Grand Canyon University Online Reviews
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GCU
School not recommended by
DEE
on
November 16, 2009
Review not yet rated
I can only speak for GCU's online program as I have witnessed first hand the atrocities of such. Although the enrollment counselors always stay in touch, the entire time you are on the phone with them, you get the feeling they are only listening to half of what you say. You can even hear them typing in the background. Next the school is very impersonal from an online perspective. I have a difficult time getting anyone to answer their phones. The finance counselor is absolutely the worst. They do not answer their phone or emails. Instead you have to leave about 3 or 4 messages before they will call you back. I do not trust or feel that my finance counselor has my best interest at heart or even knows what is going on with my aid. For instance, after discussing an issue, he says I will look into that and get back with you. After week without a call, I begin my series of calls,(takes about a week of leaving messages, before he gets back with me). He finally calls, and has absolutely no idea what he was suppose to look into for me. I have to re-explain, and he tells me the same thing.."I will look into it, and get back with you". This has happened several times. Even worse, the coursework is not rigorous like I would expect at a graduate level. That I would be happy for. However, it is just opposite. I found it much less rigorous than my undergrad. In addition, the professor's don't grade the assignment. Bascially if you turn it in , you get an A. The feedback is ridiculous, as if the professor, cut and paste a bunch of words to make a sentence. Their comments just doesn't make sense, and feels routine, not personalized. There is no professor challenging you to do your best, or quality standards to attempt to attain. Turn it in , and you get an A. Whippee! Personally, I want more!
Learn More about Grand Canyon University OnlineMaster's in Nursing Education
School recommended by
Michele
on
November 12, 2009
Review not yet rated
I find GCU to be a very professional and engaging school. I enjoy the MSN program very much. It is both challenging and provides alot of information. The only downside to the school is that they switch advisors to often. I've been in the school almost one year and I've had 4 already. The cost is excellent and the education is worth it
GCU unprofessional/incompetent
School not recommended by
John Zimmerman
on
August 17, 2009
16/19 people found this review helpful
Looking at the big picture, GCU is unprofessional and incompetent for out of state education students. Grand Canyon University expanded too quickly after getting listed on the stock exchange. The staff doesn't have a clue half the time when you ask them questions pertaining to states other than Arizona. Unlike established rival University of Phoenix, GCU is new to interstate education, unfamiliar with specific state laws and requirements. If you want to get an degree in education and teaching credentials, do NOT go through GCU. I wish I had gone somewhere else to avoid this nightmare with student placement. You would be better served with a well respected interstate competitor or a state college instead. Academic advisors are often ignorant concerning state specific questions, and the student aid department will not automatically apply for federal teaching grants on your behalf even if you enroll in a teaching program. I hate to say this, but your "enrollment counselor" is nothing more than a sales rep. trying to fill quotas and make bonus. Same goes with University of Phoenix. Once you sign up, they really don't care about you. GCU is a "self serve" college in that you have to do most of the work, like bagging your own groceries. There is little guidance and the ball gets dropped often. Don't be surprised if you miss an important deadline because no one at GCU told you about it! GCU should have recruited an executive from U of P before expanding nationally since they lacked the expertise to pull it off smoothly. Better yet, they should have chosen a handful of states at a time and become familiar with their laws and requirements before adding states that they were ill-equipped to handle. Academically speaking, GCU is average to challenging. You will write a ton of essays while there. The professors are generally good. The bottom line? GCU is fine if you live in Arizona: If not, STAY AWAY!
Be Very Careful of GCU
School not recommended by
David
on
July 24, 2009
32/36 people found this review helpful
Please strongly consider another University for your education before enrolling in GCU. In my case, published policies were not followed by GCU resulting in a major disagreement to which I completely withdrew from the school. Profit motive and non-industry standard practices by GCU combined to cost me $1,260 for a class I requested to be dropped from and did not take. Letters threatening my account to be turned over to collections came to my house without the school contacting me first concerning my account and subsequent conversations were not at all student centered. Receipt of my tution was their over riding concern.
