Complaint Review: Grand Canyon University - Phoenix Arizona

Hello Fellow GCU students with the same bad service that I have recieved from GCU.
I have mad the youtube video, it got cut off, but I will do the second part this morning and will post that when I do.  I can use all the support that I can get.  Please feel free to share your story in the respond to video place, you can do a written response or upload your own video response.  Peace and good luck, together we can get justice.
Here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3TLmKbCJQ0

GCU keeps digging the hole deeper. I am now officially in DEFAULT DUE TO HALF-TIME STATUS.  My loan was with Granite once defaulted they sold it to EdFinancial, they sold it back to the guarantor ECMC, who has paid off the loan.  I have contacted all of these agencies and Granite states they do not have my files any longer.  EdFinancial states you need to speak with the guarantor of your loan, we can help you find out who that is.  It is ECMC,; I contacted them they were very nice, when will I start making payments? They cannot help in any wrongful default, but will work with me to start re-paying my 38,000 loan. They stated that I need to speak with Granite, who said you need to speak with EdFinancial and round and round.

In the meantime, I finally got a response from GCU financial.  Everyone will love this as they openly admit to keeping two sets of books: Here is the e-mail:

From: [email protected]
To: geeyc

CC: [email protected]
Date: Fri, 17 Sep 2010 18:05:49 -0700
Subject: RE: CORRECTION OF STUDENT STATUS

Hi angry & frustrated former graduate student,
 
I wanted to inform you that I have checked with our office of financial aid and confirmed that there are {{two types of definitions}} when it comes to a students full or part time status. The FIRST IS OUR internal academics definition which is the part in which you quoted the 09-10 GCU policy handbook. {{Therefore, internally we defined you as ***full time*** for taking 5+ credit hours a semester.}}

HOWEVER, through the clearing house, we follow the standard Department of Education guidelines and define a graduate student as follows: Full time - 9 credit hours+; Three-Quarter Time 7-8 credit hours; Half time 5-7 credit hours; less than half time 4 or less credit hours.

In summary,

>>"WE defined you as full-time at our university for the purposes of academics towards your pursuit of your degree and as you were a year around student."<<  {{BINGO}}

FRAUD right here

HOWEVER, the clearing house defined you based on the above guidelines despite what we considered you. You may want to double check this with your lenders, the NSLDS (see nslds.ed.gov) and the Department of Education. Here is the portion regarding financial aid in our policy book:

Financial Aid and Enrollment
Graduate students must be enrolled in at least five credits per semester to be eligible to receive full financial aid benefits. All graduate programs require at least five credits per semester to receive federal aid.

2008-2009 Summer Academic Catalog v 1.2 35 2008 Grand Canyon University. All Rights Reserved. Page 36
 
Keep in mind that your lender typically will accept time or greater to defer student loans (by the Clearinghouse definition). However, I know you mentioned that these were pre-1986 loans that required full-time enrollment. I truly hope that working with your lenders by showing your time enrollment here & your current enrollment in the PHD program will remove you from a default status. However, GCU has no control on the decision that your lender(s) and/or the Department of Ed. Makes in regards to this situation.
 
I look forward to being of further assistance should you have any further questions and have ccd my former manager Drea on  this communication to help explain/define anything as well.
 
Dominic Baca
Finance Counseling Manager
Ken Blanchard College of Business
Grand Canyon University
3300 W. Camelback Rd.
Phoenix, AZ 85017
Phone: 602-639-7190
Fax: 877-384-3198

Can you believe he openly admits to FRAUD?  Crazy right?  Keep in mind I took classes back to back year round no breaks, that is 18 units a year.  How is this part time.  Grand Canyon  is going to be in some hot water.

I have since filed a report with the Better Business Bureau:
BBB of Central, Northern & Western Arizona
(Phoenix, AZ)
4428 N. 12th Street
Phoenix, AZ 85014-4585
Phone: (602)264-1721
Fax: (602)263-0997
Email: [email protected]
Web: http://arizonabbb.org

I suggest this as a recourse for GCU students.  I filed mine Friday afternoon.  I just finished my finals for my 2nd class in my PhD program.  My grades by the way, 100% on everything for the class, which was NeuroBiology.  This doctoral program is the toughest thing I have embarked on, I really do not need to be taking on this battle right now.  But...I will not lie down. 

I graduated from GCU.  I used to love GCU.  I cannot believe they would be so blatant about their financial misappropriations.

I did contact the az.gov for the Post Secondary Education Institutions, they informed me they are not a regulatory agency.  I have continued doing research and I believe my next step is to start making videos on www.youtube.com, so please check youtube out regarding Grand Canyon University: Fraud or ripoff I am not sure what the title will be.  I will post the link here when I upload the videos telling my story.

There is power in numbers, we need to support one another and start a revolution against being lied to and cheated and not listened to.

Good Luck to everyone and thank you for your comments.  I have gone to every link that was suggested to me and have found some helpful things to do.  The BBB is a solid way to go. GCU is notified within 48 hours and has a limited amount of time to respond.  The more of us that take some action, somebody... some where... will take the time to listen.

Going to school to pursue a dream and higher educational level is hard enough, without the one place, we should be able to trust and put our faith in, cutting us off at the knees.  Stay focused on your dreams, nobody can steal that from us if we band together.

PEACE

Angry & frustrated former graduate student

So also enter a complaint to the following agency:

http://www.ftc.gov/reports/index.htm

You are not alone in the NSLDS complainst department. With GCU once they take you sown to part-time forget being put back even if you did drop below full-time for even one semester. Mine has not been upodated since spring when an advisor read the new screens wrong and told me I already had 6 credits and didn't. Contact the PPSE and file a complaint there. It seems to be the only agency they respond to. Go to az.gov and you can link to it from there.

Hope this helps. THank goodness I have only four more classes and I am out.