Grand Canyon University

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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).

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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!)

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.

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.

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!

I am half way done with my BSN and so far I have nothing but all wonderful experience. The teachers are very knowledgeable and reponsive. Personal Advisor and financial councelor are always available and willing to answer any question I may have. The only problem I want to mention is being online provider, the technology does not seem to be that up to date. Interestingly, on the program we are using, the spell checker doesn't seem to recognize so many common English words. Live technical support supposedly is "always available", but not really. Overall, it is good.

I only just started the program but so far I am doing well. I like that when my counselors call me, they actually spend time with me on the phone and they actually remember me, yes there are times when I have to remind them of some things like how old my kids are but come on, I can hardly remember my age half the time! It has been hard for me to get back into going to school but I'm slowly accepting that school is hard work and there is no easy way out. The price is very comparable to ground campuses. It certainly is cheaper than Phoenix and South. Bottom line is that there is no perfect school, no quick fixes, and certainly no free lunch. I like Grand Canyon so far and I plan to continue with my master's next April.

I have been underwhelmed by this program in so many areas. The recruiter is excellent and I do mean excellent. I now know she must have had a significant career in military recruitment due to the caliber of what she slung. They will tell you anything to get you hooked and started. Sounds so great to be assigned a personal academic & finance counsellor. A person you can count on to guide and help along the way. The greatness frimly stops at the idea. If you can ever get your advisor on the phone, they have zero idea who you are and even less interest in helping with an actual problem. The instructors are a truly mixed bag. There are several exceptional educators in the masters program but they are few & far between. Since the management is so set on keeping everything a secret this iformation is hard won! I had more than 3 instructors that we never heard from week three onward. No contact with the administration even after we finished the class ourselves. The admin has no clue and care nothing for the students. My understanding is that the Dean is setting herself up for a position with a national nursing organization and wants no problems. She has surrounded herself with incompetents to make herself look better. The class work itself offers no consitstancy and the reading & links are outdated. I had one DR. teacher that explained to me that I should only use the term overall when refering to denim and than preceeded to tell me that my paper was over-all very good???

I took classes at Grand Canyon University from 2002-2006 but never finished by BS in General Biology. I quit with 112 credits, just shy of graduating with 120 credits. This year (2010) I decided to go back to school and now GCU is telling me I need to apply as a new student and my advisor, Noelle Clark, tells me only 44 of those 112 credits are usable. The reason why, I have to re-apply under a degree program they now offer. If you are going to attend this University, do not drop out for a semester, you will have to re-apply and will lose 40% of your credits. Not only have I spent $142,297 to attend a University that offers poor staff leadership and insurmountable headaches, my BS will now cost me an additional $35,920...leading to a grand total of $174,217. I've been lied to and lied to from this school and have the emails to prove it. There are no state and national "university" standards that speak to re-enrolling students taking another major Noelle! Get your facts right!!!