decided on GCU. They took all of my earned credit from my other school. They offer a nice military discount for spouses. The classes so far have been great! They are easy to navigate, and the instructors have been good. The only problem I have had with this school was in the beginning when I was enrolling. I had a very difficult time getting answers from my enrollment counselor, my academic counselor NEVER contacted me, and my financial counselor NEVER contacted me. I was told that they have a TON of students to tend to, so they were busy. Wow. That is garbage. After complaining and threatening to not attend their school, they shaped up and got all my stuff in line and questions answered. Since then, I have had no issues. And, financially I have not had a problem. I was granted some pell money, but am paying the remainder of my tuition out of pocket. No loans for this girl. So, nothing to really "screw up" there. I would recommend this school.

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23 of 27 people found the following review helpful

masters in substance abuse counseling

Master of Science in Professional Counseling - November 11, 2012
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I did not receive any support until I decided to withdraw from my course I explained I was having difficulty two days into the begining course and could never get in touch with my academic advisor but when I decided to drop he called every day at least once a day. I would rather pay the fees to grand canyon and move on to a more supportive environment. By the end of my first week I had a fail and no suggestions on how to make it better or make up the one quiz grade that caused such a low grade. After speaking with the teacher I was told I don't have the lowest grade in the class. This gave me some hope but who wants to start their college career with a F in the first week with no assistance from my counselor. .... did attempt to help me when neither of us could get in touch with my advisor. She even helped me to speak with another advisor, however later I was told by my counselor that I was supposed to receive some sort of walk threw from ...... that was never done. Point blank Grand Canyon dropped the ball in more ways than one and I hope in the future the university is not so quick to sign up students and make a quick dollar that the needs and concerns of the student are overlooked. I choose Grand Canyon because I thought that a more Christian way of study would bring a better experience. I did get a different experience in my opinion it was not any better.

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15 of 30 people found the following review helpful

Onle Degree Reviews

Applied Management - November 11, 2012
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I have been attending Grand Canyon University school for the last three-four years to earn my Bachelors degree in Applied Management. I just finished my last class with the Action Research Project. With the hard work and dedication I will be graduating with honors at graduation commencement ceremony May 3rd 2013. I don't have any complaints about the school and if there was any issues I contacted the instructor(s) and they were great to respond and reply immediately. For financial aid I have had no problems as they have done well in the Veterans department. Grand Canyon University is an exceptional school as I see its been ranked one of the top 10 online schools. I like the fact the school is based upon the foundation of Christian Biblical philosophies. I gained spiritual growth including developing my skills in research and citing sources appropriately and properly. I recommend the school based upon the Christian foundation and its mission. Some people may have had some bad experiences and some like myself have had a great experience; dedicated full-time to school and studies. In the end you see the fruits of your own labor--you get what you put into it while at the same time I have developed friendships online. I am planning to start GCU masters degree program in Public Administration Emphasis in Government Policy and tie in with Healthcare Management beginning November 29th. Good luck to those who continue on with GCU studies. Stay focused on the prize!

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23 of 27 people found the following review helpful

Another non-Christian student warning

B.S. Psychology - November 7, 2012
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Yes, this is a Christian school and I was totally fine with that. My first few classes went fine but I was unimpressed with the quality of the course work. The instructors were just above mediocre but I gave it a chance because I thought was maybe just adjusting from attending a brick and mortar university. Many people in these courses can barely form coherent thoughts or use periods correctly. I decided to keep pushing through and see what happened during my next few courses. That is when I entered the Christian Worldview class. The first week went fine and I was glad to know I was not the only non-Christian. By the 2nd week, the professor's character was crystal clear. I went out of my way to be respectful and I followed every assignment perfectly without being judgmental; that treatment was not reciprocated. The professor and two other students jumped on everything I said and even made comments to other students that were obviously about me. The professor was condescending towards any view that differed from his own. The best part is that a great number of his replies in the forum were not grammatically correct and sometimes they were flat out incoherent. I was more than shocked but I just kept my mouth shut and pushed through. I got an A in the course (just like all of their other courses) for those of you who think I might be bitter about my grade. This experience paired with the quality of education GCU offers left a bad taste in my mouth. I plan on transferring to another university as soon as my current course is over.

