Grand Canyon University [GCU]
reviews and complaints

I have been trying to get some financial aid resolved. GCU communication lacks. I have emailed the councilors who gave me a number to call to set up a payment plan, all it goes to is an annoying advertisement. I get mail letters stating they have been trying to contact me to get the payment situated I have been paying attention to my phone for a good while now... NO CONTACT WHAT SO EVER. I called the financial aid specialist from the claims area who seemingly set up a payment plan, there was no payment plan at all. I recently called the manager at GCU to see if I can get things resolved, if not how am I supposed to pay them? I will give results once I get contacted. I know I am obligated to pay the amount owed. This is why I have never trusted any school these days they all have their own hidden scams. the letter also stated I can log into my gcu account to make payments I go to log in and there is no existing account it shows on the portal log in.

I attended GCU recently. I took a Business Statistics course which was horribly difficult. I did not pass the class. However, from the first week of the class I reached out to my student services counselors, the instructor, and some of my classmates who come to find out were in the same boat. I was scheduled tutoring services in which were very helpful. However, some of the tutors did not understand what was going on and were no help for 45 minutes. I reached out the entire 8 weeks, used tutoring services the entire 8 weeks, and did not get any help AT ALL from the instructor. He kept telling me to reach out to tutoring even when I would tell him that they didn't understand what he was providing us. I literally begged this school for help and they failed me. Now, they are blowing up my phone 24/7 trying to collect the balance I owe but no one would help me when I was begging. They care about the money of the students. These are not Christian people. They are disloyal, arrogant, and judgemental people who probably don't even believe in God. How can you believe in God and treat students as if they don't matter just to get a paycheck? I pray that the God I serve has mercy on every false hypocrite in that school. It's truly ashame. I do not want to finish my degree at the school. I pray that God will guide me to make better decisions. Everything that cries Lord is not a believer.

I have been waiting for my aid to disburse for three weeks now. Every other academic program from undergrad through two Masters programs released my aid within 7-10 days of starting class. It is very stressful and a distraction to academic success to constantly have to keep checking to see if one's money has posted to their account. If we have to repay it promptly, it should be disbursed that way.

GCU is a greedy and corrupt business. I was two classes away from completing my MBA and was expelled for ever from finishing because I received a C and was allowed a retry but had to get an A in one of the hardest classes and when I was unsuccessful, they kicked me out and kept all of my money and I received nothing. The kicker is that a few years later they just called me and asked if I wanted to return to finish the two classes left and I said of course and completed their paperwork. After getting my hopes up, they call me yesterday to tear me down again and stated that I am expelled and cannot continue.

I went to Grand Canyon back in 2013 to 2015 was getting my Bachelors in Accounting. Well, I ended up with Breast Cancer and had to put school off for a little while. After I went through treatment and so on. I tried to go back and was deny for the simple fact that I had an balance which was not the case at all since I took out student loans on top of the Grants I received needless to say I had to change colleges for this matter. Which GCU would not help me in anything. So, I had 24 credits for this college needless to say when I found another college to attend I couldn't transfer any of my credits. This college is a JOKE...

In 2020, Rich, a staff member at Grand Canyon University, reached out to me regarding going back to school. He confirmed that the university is accredited in response to my many inquiries regarding it. I asked him to see if the state of Georgia will accept any specialist degrees, and to email me a list of those that will get me a T-6 raise. Mr. Rich responded by email with those degree fields in which I enrolled in. The Georgia PSC rejected my degree after a difficult year and a few months of working hard, staying up late nights and writing many papers. No one at Grand Canyon has attempted to get in touch with the PSC on my behalf. I put a lot of effort into a degree that is useless. I'm requesting Grand Canyon to pay back my tuition so I can return to school and earn a real specialist degree.. On January 11, 2023, I spoke with a representative from Grand Canyon who was responsible for student recruitment. She told me that the Grand Canyon staff has a map that shows the courses that each state will accept. Given that Mr. Rich knew the degree would be useless, I wonder why he would still offer it to me. Grand Canyon has defrauded many students out of their student loan money, because nobody goes to College for a worthless degree at the age of 50.