Once again, please consider another University for your education but if you want to enroll be sure to read every word of every piece of information they send you and ask a ton questions about everything - no question is stupid when it comes to your hard earned money.
M.Ed.
School recommended by
Ken McCormick
on
June 09, 2009
16/21 people found this review helpful
The M.Ed program was difficult, requiriing a host of different assignments each week. This was not an easy set of classes. If you finish, you can be proud of yourself. It requires total commitmnet and a lot of self-control
M.Ed
School recommended by
Kenneth McCormick
on
April 05, 2009
23/28 people found this review helpful
I have to say GCU has been extremely supportive and I adored most of my Prof.s. Don't think for a minute that because it is an online degree that it's going to be easy. Lost a lot of sleep, time and other things because of it, but I have it now and I feel great.
Grand Canyon Review
School recommended by
James L. Snead
on
January 19, 2009
61/63 people found this review helpful
I received a masters in instructional technology at Grand Canyon University and I am presently receiving my masters in administration. The school is well organized and since I began school, they are continually trying to upgrade their systems. I started out on Blackboard which kept getting overloaded. Now they use Angel as their computerized management system. The system allows you to learn whenever you want.
Purchasing of books is easy. You can either buy them through the online bookstore or through Amazon.com. Sometimes you save money, sometimes you don't. They allow you plenty of financial aid. I think it is a good program for a working professional. It is highly accredited and allows you to get state certification because of this. There may be a few courses that Grand Canyon may not have that states like Rhode Island may require you to have, but you can get the one or two courses at your local college.
I think the best thing about GCU is that most of the instructors are flexible and are willing to work with you on projects and assignments. You can contact most by email or by office hours on the phone. I have already been accepted into their doctoral program, and I expect to get my doctorate in Educational Leadership.
Another great thing about GCU is that you can fly out there and attend your graduation on campus. They have a beautiful diploma and ceremony.
Masters in Education
School recommended by
Kenny
on
January 15, 2009
27/30 people found this review helpful
I have found the program very good and challenging. I found that at least 15 hours per week were needed during the program. If you want an excellent masters in education, I would highly recommend GCU. Barron's Profiles of American Colleges (2009) categorizes GCU as "Very Competitive". Believe me, it is.
B.A. in Christian Studies
School recommended by
Kirk Henderson
on
December 21, 2008
38/41 people found this review helpful
I have enjoyed studying at Grand Canyon and would highly recommend them to anyone wanting to further their education via online. I am an adult learner who went back to college after 20 years, and I have found the experience at GCU challenging and quite helpful and relevant to ministry. The instructors have all been helpful, and the advisors have also been equally helpful.
The greatest aspect for me is that there are rarely tests given. Most of the work is writing papers and posting on the discussion boards. Occasionally you will work with a group of students on a project.
Classes are only 8 weeks long, so you can get your degree quickly. I take two courses at a time and I spend about 10-12 hrs. per week total for both classes.I do know that graduate work is probably a bit more rigorous, but for undergrad, I have found it very doable.
I would highly recommend GCU to anyone.Contact me at khenderson *at* churchoftheking.com with any questions, I'll be glad to help.
GCU Masters in Education
School recommended by
Casey S.
on
October 28, 2008
37/39 people found this review helpful
I researched my program for a year before deciding on GCU. I found the average tuition cost to be $20,500 for my particular area of interest. When I finished the program at GCU, the final tuition came to about $14,000. I believe it to have been well worth the money. GCU is an excellent educational value
MEd at GCU
School recommended by
KS Carl
on
October 18, 2008
23/26 people found this review helpful
I was very impressed with the MEd in TESOL program at GCU. The program requires a great deal of work and time. There are weekly journals (3 pages) and research papers (typically 10-20 pages) per week along with 80-100 pages in nthe text and other articles as well. Professors were for the most part excellent as well as the level of assistance from the administration and technical support. The program required about 22 months. If you want a high quality program in education that fits a busy teacher's schedule, I can recommend this one.
