mike.sheppard91
Phoenix,#2UPDATE Employee
Wed, July 06, 2011
I am an employee who is holding down an enrollment job while I a masters at nearby ASU. I do enrollment because it is relatively simple and easy to do. I can tell you that for as long as I have been employed (almost 2 years) that the changes that have taken place within the organization are first to comply with the Department of Education and then to find away around the compliance issues that cause the institution to lose money.
I am have, and will continue to put in every Tom, d**k and Harry with a pulse weather they are just starting out in their very first class or are needing the last few classes to graduate. I am going to put in people who at some times along the application process cannot remember how to spell their own names.
And I will do it a lot. While the Department of Education mandates that this institution not incentivize enrollment numbersyou can bet your bottom dollar that they can find some kind of LAME a*s reason to terminate you like what happened to you.
Grand Canyon University enrollment and their student administration are some of the most conniving and underhanded for-profit educators in the business. If you fail to enroll a certain number of (for lack of a better term) retards per month you will be terminated in enrollment for something they pull out of their asses like Rude to student on phone and it sounds like the same is now true for their online instructors.
Thank you for making the Circle complete from Enrollment to instruction. It is clearly NO wonder why this stock is floundering. The individuals connected to it need to stop thinking that just because they are based in an At will state they can pull these types of shenanigans. You may have saved a student or two in this case GCU, but you cost yourselves THOUSANDS by pissing off the already educated that you let go.
EducationDoctoralStudent
Phoenix,#3UPDATE EX-employee responds
Tue, July 05, 2011
I used to teach for GCU, but make more money at another location.
Given that, I have a couple of issues with your post...
1) It took seven weeks, even using Turn It In, to find plagiarism with this student. GCU has used TurnItIn for over two years and I found it a very useful tool in correcting student's "misunderstandings".
2) If all that you wrote in your feedback to a student was, "do you know how to write an APA style paper?" , I would have to side with the university. If, however, this was only a small part of a larger, more constructive critique, then I would ask you to post it to clarify the issue.
3) I have seen GCU allow students to make up work, but only if there was ample documentation from medical or other professionals to verify the condition AND the student stayed in contact with their advisors. The advisors would call me and let me know that this positive dispensation was allowed. It took me a little extra work during my next course, but from a Christian perspective I couldn't justify punishing a student when a severe life event interfered with their goals.
4) I agree with you that professors who don't provide rigorous and clear grading and feedback should be terminated.
5) Did you tell the Lifelong Learning Assessment folks that you had been "let go" when they contracted with you?
Answering these might provide a more balanced look at the situation. As a doctoral candidate focused on post-secondary education your answers would help me understand more about the industry and your individual experience.
Thank you
Marcia
Cleveland,#4Consumer Comment
Wed, June 29, 2011
Your story highlights everything that's wrong with some of the online schools. I also teach in an online program (for a traditional college) and have total control over how students are graded. If they plagiarize, they get an "F" for the assignment, and possibly for the course (depends on the nature of the plagiarism). If they show up in week 7 of an 8 week course, "F". Using an online program like turnitin.com has really helped with the plagiarism issue.
I have students who can't write an APA paper either. In fact, some of them can't put together a coherent sentence. Like you, I try to work with them, offer constructive feedback and writing resources. Sometimes it's no use. I have students who can't write a decent outline for an upcoming paper, don't know the difference between nouns and adjectives, and won't read directions. I am sometimes discouraged at the plight of our young people who are graduating from high school without these basic skills. But then I get an outstanding student who makes it all worthwhile.
As you suggested, it's all about the money. When some students find out they have to actually EARN their grade, they choose another school. Hard professor? Don't enroll in HIS class. I've been zinged a few times by students seeking revenge (and reported more than once for being unreasonable). In every case I've had the documentation to support the final grade. Fortunately, my administration supports the faculty and the high standards we impose.
Keep us posted! This is a good forum for getting the word out.