Grand Canyon University

Do not go to this school. It is one big money making scam. They do not care about their students, they will not help you when you need it, they will run you around in circles, lie to you, and charge you for everything they can think of. The instruction, if you can even call it instruction is horrible. Instructors do not teach, there are no lessons, no lectures, and no explanation of subject material. You teach yourself everything from the textbook. Instructors seem to not understand subject material... Read More and many are unable to answer questions about subject material or assignments. There is generally no feedback on assignments or papers. In the many classes i have taken at GCU, I can think of two classes with instructors that actually provided useful feedback. Tests are not worded well and the summary of what is on the tests is not accurate. The cost is exorbitantly high, and is a complete an total waste of money for the "education" you receive. I am very frustrated with every aspect of this school, and would encourage anyone thinking about GCU to reconsider and do your research on other schools.

Pros: 1) Very helpful and pleasant staff. They seemed to want me to succeed. 2) The Website was easy to navigate and once used to it, I could find nearly everything I needed. 3) Price was reasonable. Help with student loans was almost too easy. 4) Classes are short. Cons: 1) The instructors often had differing views on what constituted a "substantive response" it created some confusion when moving from one class to another. Often the "substantive responses" that were given were more to comply with... Read More the instructors requirements than any real response to the essay from the student. 2) Most of the email conversations that I had with the instructors went either unanswered or were answered too late to provide any real help. One such communication occurred after the class had ended. 3) I was not adequately informed of the process for getting time off school and it seemed overly complicated. This is an online course and as such caters to people who have jobs and families. I would have liked to know beforehand how much of a hassle it was to take time off. 4) The initial classes were great. I felt that I could really hit my stride and work out a rhythm for completion of assignments without impacting my family life too much. Then the gotcha happened. The 5th class in the assignments really started increasing and at one point I was expected to conduct an interview and write an essay on it, prepare an education plan for a teaching assignment, write 2 other short essays and one more long essay, and respond to other classmates with"substantive responses" at least six times over the course of one week. In the same 5 week course I was supposed to secure a teaching assignment, develop a teaching plan, get it approved and teach it. Now, in theory this totally sounds doable until you realize that virtually no one in the real world will allow a stranger to teach in their institution without thoroughly vetting them first. This is NEVER a 5 week process. Most people I spoke to completed this assignment through creative writing rather than actually completing the assignment as written. The school should never assign anything that is so difficult to complete as to ensure either cheating or failure. Either eliminate this unrealistic expectation or provide more guidance on success and give it a longer class time. 5 weeks is not enough. 5) The group assignments that I had were dismal. Again, most of us are working nurses with families attending an online university across 5 time zones. No ones schedules meshed with anyone else. Those who did participate did most of the work and those who did not benefited from those who did the work. I pretty much feel that this is a part of the instruction that should be modified or done away with. 6) The online library costs money to access. (its included in the tuition) And it is utterly worthless. The search engine is outdated and useless. Google Scholar was easier to deal with and free. (unless you count the enormous amount of documents there that require you to pay for access to the article)

I am in my third, going on forth, class at GCU. For me, I have had excellent instructors who give accurate feedback. In addition to their feedback, they provide rubrics breaking down each instructors grading process. I have yet to have a bad or unprofessional instructor. Additionally, I have had success with my counselors, unlike many others who have reviewed. Maybe I just got lucky? or maybe a few bad apples make all appear ill informed. I previously attended community college for another degree,... Read More in a different field. I believe education is what you make of it. It is the student's choice to learn all of the information, no matter the format of the course. I am not religious and have not been pressured or graded negatively due to personal beliefs. Everyone I have come into contact with seems to have student success as a priority.

It's interesting how Argosy shut down and this school that claims to be Christian but wastes your money. When your in the dissertation phase you drag through the prospectus. Most students do not get to the proposal until Dissertation II. Each chair is different I find none of them to be good based on other students experience. I am annoyed with the experience I had where the chair never really looks at your documents until day nine or ten. I do not understand the purpose of the prospectus course,... Read More proposal course, or residency if they are just going to make you start over on the research. The syllabus in proposal is a joke. LOL I was like you just drop the same ten points or prospectus once the ten points is approved. I wish I could pick my chair, methodologist, not just my content expert.

