Grand Canyon University

Review: I recently graduated from Grand Canyon University with a Master of Science in Professional Counseling. A year prior to graduation and prior to entering my final courses, which were practicum courses, I contacted the head of the counseling department at Grand Canyon. I inquired about his ability to sign an institutional recommendation from Grand Canyon, which is a requirement for licensure/endorsement in school counseling in my state. I wanted to ensure that this form would be signed and that my practicum/internship in school counseling would satisfy the requirements in my state for school counselors. The form simply verifies that requirements for school counselors in the state of Arizona are satisfied by a graduate program. At that time, I also contacted the [redacted] in Arizona to verify that my degree and my practicum work would satisfy Arizona state requirements for school counselors. I was informed by the [redacted] in Arizona that my degree would satisfy state requirements. I forwarded this information to the head of the counseling department at GCU. He indicated that he would sign the institutional recommendation form, which I sent to him shortly thereafter. Since the form required a date, he stated that he would sign the form upon the completion of my degree. I graduated in April, 2015, and again sent him the form. He contacted me shortly after receiving the form and said that he could not sign it due to the fact that the form required a signature from the college of education. I contacted the dean of the College of Arts and Humanities and included all correspondence with the head of the counseling department and the [redacted] in Arizona. Several weeks later, the head of the counseling department, now an assistant dean, forwarded me a letter outlining my degree and indicating completion of my degree. Several errors were made on the letter and I had to resubmit all of my pracitum logs, which had already been approved.Desired Settlement: I have not received any explanation from the university as to why this situation was allowed to transpire. The head of the counseling department forwarded many of my emails to the compliance officer at the university. Multiple people were aware of this situation and no attempt by anyone at the university was made to resolve this problem. I spent over $40,000 on my degree, was a 4.0 student and took the word of the head of the counseling department that he would sign the form in good faith.

Business

Response:

Dear Revdex.com,Grand Canyon University (“GCU”) is in receipt of Ms. [redacted] complaint and we value the opportunity to respond. The issue has been reviewed by the College of Humanities and Social Sciences Regional Director of Operations, [redacted], and based on that review, GCU has determined that Ms. [redacted] complaint was appropriately resolved. This determination is based on the following information:Ms. [redacted] graduated from GCU with a Master of Science in Professional Counseling. After graduation, Ms. [redacted] requested that the college complete and sign an Institutional Recommendation form as part of her application to become a school counselor. Ms. [redacted] degree program does not qualify for approval on the Institutional Recommendation form, therefore the college is unable to complete and sign the document. The college did provide Ms. [redacted] with a letter that provides details regarding the Master of Science in Professional Counseling degree program and the specifics of Ms. [redacted] practicum experience that was part of her degree program. Students are advised throughout their degree program to check with their state boards regarding licensure requirements. Although Ms. [redacted] completed part of her practicum at a school setting, according to her state board, her degree program does not qualify her for school counselor state licensure. At this point, we have provided Ms. [redacted] with the letter that she is able to take to her state board for review.GCU takes student complaints very seriously and does everything it can to resolve them in an amicable manner. I hope the aforementioned information/actions will bring this matter to a satisfactory conclusion. Sincerely,[redacted]College of Humanities and Social SciencesGrand Canyon University

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

Regards,

Business

Response:

