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  • Report:  #692759

Complaint Review: Grand Canyon University

Grand Canyon University GCU -Horrible Experience/Bad Situation- Phoenix, Arizona

  • Reported By:
    Anonymous — Texas United States of America
  • Submitted:
    Wed, February 09, 2011
  • Updated:
    Sun, February 13, 2011
  • Grand Canyon University
    3300 West Camelback Road
    Phoenix, Arizona
    United States of America
  • Phone:
    1-800-800-9776
  • Category:

I received my Masters degree from this univeristy so I decided to get another from them from them (Doctorate), as well as influence my husband to get a Bachelors degree. My Masters went GREAT!

When I began my next and last degree, the problems started. The new Financial Aid system the school has does not allow one to accept or reject the amount they receive from Student Loans. But we are told that you can send the money back, the problem here is that the refund money one gets sends back is delayed in getting back to the lender or never gets to the lender at all.

This has caused a problem now with my aggregate limit and is going to make me pay for my last classes to get my in order to complete my degree. I was told you should have saved the money to go towards these classes. This was said just a month ago when now I am at my limit for Student Loans.

I did not use this refund money for nothing other than providing for my family, while I was in school because some of the time I couldn't work and providing things to go to school online, such as a computer, books, databases for research, ect. I can't do what I need to for my last year such as dissertation because I am worried how I am going to pay for the last classes or better yet why even continue if I know I can't pay.

The kicker is GCU sent me a 2nd refund check right after I received my 1st. I was only to get one, they made a mistake by sending it. I was told that it would take longer to put it back on my account and to cash/save it t until they could fix the problem.

My husband started his Bachelor degree soon after I began my Masters. His problems began in 2008 when GCU started hiring people from University of Phoenix. They brought the problems with them.

Last year, June 2010, he was told that his Program of Study changed once again and because of this the school had gone to a 4 credit model for classes. The Academic Advisor tried, unsuccessfully, to get him to change to this model.

December of 2010, he found out that he was going to be short 2 class credits with graduation in June of 2011. They waited until his last semester to tell him this. This was fixed by the way by changing him to the last 2 classes being the 4 credit classes, which would back him have 120 credits and ready to graduate, hmm 4 credit classes again, I wonder.

Now February, 2010, it has changed once again. He is being told that he is now 6 credits short and he will have to take more classes (pay more money-Student Loan money and Pell Grant) to graduate, which will not be in June now.

I finallly convince him that it will be worth it and find that his account is being reviewed for Fincancial Aid aggregrate limits. If one can't see, now he will have to pay out of pocket just as I am for his last classes. We have complained and complained to GCU and now this has happened, is it on purpose???

We have 4 kids and can't pay out of pocket to finish these degrees. He has 2 classes maybe 3 tha the will have to pay out of pocket and I have 3 classes as well (isn't that a something very similar).

We don't want trouble and hopefully this will not come with posting this especially from a Christian University but we need to get this taken care of and it is partially their fault. I would not blame them for 100% of the problem because no one is ever complete responsible when something like this happens.

We need help, we want to know if there are others like us out there? We want to know if the news media knows about this? We just want to finish our degrees.

2 Updates & Rebuttals


Anonymous

Anna,
Texas,
United States of America

Yes

#3Author of original report

Sun, February 13, 2011

Yes he was provided a POS (Program of Study) but was told because he had had previous experience in the online culture, 8 credits were to be waived. They did not say just because the classes were waived the credits would not be. They also have a new catalog every year. Check it out go to http://my.gcu.edu/Pages/default.aspx or GCU.edu and look up academics then catalogs. They have numerous catalogs and each is different. His POS has changed 3 times, now they offer 4 credit classes instead of 3 and supposedly they do not offer the 3 credit classes any longer but that is not true.


Jeanski

Buffalo,
New York,
USA

comment

#3Consumer Comment

Wed, February 09, 2011

I'm afraid I don't have any useful suggestions, but I do have a question. I've been in higher ed for 20 years, and every student who enrolls at my school is given a curriculum sheet (or degree plan) upon enrollment. It lists all the courses needed to graduate, and which courses were covered by transfer crerdit from other schools.  This plan is considered an agreement between the student and the school. If a curriulum changes while the student is continuously enrolled, he has a choice between changing to the new curriculum, or staying with the one in which he was originally enrolled.

Many complaints on ROR from GCU, U of Pheonix, and other online programs make the same claims, i.e., the student was told (typically at the last minute) that they needed a few more classes.

My question is, were you ever provided a degree plan? If so, you may have a legal leg to stand on.

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