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22 of 40 people found the following review helpful

So Far So Good

B.S. Psychology - November 5, 2012
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I am in the last week of my first class. After reading the reviews, I started not to attend this school. Before I registered for this school I was registered for another online University. I started on the 28 of August and withdrew on the 30 of August. I will not go into details of the other University. Grand Canyon has been a wonderful experience for me. It is not a perfect School, but it works for me. The Instructor is great, and knows his stuff. The Faculty and Staff are very helpful. I love LoudCloud class room. So far I am pleased and glad I chose GCU. It might not be the number one school. I assure you it is not the worst.

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27 of 32 people found the following review helpful

Positive education experience

B.S. Psychology - October 28, 2012
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I have found GCU to be a very good School. The only complaint I would have would be in the financial aid counselors and that is some of them not all of them. The Teachers are knowledgeable and interested in their students. Admissions counselors are open and they listen. There is a level of honesty and integrity that I admire. Their use of technology is appropriate and solid. They are always trying to improve their system and programs. Like many things you get out what you put into the experience. You can go to the best college in the world and not learn a thing if you make that choice. My experience with GCU is why I have continued on to get my Masters in psychology at GCU.

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26 of 31 people found the following review helpful

Caution. Before You even Enroll

Criminal Justice - October 19, 2012
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I was considering GCU for finishing up my bachelor's degree and everything was fine. Until I started asking questions about the school. My Adviser did not help with anything I asked. Then when I wasn't available to take phone calls from the school, the adviser developed an attitude towards anyone who answered my phone, and then developed to tell my mother who answered my cell phone that he figured I wasn't 18 and didn't think any of the messages were being given to me. I had to THREATEN to contact the dean of Students to make these harassing and rude phone calls to stop. If you're thinking about going to this school... I'd advise to keep looking.

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14 of 38 people found the following review helpful

Great School so far!

B.S. Psychology - October 14, 2012
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GCU so far has been a wonderful experience. The professors are wonderful and so helpful, the courses are challenging but are possible, and the staff and administration have been great so far! I have read the reviews from some of the people and realize that GCU is a wonderful school. Some people have had a bad experience (mostly those in the online program)due to the financial and academic administration. But my experience as an on campus student has been awesome so far and I look forward to the next few years.

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23 of 29 people found the following review helpful

Grand Canyon Is a HORRIBLE University

RN to BSN - October 11, 2012
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Don't attend Grand Canyon, their finance department is horrible. They will make you repeat classes that you had already taken in the past, and then say they will refund your difference in the classes that they made you take over, for some odd reason, then the refund will magically disappear from your account, and play like HELL, getting it from them. Plus you will never know who your academic counselor is, I attended the university 2 years and maybe 6 months of that time, I really knew who my academic counselor was, maybe that"s why they charge you for classes that you have already taken, because yor not assigned a academic counselor, that knows what they are doing..

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15 of 35 people found the following review helpful

What a joke!!!!!

Masters of Education in Elementary Education - October 10, 2012
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I cannot believe what a joke this university is....they use Christ to get money. There is no standard, ethics, rigor. Everyone has a 4.0 grade point average and it is a total diploma mill. I earned a 4.0 and did minimal work. The Master's programs do not even have a research component....what a JOKE!!!! I am going to get another Master's because this degree does not have any value and people are realizing that GCU is not what it used to be...it is truly a University of Phoenix wanna be school....very sad for those who worked so hard in the past.

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20 of 46 people found the following review helpful

Avoid GCU at all COSTS

Nursing - October 8, 2012
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Biggest waste of money I can imagine. All the bad reviews...read them and run. They run a boiler-room operation that is only interested in closing the deal and getting your money. They claim to be a christian organization like that has any credibility? Scoundrels who hide behind religion are the worst.

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18 of 41 people found the following review helpful

Waste of money

Educational Administration - October 2, 2012
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Do not waste your time and money at this school. Instructors (not professors) are terrible at grading and responding. An example: I received a grade of 76.4 on an ENG 105 essay. I requested information as to why I was getting this grade and the instructor had no evidence and responded by increasing my grade without telling me why it was scored so low.