Dear Revdex.com,Grand Canyon University (“GCU”) is in receipt of Ms. [redacted] rebuttal complaint and we value the opportunity to respond. The issue has been reviewed by the College of Humanities and Social Sciences Regional Director of Operations, [redacted], and based on that review, GCU has determined that Ms. [redacted] complaint was appropriately resolved. This determination is based on the following information:Ms. [redacted] requested that the college complete and sign an Institutional Recommendation form as part of her application to become a school counselor in the state of Wyoming. Ms. [redacted] degree program does not qualify for approval on the Institutional Recommendation form, therefore the college is unable to complete and sign the document. Ms. [redacted] was not advised that we would be able to sign the form for the state of Wyoming. We have spoken with Dr. [redacted], Assistant Dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, and he has stated that neither he, nor anyone else in his department, advised Ms. [redacted] that the college would be able to sign the Institutional Recommendation form. The student has received a letter that she is able to provide to a state board that outlines her practicum field experience, should the state board have any questions regarding her practicum experience. Students are advised to check with their state boards for licensure requirements throughout their program. Ms. [redacted] has stated that she researched and reviewed the requirements of the Arizona state board for school counseling, the IR form submitted by Ms. [redacted] is for the state of Wyoming. Ms. [redacted] program, Master of Science in Professional Counseling, does not meet the IR requirement of a degree in school counseling.GCU takes student complaints very seriously and does everything it can to resolve them in an amicable manner. I hope the aforementioned information/actions will bring this matter to a satisfactory conclusion. Sincerely,[redacted]College of Humanities and Social SciencesGrand Canyon University

Review: This school is a rip off. The adviser are no help and don't tell you want you need to do to file complaints, the teacher say they don't get your work when you have a screen shot of it being submitted. The system they use if full of errors. The teacher do not communicate with students. I believe this is a scam to get money from people. They claim they have no appeal process.

Business

Response:

See Attached.

Review: When I talked to enrollment counselor I explained I held a 2 year degree. I was informed all credits would transfer. My first issue started with being enrolled in numerous classes that transferred, told them about it, was told I was right they would remove me from the classes. I wasn't removed from classes until after the start date and was penalized and charged. They said I didn't withdrawal before said deadline. I should never had been put in courses, no one would follow through to get me withdrawn . I have called and talked to numerous people, can't ever get the same person twice. Then when I decided to withdraw from the school, after completing courses, I am told I owe money for classes that I do not owe for. At first it was one amount then each time I contacted the university I was told I owe an even higher amount. I do not owe anything, I am angry that this business can't handle business aspects correctly and can't ever talk to one specific person. I shouldn't have to continually explain over and over again to new personal and be told they will have to look into it. The last time I called, they told me they can no longer assist me because they turned me over to collection. All I want from the school is the bill cleared up as there shouldn't be one and release of my transcript.Desired Settlement: All I want is for the billing issue to be cleared, since there shouldn't be one, taken off my credit report as well and release of my transcripts.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.As stated in my first response, when enrolling in classes, I was told that my previous courses would transfer. I was put in classes that were already taken. then further into my academics at GCU, I enrolled in a few classes and prior to the time frame I asked to be removed from a couple because the course load was to many. No matter how many calls were made, there was NEVER a straight answer as to why I was removed from classes in a timely manner, never the same person, always being told they would have to look into it. I completed the courses that I chose to stay enrolled in and do not feel I should be held responsible for negligence on the school not withdrawing when specifically asked to do so prior to deadline. If the deadlines cant be kept by the school, and no one knows what is going on how do you justify holding me responsible for fees ??? All I want is this matter cleared up and my transcripts released.

Regards,

Review: GCU mislead me into enrolling in on-line courses. I met up with a student adviser to walk me through the enrollment process. During our meeting I made it clear that I wanted to attend classes on campus. However, the day classes begin I called to notify her there was an error in my schedule and showed that I had been enrolled for on-line courses. It wasn't until this conversation over the phone (the day when classes began) that she notified me that all my classes will have to be taken on-line. She apologized and told me somehow she had overlooked that by mistake.Desired Settlement: It is my belief that Brian M[redacted] the president of this institution is giving orders to all the enrollment staff to aggressively recruit students and mislead them into taking online classes so that GCU can make greater profits. These misleading practices need to stop.

Review: I had to drop a class at Grand Canyon University; which left me with a balance of 805.00; I cannot pay the 400;.00 a month for two months. They either want that or all of it. I cannot seem to have a contact other than student advisory dept. Can you help me.?Desired Settlement: If I could do 50.00 a month, that would help so I do not go to collections.