I was supposed to return for the spring of 2022, when I noticed I couldn't look at my future classes. I contacted my counselor by emailing them but they did not respond. I kept trying to contact them but I heard nothing back. Then an hour before I was supposed to leave for a plane to get to GCU, I get an email from them saying I'm on academic dismissal. It took me a week just to hear back and So late that I had a flight already booked to go down there. So after that I did community college, worked my way up to getting back there. I was now in contact with a new counselor, I finish my finals ask where I need to send them, This was December 15th. I call and email and just get voicemail and nothing. I didn't hear anything back until the 21st of December where I get a helpful call telling me the steps I need to take. I do all of it that day and wait to hear back. Nothing again. I didn't hear back until Friday the 30th. I get a call saying "oh yeah you aren't able to come back". GCU is terrible when it comes to hearing back from and getting new information. If I'd known I wasn't able to come back I could have looked for another school by then and started that process but I heard absolute nothing. And its infuriating that it happened with two different counselors twice. GCU needs to fix this so that others aren't thrown to the wind as I was

In may of 2022 I unrolled at Grand canyon university for a Theology class. I was awarded over six thousand dollars via Federal Grant. Once the semester started they had me in an English class.. when I complained, I got a letter saying that I owed over six thousand dollars... I never received a penny from GCU... they're calling for money... help me resolve this

This is a degree mill program.

First class is "becoming a graduate student" for 2 credits at about $1400 dollars. Assignments included making a time sheet day by day for how we spend our time, then write an essay on it. Absolute joke. When I was contacted by a student counselor how my classes were going, I said the class was so easy that I found it disrespectful to a 500 level course. My feedback was not welcomed & they were infuriated with me for questioning them.

Second class was "advanced statistics and probability". We solved 0 math problems. We had 0 classes. We had 0 engagement with out professors. The class was divided into 3 portions: first - essays on statistics/probability, second - basic Python coding but no statistics/probability, third - basic R coding but no statistics/probability. How is this a program set up for anyone to succeed in data science? When the counselors asked me how the class was going, I asked "how was I supposed to know there would be no classes? How was I supposed to know we would solve 0 statistics/probability problems?" and again my feedback was not welcome but infuriated them.

Now that I'm transferring to a reputed data science masters elsewhere, GCU is *fining* me $500+ for not finishing the year. And my counselors have not sent a bill outlining the fine, but have told me they will send me to collections if I don't pay it. I've sent 3 emails over the last ~20 days stating I still do not have a bill for the incompletion fine.

I’m going to start out with the story of what happened. So it was on October 7th and I was going to do a progress exam that day. Then, something happened that prevented me from being able to go to the math center on time to take the exam. I got there at about 4:30 and asked someone there if I could take the exam late and she said to email or message the instructor on halo to reopen the slot on aleks so I can take the exam late. He also explained in announcements in the beginning of the year that if something came up we can email or message him to take the exam at another time. Therefore, later that day I sent the messages and the email to reach out to the instructor. I just waited for a response, but days went by and I never got it. I checked the messages everyday to see if they were still sent and they did. I let the people at the math center know what was going on and they said as long as I was attempting to reach out for this exam earlier I should be fine. Then, about 4 days later rechecking and refreshing the messages they finally showed that they failed to send. Then, I resent the message on halo hoping it would work this time and it said it sent again and I was hoping it actually did this time, which it is confirmed it did work. The next day, I told the people at the math center the error that happened and they said it was not my fault and halo tends to glitch like that at times. They said I shouldn’t worry about being too late taking the exam because I contacted the instructor the day it was still due and it the technical error in halo wasn’t my fault. Then, the instructor does not respond to me for over 2 weeks. During those two weeks I’m calling him and he doesn’t pick up and I left him voice messages of what happened and he never responded to them. I’m checking up on the math center at times asking the people there why isn’t he responding to me. Finally, after double texting him for two weeks he responds with “Your assignment is way above the deadline and you can’t take the exam”. Then, I tried to explain that I’ve been trying to communicate with him for a while and I had no response. After I said that he said that there was nothing on his email and to just continue the class even though there was clearly a message and multiple voicemails he didn’t respond to. Later, when I met up with my student counselor and he was wondering why I was failing your class I explained to him what was happening and he said that I should just continue the class and if it’s not at the grade it should be then it should be taken cared of later. The grade ended up not being significant like my student counselor said would probably happen so I continued to try to communicate with my instructor over the break. The instructor once again Ignored my phone calls and my voice messages and whenever I try to have a conversation about fixing my grade, he would rarely respond just to direct me to solutions that would obviously not work without his confirmation, which he would not give to me. Moral of the story that this instructor is trying to pull a fast one on me and won’t take care of a progress exam grade that he wouldn’t let me take for no reason. I have the messages I was talking about attached below and the emails of him not helping at all with my situation but just repeatedly telling me to have documentation to appeal my grade when I need him to confirm the appeal for me also attached below.