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15 of 36 people found the following review helpful

Horrible school. In it for profit only

Master of Science in Professional Counseling - October 1, 2012
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GCU's financial aid department is a bunch of loan sharks that offer bogus scholarships that amount to nothing once you start your classes. They work on their own precious timing with no regards to the student's needs. They are a for profit school and it shows. I can't imagine how a so called Christain school looses all of it's ethics or values because of money. I can't afford to drop out because I will be charged so heavily. I would never ever recommend GCU to anybody. And I have a Master s degree through them.

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15 of 34 people found the following review helpful

Grand Canyon University

Masters of Education in Elementary Education - September 28, 2012
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The teachers are outstanding. The classroom content is excellent and the learning environment inspiring. I have one class plus student teaching until I complete my degree. Which I will not be able to this year because of the less professional side of this university, the non-academic or business side. Dealing with the business office / non-recruiters or academic advisers is excruciating. They do not return phone calls, emails and have no stake in your future, only their bottom line. Which is to be expected because they are not service providers to the students, they are there on behalf of the university's stake holders and the bottom line. (This is consistent with all private businesses.) I am a good student, and I have a family to support and I have to work. I tried to re-enter school and I was passed through many academic counselors.Finally I was enrolled in a class I already took as the second week had started. The day I realized it was a repeat, I left a message for my adviser, I left messages for the instructor, and could not drop the class. I am now financially responsible for a class I was enrolled in for 3 days. The financial aid office, the business office were excruciatingly difficult to navigate. In retrospect, I should not have allowed them to enroll me in the second week, and I should not have settled for leaving voice messages and emails that same day and the next day to the adviser. I read that others had terrible experiences with the non-academic side of the university and I brushed it aside because my experience to that point was absolutely excellent. If you are aware that this may happen and you are OK with potentially owing an extra 2000, then you will have a good experience too.

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23 of 28 people found the following review helpful

Waste of your time RN to BSN

Nursing - September 14, 2012
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I enrolled RN to BSN degree program this year. [One of my instructors] does not know how to add numbers. She gave me grading above 92% on all topics (It shows on the system) and finally she gave me “Failed” overall grading because she probably forgot what she gave me. She has not accounted two topics on which I got 100/100 and 93/100. I called her and she asked me to email. I did and she supposed to get back to me within 24 hours as per their policy. She never got back to me. She is so unprofessional and playing with our career. If she does not understand the urgency of the matter how we can we expect she is contributing rest of the world positively. I wonder where she got the license from and she is still cognizant. This was my first class with GCU. You can understand how frustrating it is I got “F” while I was expecting “A”. They took my money for the 2nd class and stopped me now because of F grade. The counselor says it will take a week to resolve it. The department will resolve this issue within a week. Today is the last day of the week. He agreed it is unfair but who is responsible for all these? Who pays for my time? I have to pay for their stupidity? Unbelievable? Never enroll such a college.

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20 of 38 people found the following review helpful

Non-Christians Beware

B.S. Psychology - September 1, 2012
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I am not Christian and I was well aware going in I would be taking Christian-oriented classes and be working with Christian teachers and classmates. I am accepting of others beliefs and was not concerned it would interfere with my education. What I was not prepared for was how condescending and judgmental the textbook and lessons would be to non-Christians. When the class posted responses to the teacher's questions each week, I expected college level statements and intelligent, thought-out conversations. At least 8 out of 10 students in each of my classes could not put a sentence together that was not filled with misspelled words and bad grammar. Most of the responses to my statements were filled with scripture from the Bible. The use of critical thinking in a business setting does not include responding to a co-worker with quotes from the Bible. I attempted to ask the teachers valid questions in a respectful tone. I either received no response or a very condescending response that implied I was clueless. I felt I was constantly having to defend myself and choose my words carefully, while the Christian students could post garbled run-on sentences with some scripture and the teacher would respond with favorable comments. I was disappointed. I wanted to finish my degree with GCU, but after 3 classes I gave up.

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21 of 45 people found the following review helpful

good school

Bachelors of Science in Early Childhood Education - August 27, 2012
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I do not see where some of you guys are coming from. No school is profect and they will never be perfect. I had no bad experience with them. It seems as some of you are complaining because of finanical aid and it sounds as though some of you are just here for the money instead getting knowledge to better yourself in order to get a better job. All of the people who I've worked with has been very professional and on their game. I never had a problem with finanical aid, never had problems anywhere for that matter. Credits are transferable because I have transfer from another school and they have accepted it and i have called around to see if my credit will be transfer to another school once I finish GCU and I was told yes by the other college. Also for the person who said their fees have went up, they do that at every college. Think of it like this, everything in life goes up. Our food, clothes, and other things tht we need cost goes, therefore, so does school fees.