GCU was a decent university to obtain an MSN, but not outstanding. My biggest concerns were there was no real assistance in getting preceptorships. As the student you are required, "hat in hand", to ask doctors or NPs, you may not know, to teach you in a clinical. They call this having flexibility in choosing your clinicals (just like choosing your healthcare in American medicine, it's a sham). Yes they do have a coordinator, but they just send a form email to the clinical instructor. They don't... Read More do much more than this. Also, per my instructors, they get almost nothing for there time. Yes GCU does have a person come and talk to the clinical instructor, in person, to confirm everything is legit, but this seems like they are conducting the bare minimum to abide by state requirements (expect each state is different). Also, your academic counselor changes every semester, I don't know why. Most of the online instructors are good. I did have one that did not post very often, did not return papers in a timely manner, and when she did her mark offs were nitpicky and not current APA standards. I took the time to reference how the instructor did not meet their requirements and never got a response. When I inquired with my counselor I was told they do not provide any information after a report. I did note the person was no longer an instructors listed after that course. Overall, GCU is a good online university, but I expect they are not much better than most online universities. I strongly recommend a local university that will have more face-to-face interactions with the instructor and will probably give you real support in setting up clinicals. Touro is one of them, but you will probably have a different one near you. If it costs more it is definately worth it! I could not interact with other students online except r/t posted questions. Part of learning is interacting with other students, otherwise you feel you are learning alone on an island. When you graduate you will not feel confident in your abilities and skills and expect to either be asked to leave or loose you first job. Hopefully you were at it long enough to get some skills to do okay at your next job. This is what is meant by other NPs saying your 1st year is tough. Good clinicals pre-set by a school is worth the extra $.

Grand Canyon University is totally "SCAM" university. It is a "horrible" and "toxic" working environment inside this university. GCU treat their professor like "slave" AND their methodology is that students are the customer and professors are the servants to the students; majority of the students have no proper respect to their professor; These are mediocre students that get into in this university. All students come to the GCU without any screening. As long you can pay money OR get loan they get... Read More accepted; their quality of the students are very poor; the leader of this university are hypocrites; this is "NOT Christian" university, this is the worst university that I ever seen; I will NEVER EVER send any of my kids or my family or my relatives to GCU; I will NEVER accept any students from GCU; IF you are parents, stay away sending your kids to this University. IF you are student, you need to think twice what kind of values that you want to get out of this university; IF you are employers, do you want "disrespectful" employees ?

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... Read More 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.

Although my residency professors Jennifer Waldschmidt and Troy Roland were good, but not grading the late prospectus that I spent weeks working on was very hurtful to me on so many levels. The appeal committee did not support me at all. In spite of my numerous attempts of explaining to them how this will impact me financially, and put a burden on my family as a single mom, they did not help me at all. As a working parent with two children, heretofore, I've been able to stay abreast of my course requirements.... Read More The unintended consequences of having to submit a significant research paper late leave me depressed. The quality of my work is reflected in the grades that I accumulated up to this point. My grades are good until I received a zero for the prospectus draft. I emailed the professor before the class ended, and I did not get a response back until I reached out again Repeating the class caused unnecessary hardship for me. As a full-time worker, and a single mom with two children, financial hardship already exists for me. I can't afford to lose my job right now. My job will be in jeopardy because I will have to let them know that I must return for an additional week to Grand Canyon University and retake residency 2. Furthermore, I will have to take another week for residency 3. Finding the funds for travel expenses and someone to take care of my children would be a struggle. Upon recognizing the importance of this paper, I sent an email before the end of the class to confirm my lateness. Unfortunately, it was not viewed in time by my professor. Yes, I understand. To reiterate, the purpose of emailing the professor was to inform her that the paper would be late. My notification took place before she stated, "I did not give you permission to send it in late...I will not grade it." I have never received an F in my educational tenure from any instructor. This is quite depressing to me! The appeal committee has the power to impede or support a struggling candidate, but I'm not sure why they reluctant to do so. Having an appeal system for candidates is relevant for those who are working at this level. Notwithstanding, the system has the power to support candidates and give them a second chance to move forward. As a Christian institution, I would like to believe that at GCU, there is a moral sense of compassion, support, and love that is not reflected in many other institutions. But GCU is the same as other university or worse. I chose to do the appeal based Accordingly, I'm receiving an F not because of my inability to work at this level but because the professor is unwilling to review my assignment in spite of the lateness notice. By supporting the instructor, the appeals committee simply dismisses the submission of my late paper without reviewing my work. Am I to believe that the technicality of lateness results in F without a review of the candidate's work? I passed the residency, presentation, and the work before residency. GCU focuses on financial gain not helping students to be successful