Upon completing my BSN I was left with a balance on my account of $1,001.86. This was unexpected, since the first semester I paid with student loans, and the tuition for all of the remaining courses was paid for directly by my employer (with the exception of class fees, which I paid for as I went along).

Since GCU does not have a student-facing billing department that could help me figure out the reason for my balance, I emailed my advisor asking her to explain it to me as the invoice was very confusing. After several emails back and forth with my advisor I had no answers. So, I called her. She suggested on the phone that maybe my employer wasn't billed enough for the final class, which was 6 credits instead of 3. I suggested that she have the billing department reach out to Mayo to fix the issue and have them pay the remaining tuition.

However, after the phone call I poured over the invoice again, and it was clear that my employer was not responsible for the remaining balance, and the final class had been billed as a 6 credit course. So, I emailed my advisor again, and requested that she go over the invoice with me line by line to make sure I understood it, and so that we could figure out where the discrepancy was. She responded that we'd have to wait until the end of the week when her manager returned to the office.

Today my advisor, Suzette-Grimes-Meeks, emailed me back again and wrote "My manager stated that the balance on file was from the difference of your charges, employer payments, and the financial aid payments/returns."

I had already figured that out by reviewing the invoice multiple times. It appears that for my first semester, the semester that I was paying with student loans, the school refunded $1017 of student loans that were needed to pay for my first 4 classes. I'm not sure why, but it appears that is the main reason for my remaining balance. In addition, I was behind on one payment for class fees, which totaled $122.76

I'm still waiting for someone to reach out to me and explain why that loan amount was returned. There may not be anything that I can do about it now, but I would like answers and an apology as it has impacted me financially. If this money had remained a student loan I could have paid it off slowly, but instead I had to use my entire savings to pay off a big lump sum. Also, there is a good chance that my student loans will be forgiven by the government, which means that I wouldn't have been responsible for that money at all.

Hello

I would like to express and file a complaint against the GCU recruitment department located at Glendale Community College.

Alba Vargas- Has failed to keep in contact with me and return phone calls as well.

I did not receive an updated evaluation from the last time we spoke, knowing my current evaluation had errors on it from GCU evaluation team.

We also had unfinished business from our last phone call, I needed an update on a class we could not find compatible at GCC.

Ryan Ruiz- Has failed to return my phone call and properly record my call in the system.

I had several communication issues working with Ryan in the past and was passed down to work with another recruiter in the past.

Ryan was supposed to call me back from a phone call on 11/30, he said he would call me back after his zoom call. He never called me back and it was confirmed from another GCU staff that my call was not noted in the system.