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37 of 42 people found the following review helpful

A lot of BUSY WORK

Masters of Education in Elementary Education - August 20, 2012
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I am only 3 classes in and my gripe with the class is there is a lot of busy work!!! I thought this was geared towards students who already work and lead busy lives. I put in about 30+ hours a week into this class. I am lucky I own my own business or I would have to drop out due to the amount of work. My wife recieved her M.Ed from a brick and mortar college and I have done more work in these 3 classes then she did in all of her Masters programs. 2 of my friends also are in this program and they are on the verge of dropping out due to the BUSY work. One of those friends already has 2 Masters and she also says she puts in more work into this program then the other programs she took. On a positive note I feel I am learning things, but as a non teacher I feel I get discriminated in the program. It seems all the other students are teachers already and the assignments require you to draw on experiences in the classroom. Well I don't have those experiences and I get knocked in the grading. Its not a bad program, but dont believe the 20 hours a week they tell you it only takes. Try more like 30-40 hours a week. Also, you really cant do the work when you are free. You have to log in and do posts 3-4 days a week and if you don't they will knock you. They do not care if your working, pregnant/had a kid (in the case of my friend), etc. I remember one week I was traveling and my tmobile hotspot wouldn't work where I was at and the professor didn't care. Even though I did the work when I got back i was docked points and failed my participation grade. If you can, I recommend going to a brick and mortar college. The price is right.

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26 of 36 people found the following review helpful

Hype and Poor Service

English Literature - August 20, 2012
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GCU does a lousy job of providing academic and financial aid advising. They get you roped in and then hook you for government student loans. They eliminated the military veteran scholarship right in the middle of my classes and my academic advisor was never available to talk to me. They kept reassigning me to different financial aid advisors who did little to explain things or help me out. I would NOT recommend Grand Canyon to anyone!

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12 of 30 people found the following review helpful

Criminal Justice MS

Criminal Justice - August 16, 2012
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My overall experience was good. I read some of the horror stories, but did not have a problem with the program. I work full time, a veteran, and still in the Reserves. This online program is one that you MUST discipline yourself to meet deadlines. As with any program, you get out what you put into a program.

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31 of 35 people found the following review helpful

New GCU MSN student BIG MISTAKE

Nursing - August 12, 2012
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Unless you are VERY patient with poorly organized curriculum, you should steer clear of GCU. The plus side: tech support is very helpful, and they need to be because you will be in the midst of the worst online experience you will likely ever have. Pleasant personalities and friendly support can't put lipstick on this pig. The orientation to this horrible implementation of "Angel" is a joke, you will be failing your assignments and their deadlines wading through a byzantine web organization. You have been warned!

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17 of 40 people found the following review helpful

Think about it.

General Psychology - August 8, 2012
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The credits from GCU aren't accepted at any other University. Think about that for a minute. What does that say about the "degree" you "earn?" Most employers LAUGH at online degrees. They aren't anything close to the real thing and people know that. Most people know what it's like to take a test without materials anywhere close. Of course you get all A's with help like that. "Diploma Mill" is an accurate description of GCU. They were so pushy to get me enrolled, but once I figured out that NO credits transfered and the degree meant nothing to a real University, I got out of there. A bachelor's degree should be a bachelor's degree anywhere, not just at GCU. For-profit means "here, let me print you off some paper worth pennies in the field."

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20 of 45 people found the following review helpful

Well Balanced and Growing

Master of Science in Psychology with an Emphasis in Industrial and Organizational Psychology - August 8, 2012
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In reading many of the reviews posted here it becomes obvious the ones that were primarily motivated by issues with receiving financial aid. I have not had any issues in that respect so I write this review unbiased by that. In my experience I have really enjoyed the majority of my classes. I am a graduate student in the MS Psychology I/O program and I am about seven courses into it. Thus far my classes have been both challenging and interesting and my instructors have all been quite good. In comparison to my experience with a brick and mortar school, I would say the work is more challenging in the sense that there is more of it (assignments each week)versus one or two big assignments/tests at the midpoint and end of a class which emphasize more memorization (you can judge if that's good or bad). It is a different experience which I think works well. The recent upgrade to a new system, from Angel to Loudcloud, was a little rough because there seemed to be a lot of glitches initially, but a lot of them are already worked out and I like the new format better. One complaint I have is the conformity to the pre-written syllabus that is required of the instructors, but I'm sure there are reasons for the standardization. As far as all the complaints written about support by counselors etc. I have not had much need for assistance from my counselors, but when I have they have been helpful. I did not expect anyone to hold my hand through the program since that would not happen at a brick and mortar school either.