education
School recommended by
ken sherman
on
October 15, 2008
44/47 people found this review helpful
I received my masters in education from GCU and found it to be a superior experience on many levels. After some initial difficulties with the in-take advisor (a lack of communication on his part), I discovered that the classes were very stimulating and challenging. The workload was heavy: 100 pages of reading per week, a 2-3 page summary of the reading (journal)and a 10-15 page paper per week as well. In addition,we were expected to participate in class discussions. The professors were knowledgeable, responsive to questions and very involved in the classes. The classwork was equivalent to approximately 15 hours per week for me. I am used to challenging programs having my BA from USC and two california state teaching credentials which I earned through UCLA. I can say that GCU is challenging and can highly recommend it to my colleagues in education
Masters Ed. Special Education
School recommended by
N. Brooks
on
July 07, 2008
24/27 people found this review helpful
The classes are very competitive, and I love the program although online and not face to face with a Instructor you are able to learn alot. It gives the feel that you are actually in a classroom setting. There are so many programs out there but I highly recommend Grand Canyon University, what I really love is that it is a REAL institution not one that is just online and you do not have the ability to visit the campus.....
Grand Canyon University Finance
School not recommended by
Daniel
on
June 20, 2008
26/32 people found this review helpful
I loved the overall atmosphere and the small class sizes. I think it prepared me very well for my current job as a investment banker. One thing I didn't like was the fact that some of the teachers were very ignorant.
Executive MBA Grand Canyon University - Phoenix (online)
School recommended by
Kelly
on
June 20, 2008
19/22 people found this review helpful
Even though the classes were online I feel like I got real master's level education. The classes were tough, but I felt well prepared for the exams. I would highly recommend this program to anyone looking for advancement in their careers!
Masters/Licensure in Special Education
School recommended by
Jenny Vant Hoff
on
March 31, 2008
12/29 people found this review helpful
I have always used spas but never quite knew how someone became qualified to work at one. Having appreciated Biology in school I did understand that the muscles of the body work closely together and are intimately related to a person's health. I wanted to explore the field of massage therapy so I enrolled here in Philadelphia in Cortiva Institude. The classes were full of hands on exercises and I spent less time in the books and more time learning the art of massage therapy. The tuition was very affordable and now that I have a degree I have a full range of spas and day resorts to work at in the greater Philadelphia area. Without having to spend too much money on education, Cortiva Institute opened up a world of job possibilities. However, working mostly in the day, I only wish there were a greater number of night classes that would have allowed for my schooling to be even more convenient. Cortiva, however, always provided me the support as I juggled both work and school.
Master in Education
School recommended by
Kevin T
on
February 26, 2008
35/39 people found this review helpful
The instructors were caring professionals who seemed to understand that the majority of students are working adults with families who already have very busy lives. As a result, both the program and the classes were highly streamlined and flexible, which really helped to minimize the number of questions and problems that came up. Something else which made a great impression on me was the broad range of students in my classes. There was a wonderful diversity of fellow learners in my program, not only in terms of geographical location (people from all over the country, as well as several from Europe and Asia), but also in terms of age, and all levels of professional experience.
I believe it was a real advantage to have such a diverse collection of students; many times I felt that I learned as much from my peers, many of whom openly shared their life as well as educational experiences, as I did from the formal course materials. It was truly enriching in ways that I do not remember associating with my earlier, traditional college experiences.
The school did have some problems during my 15 months as an online student. There were server outages and slow loading times that caused a good deal of frustration early on (although it was much improved by the end of my program), difficulty reaching faculty at times, lack of leadership at others, and some failures to communicate important class or program information. I largely attribute these flaws to the fact that Grand Canyon University may have been overwhelmed by the popularity of its online programs, and perhaps wasn’t completely prepared for the large influx of new students.
However, I found that the university was willing to acknowledge its mistakes, to correct or mitigate the problems that occurred, and to graciously extend due dates and deadlines when needed. These are a few of the reasons why I would endorse Grand Canyon University as a very good school for those looking for a quality online education. They never forgot that the individual sitting at the other end of the computer isn’t just a customer, but a student and a person.