In 2019, I was 'recruited' to start a doctoral program at GCU and offered a "Scholarship". I enrolled, completed, and paid for one class. When I changed jobs and discovered that the program was not a good fit for me, I withdrew before the second class. GCU proceeded to slow walk my withdrawal and charged me for a complete semester in addition to the money that they already received! I disputed this claim several times with them, and they continue to claim that I owe them for classes I never attended in addition to multiple fees.

When I tried to speak to the enrollment counselor and academic advisor, they still insisted that I had to pay for the classes I didn't enroll in or complete. They claimed that I didn't withdraw in time. They have turned my account over to collections.

When I went to enroll in a more reputable university for a better-fitting program, I discovered that GCU added my name to the student clearing house requiring a transcript or letter of non-matriculation which they will not release without my paying for classes I did not take!

I am working with my program to see if I can continue to work toward my degree while this is resolved, but once again, I am getting the run-around and demand for money from GCU.

On November 1, 2022, I tried to contact a manager at GCU regarding an email we received that suggested my wife had disenrolled. This note was sent by her counsellor Stella Kalanj, who has also been trying to strong-arm my wife from taking a short break in school.

The operator refused to allow me to speak to a manager until I was raising my voice after about a half hour. Finally, I was given to the call center supervisor who took all my information promising me to speak with a manager. I explained that I did not want to speak with Stella as we were not getting anywhere with her. After a long wait of phone silence, Stella came on the line and I hung up.

Just how is any

This whole attempt to speak to someone above the counselor was in vain! How in the world is a reputable and credible school, as they state, continuing to remain in business?

I'm an RN looking to get my master's degree in nursing education. On Monday night, while at work, I requested information about their MSN degree program. I work 12 hour shifts overnight, and typically work 3 days in a row. On Tuesday, while I was trying to sleep, I was called by Grand Canyon University at 8:10am, 10:11am, 12:18am, and 2:20 pm. I typically ignore calls until someone leaves me a message. No one left any messages for any of these calls. I tried blocking this number because of the excessive number of phone calls. at 4:24, they called me a fifth time that day from a different number. Yesterday, I was called at 8:42, 10:51, 12:52, 2:52 and 4:55. Since I was fully awake at 4:55, I picked up that phone call and promptly informed the caller, who identified herself as someone from Grand Canyon University, that I did not have time to talk but could they please remove me from their call list, as I had received an excessive number of calls. I was interrupted and ignored, and the caller went on to request that I answer some yes or no questions. I again tried to explain that I did not have time, as I was trying to leave the house to go to work. I was very rudely interrupted AGAIN, and even worse, this person began talking over me loudly, shouting her questions over the phone. I still cannot believe the absolutely disgusting display of childish, rude and unprofessional behavior, and most certainly will not be attending this university in the future.

My wife, Imane Frazee, is in the master's degree program in Early Childhood Education. She has been attending online and has completed four courses with a 4.0 average. We pay for each class, out of pocket, without complaint, in full, each time.

My wife started her last course, 520, and in less than a week she needed to withdraw due to her being sick. We were told that she would be receiving a full refund. Within a couple weeks later, she signed up again for the same course but was now told that she needed to pay an extra $120.00 for "books." That was never mentioned before. But we went ahead and paid the $120.00 along with more than $1,500.00 for the class tuition (whatever that amount was). So, we in fact paid for the class in full. Now we hear from my wife's counsellor that she is some $350 dollars in the arrears for monies owed and she claims that we only paid $1,100. for tuition. I have back statements to the contrary.

My wife would like to continue her education there; however, she needs a break from it for a couple of months for personal reasons. There are a ton of universities available for online courses and if this mess is not straightened out satisfactorily, we will seek another university to continue her education.