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43 of 50 people found the following review helpful

Seems like a diploma mill to me.

Professional Counseling - July 26, 2012
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Pros: VERY easy online program. I am able to double my course load and breeze through, including working full time. The syllabus is always very crystal clear so you can work ahead. I have a never received less than a 99% in a class and have taken 10 classes so far. Cons: First and foremost; plagiarism. I was surprised to how many students completely plagiarized their work ranging from personal discussion questions to group assignments. Seriously?! What kind of University would turn a blind eye to this? Because they basically accept anybody who breathes, I am forced to interact with complete idiots who do not have a clue about college. Text talking in discussion forums? Really? Apart from the very few, the students that they enroll are dumber than mud. I fear for their reputation and I am hoping that this does not affect my career as GCU cannot possibly have a good reputation. Forcing us to do group work gets really old as for each of my ten classes I have done everything. Literally everything.

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18 of 44 people found the following review helpful

OK education, truly poor support and administration

Master's of Education in Secondary Education - July 21, 2012
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I am in an online MEd secondary education program and just two classes from finishing. I'm also not an in-state (Arizona) student. I have a fingerprint clearance in my home state and have been participating in practicum experiences for months. But now I'm being told that I have to have an AZ clearance in order to take any more courses so that GCU can be sure I'm cleared to work with kids (why now and why not my home state clearance?). I may not be able to finish this program because of this problem and the GCU credits won't transfer to other universities in my state (big red flag here!). As individuals, the support staff are good people. But there are deep systemic problems that keep them from communicating with each other or working together to solve a problem. Instead, if anything goes wrong, it is automatically the student's fault and is the student's problem to fix with no useful help. You can get so much more for your money at any number of other schools. And if you're an out-of-state student, don't attend here! Find a home state program and keep your money in state. I've learned good things from my teachers and fellow students. But I've only learned frustration after frustration from the support entities. It's truly sad because I think the new online environment 'LoudCloud' (needs a better name!) is a giant step in the right direction. I just wish I had listened to the many other reviewers who reported very similar problems. If a miracle happens and the current problem gets resolved without costing me time and money, I will post an update. But I'm not going to hold my breath.

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19 of 37 people found the following review helpful

Great school with great support!

Business Administration - July 6, 2012
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I am a Junior at GCU getting my Bachelors Degree in Business Administration online. I started out in the Education department and I have always had excellent support from counselors both in the Business and Education colleges. I think college is what you put in to it. If you are dedicated and determined to make it a great experience, then it will be. Sure, there might be problems on the way, but you have to learn to overcome them. Nothing in life is perfect. I have really enjoyed my time at GCU and look forward to graduating in the next few years! My advice to anyone learning online is you have to be dedicated to it and want it bad enough if you are to succeed.

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26 of 31 people found the following review helpful

Stay away! I cannot warn you enough!!

Bachelor's of Science in Secondary Education - June 19, 2012
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Stay away!!! I even do not know if the instructor in my online course is a real human being.....not helpful at all and very inhuman...I give -100 to this instructor.I am sorry they can only get this kinds of instructors...real human beings or not!...wasting my time and money ompletely. They are not accomodating at all with any issue I encounter with this course. They are well trained to stay away from any issues or complaints from customers. Please Stay away!!! I cannot say enough. I stopped taking this class seriously already after 2 weeks, and I regret so badly that I paid for this school. I am so lucky that I am merely a non degree student but I have no commitment with GCU! ~ a very disapointed and completely discouraged student

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14 of 38 people found the following review helpful

