"I enrolled in Grand Canyon Universities Online graduate program for the Masters in Education, Secondary Education degree. I was able to double up on classes and finish the program earlier than most. My grade point average was 3.84 (GCU uses the 4.000 grading scale). Each course was 4 to 6 weeks long and had requirements for field work. Overall, my counselors and the staff of GCU always had open lines of communication, the grading was rigorous but it enhanced the academic experience by expecting more from its students, and its cost of tuition and enrollment was fair compared to other institutions. If you are looking for a good and accredited graduate degree you should definitely consider Grand Canyon University."

J.H.

Reviewed: 3/5/2020
Degree: Secondary Education
Graduation Year: 2020

"When deciding on how and where I would complete my graduate degree and teaching certificate, I determined that efficiency and convenience was more important than the quality of the experience in my individual case. As an undergrad, I had an amazing and empowering educational experience, but because I was already employed in education and proficient in my field, I did not feel that I needed to duplicate that experience. GCU fit the bill. However, for those people lacking adequate experience working in education, I would not recommend GCU. GCU was ok. The assignments were relevant and the workload was manageable for an adult working full-time and with a family. I think grading was inflated. I graduated with a 3.93 without a ton of effort. I skipped lots of assignments when it became apparent that my grade would not fall below a 4.0. My biggest challenge was the weekly participation posts. Three participation post are required weekly, but the expectation was generally that you would respond to a classmates post. This would look something like "I like that you said... I agree with you... nice post..." They were so lame and lacked any value at all that I avoided them out of spite. Occasionally a professor would post questions to respond to, which improved the requirement, but more often then not, the posts were redundant and a regurgitation of what someone else said. Talk about "busy work..." It was also apparent that there were lots of less capable, less intelligent people in the classes. Graduate level students ought to be able spell, write coherent sentences, and follow directions. At times I was shocked at what I was reading, other times I could not decipher what I was reading. In one particular class, several students began posting that students in school shouldn't be able to wear clothing displaying the Mexican flag because it meant they were in gangs. There was a spew of not-so-subtle racist posts that went unchallenged by the professor. Freedom of speech? Sure. But these people are our future teachers. That was a disheartening concept. The professors were mostly fine. They didn't add much to the classes. GCU provides the materials and assignments, not the teachers, and the same assignments are recycled time, and time again. Sometimes assignments were outdated, and sometimes links to materials were no longer available. Other times, someone clearly attempted to update the assignments and/or materials but misaligned the course as a result, which became problematic to both the students and the professor. Because of how GCU is structured, the difficulties equally impacted students and professors, but there was no recourse for either of us. A lot of times I didn't understand what the assignments required, but I'd wing it, submit it, and get a 4.0. I received very little feedback and often wondered what other students were submitting and if anyone was actually reading my papers. I contemplated submitting a random paper to test the hypothesis, but never followed through. Another issue that I encountered regularly throughout my experience, was high similarity scores for plagiarism with other past students. Because the same assignments and readings have been reused hundreds of times, I'd submit essays that were identified as being submitted by another GCU student. ALL OF MY WORK WAS ORIGINAL, but a concept can only be explained so many different ways before it starts appearing similar to how someone else described it. Sometimes I would need to rewrite a paragraph three or four times before it cleared the system. By the end, it would no longer even reflect my thoughts or writing style, it would just be written in a way necessary to clear the system. Ultimately, GCU was what I expected; a sub-par collegiate experience that provided the certification I needed to advance in my career, but not because of the certification, but because of the ample experience I possess. For a younger student (I am in my late 30's) with less experience, I would encourage you to explore other options that will provide the valuable experiences that we all need to be good at our craft. For older adults like myself, GCU may help you advance your career if you already possess the bulk of the knowledge and skills that are foundational to your next steps. In regards to other experiences I have read about, I personally had a good student services team who was supportive and responsive. My criticisms apply only to how the online program is structured, the obvious need to update classroom assignments and materials, and create a more dynamic and engaging online learning community. To all of you, I wish you good luck and a prosperous life."