So first off any extra money, you receive is mailed out by check not direct deposit. GCU does not offer direct deposit according to the persons spoke with. To continue I am confused my FED DL UNSUBSIDIZED LOAN 2021-22 was $10,142.00 in which $2,127.12was taken for EDU-525 - Foundations in Elementary Education Graduate Studies to leave me with($8,014.88). So then I receive a Stipend - D UNSUB 2021-22 payment ($4,960.64) leaving me with ($3,054.24) balance but crazy enough I cant find what I was charged for. Below this information shows three more class charges added ELM-500, SPD-500, and ELM-510 each for about 1500.00 but still have no clue why I was given an unknown charge. This continues throughout my student ledger up until this course set on 9/29 in which I only have the FED DL UNSUBSIDIZED LOAN 2022-23. I see no FAFSA information unless that is the stipend but I do see charges for my transcript (8.00) in which I paid using my credit card, so I am being charged twice. To add on I was sent a bill today (10/13/2022) for the class that I already started POS-500 - U.S. and Arizona Constitutions for Teacher Candidates. I am confused why I have this bill but it shows in my ledger it was paid by my loan. This school has no communication and councilors are being changed too often in one year (I am on my 3rd one) which I did not ask for a change. They do not tell you that you will need to do practicum and student teaching, by the way, none of these are paid and hours can go from 6-60 a course for practicum and 4 months plus for student teaching. Thanks, GCU for taking my money.

Over 4 years ago I began my journey to gain my Elementary Ed/Special Ed degree. Over the next 3 years, things went fairly well. Other than my mother passing from cancer, my father passing 5 months later unexpectedly, and being told it was mandatory to take an additional math class for my Utah license. After several months of arguing with this person, I was told by the Utah State Board this is not accurate. IF I would need additional math, I would have 3 years to complete the requirement. Getting closer to my graduation, for about a year, I told people I would be done in March of 2022. September of 2021, student teaching was added to my curriculum. When I asked about it, I was told she does not know why it wasn't there before, however, this has always been the case. That put my student teaching in the fall of 2022 because student teaching is only twice a year.

Well, nothing I can do about it, so now, I will graduate the end of 2022. (mind you my goal has always been to gain my degree by the time I turn 60... that is November 2022) I am told in December 2021 I must pass my 'Content Exams' before I can do student teaching. Oh this must be done before March. Because you must pass before a deadline of 4-5 months before the scheduled student teaching. (By the way, Content Exams are Praxis Exams. I did not understand this information. I knew I had to pass the praxis before my license, but Arizona, (GCU) requires this before you can do student teaching). Well, 5 exams total, I did not pass all my exams. I have retaken them several times. I finally passed 4 of the 5. After the initial take/fail, you can retake right away. However, after that you have to wait 28 days. Here I am getting ready to take my final and last exam to do my student teaching in January, mind you a year later than expected, only to be told because the cutoff date months before student teaching, I now have to wait until fall of 2023. Almost 2 years longer than anticipated. At one point during all this, I figured I will do the non licensing degree. But, Oh wait they changed the requirements, which means I will still be in school another year, which with the degree change, I am not eligible for more funding. Right now I owe over $300 because my funding was returned when they told me I had to wait until January 2023. I am no longer considered 'in school' because of the time between my last class in March and student teaching in January. I am supposed to begin paying on my loans because I am no longer a student. What about my teach grant, employed as a teacher for 3 years, my cutoff date is not accurate because I do not have my degree?

My employer is ready for me to do my student teaching at any time. They were ready a year ago. We are a small town and have only 1 elementary school. My biggest argument, had I KNOWN, fully understood the ramifications of passing 'Content Exams' aka "Praxis Exams', I would have started 3 years ago. I have test anxiety and dyslexia. Especially the math, I would have taken care of while I was in that class.

All GCU care about is money that's all they want. They claim to be military friendly but charge you completely if course is not dropped before start date. And they don't care as they try to get Tuition Assistance money and then charge you the difference the military didn't cover. Military personal always have to change and drop classes as things revolve around a high unit tempos. I had a death in the family and had to drop a course shortly after the class starting. Now they want to send to bill to collections to get their money for an online course i wasn't able to participate cause the loss of a family member. DO NOT ATTEND THIS SCHOOL! ESPECIALLY IF YOU'RE MILITARY! BE WARNED!