Business

Response:

Dear Revdex.com,Grand Canyon University (“GCU”) is in receipt of Ms. [redacted] complaint and we value the opportunity to respond. The issue has been reviewed by Chris K[redacted] the College of Theology Regional Director of Operations and, based on that review, GCU has determined that Ms. [redacted] complaint was appropriately handled. This determination is based on the following information:Ms. [redacted] was in attendance with Grand Canyon University from 9/8/2014 – 10/31/2015. During that time, she fell out of attendance following her class that ended 11/1/2015 and was anticipated to resume her program on 1/18/2016 after she resolved the personal issues preventing her from successfully continuing her education with GCU. Also, to assist Ms. [redacted], GCU offered a credit on her account to assist with any out of pocket expenses due to her not earning a passing grade in her last class. This would have allowed Ms. [redacted] to continue with no out of pocket expense, while the University would be eligible to have her financial aid award remain within Department of Education (“DOE”) guidelines. However, on 1/5/2016 Ms. [redacted] requested to fully withdraw from the University, and since she did not return she did not earn the Financial Aid that was received. Title IV guidelines require a student to successfully pass classes for 15 weeks and earn a minimum of 12 credits in order to be eligible to keep the full award that a student receives. Since Ms. [redacted] withdrew following a non-passing grade in one of her core classes, she did not meet the credit requirement and thus GCU was required to send back a prorated amount of financial aid funds to the DOE. The $805.94 balance on Ms. [redacted] account is a result of the return of funds.Additionally, the above mentioned non-passing grade credit that GCU offered was then nullified when Ms. [redacted] did not return. However, in attempts to partner with the student, GCU continued to call Ms. [redacted] to find a reasonable payment plan. On 1/12/2016 Ms. [redacted] escalated to the department’s Student Service Manager and committed to making a full payment within the next 45 days. Since a verbal arrangement has already been made to satisfy the debt in full, we cannot offer any deviation at this time.In regards to Ms. [redacted] concerns that her account not go to collections, GCU will not put her file to its internal collections until the 45 days has elapsed. This is what was agreed upon and should satisfy the request Ms. [redacted]. If the payment is not made in full by 2/26/2016, Ms. [redacted] file will be moved to GCU’s internal collections team at which time they will attempt to make other arrangements with her. GCU takes student complaints very seriously and does everything it can to resolve them in an amicable manner. I hope the aforementioned information/actions will bring this matter to a satisfactory conclusion. Sincerely,Chris K[redacted]College of TheologyGrand Canyon University

Review: I am filing a complaint against Grand Canyon University because I received a phone a call today March 23, 2016 to verify that I will not attend the school after all. March 21, 2016 was to be my first day but due to some family issues I will not be able to attend. I was told that I will have to pay 400 plus dollars back simply because I told the professor that I will not be able to attend class. I have never even started class. In the same conversation I was later told that it will be 700 plus dollars. I I received a call on Fridaty from a Joshua M[redacted] at work. He was giving me information on the school but I kept telling him that I could not hear him. I was told today that I was sent an email from him. I double check my emails and the only emails that I have from anyone at Grand Canyon University are from Jacque P[redacted] who is the Student Counselor. I feel that I should not be paying back anything for classes that I have not even attended.Desired Settlement: I should not have to pay for telling a professor that I will not be attending classes.

Business

Response:

Dear Revdex.com,Grand Canyon University (“GCU”) is in receipt of Ms. [redacted]’s complaint and we value the opportunity to respond. The issue has been reviewed by the Regional Director of Operations for the College of Theology, Chris K[redacted] and, based on that review, GCU has determined that Ms. [redacted]’s complaint was appropriately resolved, however we are willing to accommodate the request given the circumstances. This determination is based on the following information:Ms. [redacted] received a call from her Student Service Advisor outlining the cost, fees, and policies regarding attendance several days prior to the class start date. At that time, she was made aware of refund periods and charges for attendance. Ms. [redacted] did post attendance in the class, but the post was simply to inform the instructor of her inability to begin. That communication which took place in the system registered her as an attending student making her financially responsible for the class and any upcoming fees that any be incurred as a result of attendance. That all said, we are willing to waive the balance owed in the spirit of customer service for Ms. [redacted] since the post that created the record of attendance was simply to communicate to the faculty they will be unable to attend As stated, we are willing to waive any balance that has been incurred and Ms. [redacted] will have no outstanding liability to GCU. The total amount of account adjustment will be the current balance of $847.01, which includes all current fees and prorated tuition. GCU takes student complaints very seriously and does everything it can to resolve them in an amicable manner. I hope the aforementioned information/actions will bring this matter to a satisfactory conclusion. Sincerely,Chris K[redacted]College of TheologyGrand Canyon University