Horrible experience with the academic counselors here at GCU

Ed.D Organizational Leadership - June 15, 2012
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The academic counselors never communicate with the students. Any email the student sends to them could go unanswered. When your academic counselor does not answer your questions or directs you to the wrong direction, you try to complain to the supervisor. But here at GCU, it doesn't work like that, the supervisor ignores the students' complaints and always takes side with the academic counselor and accuses the student of causing trouble or lying about the counselor's performance. They assigned me to [name removed] as my academic counselor without my knowledge. She didn't answer my questions via email or give me clear directions when I needed it. I ended up buying a book that I already had because she never answered my emails or took the time to help me locate the book that I already had in the GCU Canyon Connect system in a timely manner. She just didn't communicate at all. It demonstrates a very poor performance on the part of the academic counselor when she does not even bother to answer all of the students' emails in an online program. I complained to her supervisor but she just got defensive and took her friend's side over me. [They] used to work next to each other and then they promoted [name removed] to become the supervisor so I guess that's why she was so unprofessional because basically, I was complaining about her friend to her. [She] accused me of lying and told me that I never sent that email until I actually had to show her the proof. I requested to work with another counselor that would better suit my needs and answer my emails and concerns in a timely manner but [she] refused to give me that opportunity. I like to work with my current finance counselor but unfortunately, the GCU system assigns you to a particular academic counselor that is matched with a particular finance counselor and you cannot choose your academic counselor if you like working with your finance counselor. It is a pretty lousy system that keeps the students stuck with a certain counselor that they are not happy with. I really like working with my current finance counselor but unfortunately, the GCU officials do not keep the students' interests at heart and do not give them the opportunity to work with another academic counselor that suits their needs better. Basically, talking with the supervisors does not help. The newly promoted academic counselor just took her own counselor's side over me. Basically, anything I said was presumed to be a lie or a deceit by her and anything that her counselor had said was presumed to be the truth. [She] pretty much told me that I am a liar and everything is my fault. As the result of the poor communication on my academic counselor's part, I took a financial loss as I had to buy a book twice. I complained to [name removed]. I sent an email saying that I want to write a review about their performance and he thought I was basically threatening them. I don't threaten people. If the issue was not going to get resolved, I WAS going to write a review. I don't think writing an online review constitutes as a threat. Basically, he called me only once and I never heard back from him. The issue has never been resolved so far. I am still stuck with working with [name removed] and as the result, I don't communicate with my academic counselor anymore and I am not receiving the help that I need. Basically, avoid GCU at all costs. The instructors are great but the counselors suck. They are a huge mafia that always back each other up and do not care about the students. Don't go against them or they would crush you. I met a lot of my classmates during the residency and almost all of them were not happy with their counselors.

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17 of 37 people found the following review helpful

Counseling

General Psychology - May 31, 2012
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I had a problem with a new program. I contacted tech support and they said they needed to take it to the next level as that person could not help me. I never heard back. I called my academic counselor. He was told the same thing I was from tech support. Guess what the problem had to taken to the next level. Well again nothing. Bottom line except for the assignments that had to be done using that program I carried an A in the class. Because I could not do the assignments I actually failed the class. This failing was through no fault of my own but that of a new program the school incorporated yet I was the one to fail the class. Beware because this may happen to you

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9 of 24 people found the following review helpful

GCU Has Been A Positive Experience

Bachelor Communications - May 16, 2012
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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.

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28 of 39 people found the following review helpful

Fees Increase

M.S. in Professional Counseling - May 9, 2012
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In the middle of the program they increase the fees which is not at all justifiable. We are getting less pay in every job, this is ridiculous at a time when every business are paying less and offering discount to their clients. hospitals are struggling to make payments, cutting OT and other benefits. How can you justify increasing the fees at such a time of recession?

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18 of 39 people found the following review helpful

Good School

MBA with an Emphasis in Leadership - April 23, 2012
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Grand Canyon University's online MBA program is a good choice for busy adults. I find the coursework challenging, and have learned a great deal over the past six months I have been in the program. I have never had a problem with my counselors, either before enrollment or as a student. The teachers have made themselves available and are quick to respond to my needs. I see plenty of lukewarm comments about the school. I don't know whether they have just worked harder and hired better faculty and staff than in previous years, but I have had a pleasant overall experience and would recommend the school as a place to meet your educational needs.