I attended GCU from 2016 to 2018 for my first Masters and will graduate with my 2nd master in 2019 with a MSL. I found the coursework challenging and educational. I have found that like most things in life, you get what you put into it. The support from instructors is minimal, so I spent hours in 3rd party tutoring to keep on pace. For myself , the MBA required 10 to 30 hours of work per week on top of working and family life. I feel that I received a quality education and use most of the knowledge... Read More earned in class in my professional career. My ssa and counselor were outstanding. I attended totally online. It is up to the student to get the most out of your classes. If your motivated to earn a grad degree, GCU is great. If your expecting to get assistance from instructors or rely on the organization, this is not for you.

This school is great! the staff and teachers really care about your success. I love the curriculum. I started my Bachelor's degree there in 2016 and completed it on time. They have a wonderful math tutoring service to assist in a wide range of hours for online students. The tutors are very patient, and will make sure that you are confident prior to ending your session. I am glad that I continued on to my Master's program there as well and will be graduating soon. I get random calls to check up on... Read More me to see if I have any concerns. I would recommend this school to friends and family.

The initial reason I chose Grand Canyon University to pursue my Masters Degree is because of how many recommendations I got from friends who pursued the same degree. Unfortunately my experience has been far different than theirs and I am extremely disappointed that I chose to get my Masters Degree here. While there are some professors who are very helpful and care about their work, many do not care and it ruins the experience. So many of my professors gave assignments that were hard to understand,... Read More and when asked for clarification, they stated this is GCUs curriculum. I was left in the dark to complete many of my assignments on my own and it was very nerve-racking never knowing if you were going to get an A or an F because you are doing what you think you should. I have had professors belittle me by making comments like Why would you do this? Makes no sense in the comment section of a rubric. My student services counselor forgot to send in an extremely important document that I sent to her regarding grant money and I was unable to receive the grant which cost me an additional $5,000. When asked if there was anything more I could have done to prevent this, they stated, you could have called to remind me. I called multiple times and left voicemails with no response! So unprofessional and in all honestly, a disgrace to masters programs everywhere. I wish I could go back and change my mind on where I wanted to pursue this degree. I do NOT recommend this school for anyone until they get more organized and friendlier professors.

After starting my education with GCU I found out after the fact that this college hires mostly adjunct professors to teach their online classes. These are people who have no experience teaching. Some times you will get a great teacher but the majority of the time it will be other full-time working professionals who are part-time adjunct professors teaching to make extra money. They are not full time faculty nor are they set up for tenure. I wish I had know what this meant prior to enrolling online... Read More for my master's degree. If you are lucky enough to get a full time faculty professor they are GREAT and worth every penny! As for the adjunct professors they are not worth half of what I am paying to get my master's degree.

Attended this school July 2019 and wanted to take a break to save some money took two classes and was told that everything was good then later I looked at class schedule and had seen that I was signed up for over 10 classes recurring it was to my surprise that I had no idea that this was set up, I thought I signed up for 3 classes for starters I also found out that the school holds your financial aid checks, will send them back , and not tell you the correct information when receiving funds. They... Read More will lie to you it's not a good financial aid department be careful, ask questions, look at your student portal find out what you are being charged. I only asked how to read the award letter when calling and to make sure that I am understanding things correctly I have gotten hung up on, sighs, financial aid reps asking like they do not want to be at work and talking very fast rude and unprofessional.

After 4 years and 4 months of online classes, I cannot pass the Arizona State test nor can I pass the Texas State test to become a teacher. NOT one course prepared me for these test. I have had to search for study material on my own at my own expense to try to become certified. Since I have completed my degree apparently my student advisor cannot return any emails or calls. Grand Canyon University does NOT prepare their online students to become teachers. The classes they require you to take does... Read More NOT cover the information on the State Test.

For me, GCU is not living up to the reputation it has nor the hype it markets. I am an online student and the classes are not organized, some of the messaging from teachers on upcoming work and assignments have noting to do with the assigned reading material, and when you ask a question, you get very canned and lackluster answers such as "GCU sets the curriculum."

As others have stated, most teachers are simply there to look like a college professor but do not have a clue how to coach, lead, or teach... Read More a thing.

Honestly, if I thought I could finish my last few classes elsewhere I would but I am so close it is not worth the effort. I will NOT be enrolling at GCU for my Masters!