Sidy H Ba

Reviewed: 1/21/2020
Degree: Secondary Education
Graduation Year: 2020

"I currenly student at Grand Canyon University. I learn a lot, great school and staff. I agree that sometime, some courseS are very hard and need a lot of reading and research but that what we are here for, TO LEARN AN DGAIN KNOWLEDGE. Moreover, they usually give you a lot of resources or you can also find them on GCU website."

Nporter

Reviewed: 5/29/2019
Degree: Secondary Education
Graduation Year: 2019

"If I had it to do over again, I would NOT attend Grand Canyon University. I felt like I constantly had to push them and ask for help and direction before they would offer anything in the process of obtaining my teaching certification. (Also, when I would reach out to them for help inevitably that "wasn't their area" and would have someone else call me back.) Never once got any of my counselors without having to wait for a return call (living overseas the time change made that difficult.) They were not pro-active in helping guide me through the process for licensure and it was only after submitting everything for my license application I found out from the state of Arizona that I still had to take a professional knowledge test. Only thing they are pro-active about is getting your money. Hounded me over a $51 error they made and said I owed them. In the 18 months of my program I had 3 different field counselors. No consistency."

Darcy Tanaka

Reviewed: 3/30/2017
Degree: Secondary Education
Graduation Year: 1993

"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?"

Bub

Reviewed: 4/21/2016
Degree: Secondary Education
Graduation Year: 2016

"Administration is great. I have taken many classes there and not once did I find an instructor that would answer your questions. If they answer they refer you to GCU website. I thought it was just a few instructors until I took more and more classes. Every one of them does this. The grades re the same regardless of effort, it's always the same. I was in to far by the time I realized this so it was to late for me. The instructors are horrible. Maybe they're all like this, I don't know."

Ross

Reviewed: 12/27/2015
Degree: Secondary Education
Graduation Year: 2016

"I have read most of the review about G.C.U. and I wondering if some of these people attended this university..I'm in the student teaching B and I must say that I have enjoyed attending this university and would recommend it to every none traditional student. I'm an online student and I would not advise anyone to take the online journey unless they are well prepared to meet the challenge. I must say it's hard work! Staff and support team is great! Love at GCU....Strongly recommend this college!"

GLS

Reviewed: 5/19/2014
Degree: Secondary Education
Graduation Year: 2016

"I am currently in my fourth class at Grand Canyon. I only have good things, no GREAT things to say about my experience at Grand Canyon. The instructors are supportive and very helpful. Both the professors and the support staff returns emails and calls promptly. The entire staff is professional and represents Grand Canyon well. The teachers are knowledgeable in their field. The online classes are not Mickey Mouse classes. I work my butt off; however, I am enjoying it. I have learned a lot from Grand Canyon’s teachers so far. I have never had a bad experience with any staff member at Grand Canyon. I highly recommend Grand Canyon to anyone who is looking for a school. Grand Canyon displays a Christian atmosphere, but does not shove their beliefs down your throat. I do not regret for one minute deciding to do my masters at Grand Canyon. I LOVE Grand Canyon, the professors, and the administrative staff."

Anonymous

Reviewed: 1/10/2013
Degree: Secondary Education
Graduation Year: 2013

"Both my 'teacher education specialist' and 'financial aid counselor' dropped the ball several times causing me numerous problems with completing my program. I am now in the very last week of my very last class and was looking forward to graduating.But now I'm being told that I owe $985 because the school sent back money to my loan provider. The costs were posted in September, my loan was disbursed in October, I received my stipend in November, the school supposedly sent back $985 to my loan provider in December and now in January I'm told my financial account has this past due amount. Either the financial aid people can't properly subtract tuition costs from loan proceeds and send me the right stipend amount or the school is running some sort of scam to extort more money out of me in order to let me graduate.In either case, this is another very bad showing from this school and I strongly suggest all potential students stay away from this poor excuse for an institution of higher learning."