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35 of 43 people found the following review helpful

Meh

Bacelors of Science in Elementary Education - April 19, 2012
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My experience with GCU is on-going, I am still a student there, but I would warn others away. The online system doesn't play well with new browsers (i.e. Chrome or IE8 or IE9) and I've had several assignments not make it to the instructor. Many of the classes have been repeats of other classes. I also was told that my program was two years only to find out a year later its actually three and a half. Many of my peers lack the basic skills to survive in a university classroom and am surprised that they are enrolled in 3rd year classes. Read all the reviews and make sure you keep all your email from the school.

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16 of 31 people found the following review helpful

Great School

Master of Education in Special Education - April 18, 2012
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My experience at Grand Canyon was very good. I can't really find to much to complain about. There is no perfect school no matter where you attend. The professors are good some are better than others. They get back to you in a timely matter, however, some have a hard time. I would suggest this school to my friends and I have. I had a blast when I graduated from there last summer with my Master's.

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30 of 32 people found the following review helpful

Excellent Experience!

English Literature - April 18, 2012
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I've been attending GCU for two years and with the exception of two teachers, my experience has been great. I have learned so much. the instructors have all been very knowledgeable and very responsive. With the exception of the library which I just can't figure out at all, the technology is very user friendly. The enrollment, academic and financial aid counselors have made the process easy. Yes, it's expensive but I feel that the knowledge that I have gained is valuable. I can't compare it to other universities but I do feel that I am much closer to achieving my goals in life. Online education has made education a possibility for me. I have only three more classes left before graduating and I feel that I made a good educational choice for me.

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30 of 35 people found the following review helpful

Gradute Student

MBA MSN (Dual Degree) Empasis on Nursing Leadership - April 16, 2012
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Teachers were wonderful. Too bad the administrative side was horrible. Wrought with errors and poor communication. I used to be very proud and recommend this school. Now I am embarrassed to say I graduated from GCU. When I have informed my peers of all the errors, some have said I should seek legal counsel since they provided mixed communication and asked I take more classes then needed. Also threatened to send my name to dept collector; they forgot to submit FA paperwork. FA worked out in the long run, but only after I called often to micromanage the process.

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17 of 34 people found the following review helpful

No complaints

Applied Management - April 15, 2012
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Great on-line education. If you want to buy a degree this I not the place for you. It takes work here. The instructors expect a lot and will work with you if problems come up. I recommend this education to everyone. They are growing their on-line program so the tech is getting better. I' m proud to be a Lope!

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27 of 32 people found the following review helpful

Great Teachers Not So Great Admin

MBA MSN (Dual Degree) Empasis on Nursing Leadership - April 4, 2012
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There were multiple errors on the side of admin. They were not quick or responsive to remedy the errors. Due to errors, I ended up taking classes I did not need to take and paying for classes because they did made a mistake with my financial aid. I have joined a group filing a law suit due to extra classes and costs.

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20 of 37 people found the following review helpful

Masters of Business Administration

MBA with an Emphasis in Leadership - April 2, 2012
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Online system and procedures were ok, lot of materials out of date and the instructors locked to a set syllabus. Administrative personnel are morons, but everyone I talk to say their university was the same way, but errors in handling accounts resulted in a lot of back and forth wasted time and effort.

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26 of 28 people found the following review helpful

Great Quality Online Counseling Program

M.S. in Professional Counseling - March 12, 2012
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I would highly recommend GCU. I am just completing my first year and I have found it to be very valuable thus far. I am involved with the online program. I won't lie it is not just easy busy work. To the contrary. I feel I am receiving a quality education. As for my support team, my academic team is great!! Everyone that I have come in contact with that works at GCU have been very supportive and caring. They really want you to succeed.

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28 of 33 people found the following review helpful

MS Tuition for High School Level Course Work

Master of Science in Professional Counseling - February 23, 2012
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I completed 36 credit hours out of 60 required. I could not justify going on as each course was basically a repeat of a previous course or the material identical to courses taken at the associates degree level. There is a humanistic thread running through the course work, and for the most part the instructors seem like wonderful human beings, but overall this is just a degree mill and I have no idea how they manage to keep their accredited status. The text for social psychology (MS) is a 101 text. The text for their social diversity course is nothing short of reverse racism. Sad. Sorry I wasted my money. They have very nice recruiters obviously.

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18 of 40 people found the following review helpful

BSN

Nursing - February 23, 2012
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