I started GCU in January of 2014. The first thing that I noticed was how they seemed to not be able to get my financial aid approved. They said that the last university I attended wouldn't release me from their financial aid. The financial aid department of that university swore up and down that they did. I even ended up talking to the HEAD of the financial aid department that I previously attended and she assured me I was released. She asked me to contact the person I was talking to at GCU and since there was NO ONE from the financial aid department that I could contact.and the matter was resolved within a few hours. Given my future history from that point with GCU, I imagine that GCU's incompetence (since all of their help are students themselves) was immediately put to shame by the head of the financial aid department of a major university. This was just the beginning. I spent the next five classes struggling to get the requirements in for the classes that I was taking. I had to fight that the schools here had two bursting education schools that have plenty of students vying for observations in classrooms. The threat is that I use financial aid and that if I were to drop or fail the class, then I would have a return of funds and owe the university the money for the class. They use that as a threat to get compliance yet offering no help in return. If you call the advisers or the teacher education specialists they will utter the same lines verbatim over and over again when you tell them over and over that those options did not work. They expect you to do everything while they sit back and make money off of my student loans and my money. The teacher's have an enormous control over whether you pass or fail. Everything that is graded is subjective (even though my enrollment counselor assured me it wasn't and that if you just participate and ask for help you will not fail). If you do not agree to what the teacher believes is the right answer they will not give you a favorable grade. This last class I took was exactly like this. I made the mistake of expressing an honest opinion on a discussion question (which, by the way, are written to try to facilitate discussion) and the teacher immediately took a disliking to my question and docked me points because she disagreed with me. I also failed the class and she may say that I didn't try but after fighting snow storms and a teacher that would do what she could to knock points off, I gave up trying. I personally have to wonder why, even though she had an education degree, she wasn't teaching. It makes me think that she may have not been qualified for teaching, and given the other comments on this site, it is a valid observation. I now owe this university 2100 dollars because I was foolish enough to assert an opinion contrary to those believed by the professor (it had to do with testing in public schools). This from a Christian university. I should have followed my instincts and the other negative reviews from this site and stayed far away from Grand Canyon University. I plan to submit a complaint to Revdex.com. I couldn't imagine how they have an A+ rating on this site. It baffles me. I may not trust the ratings here anymore. They will probably say I knew what I was getting into and I guess I did, but I didn't know of their incompetence as a school and I wish I had believed those who did.

Review: I have been taking classes online with GCU to receive my bachelors degree. I had three classes left to complete my degree, but I had to take a break from school to deal with personal problems. In the beginning of the year 2015, I received a call from a GCU student councilor. In our phone conversation the GCU councilor started by telling me that she has sent me emails and was trying to get a hold of me because GCU has changing the classes required to complete a certain degree. When I notified the councilor that I was going to school for a Bachelor of Science in Health Science in Professional Development and Advanced Patient Care not the degree she has mentioned, she told me to hold while she looks up the information. After looking up the requirements for my Bachelors Degree, the counselor said that no changes have been made and I was ok to continue with the three classes I still had to take. The councilor told me to start school before the end of the year so if changes are made to the program, it would not affect me. In August of 2015 I applied for financial aid and completed the documents GCU required from me to start my classes. When I spoke to a GCU councilor over the phone they also agreed to only having three classes to complete my Bachelors Degree. In September I was asked to resign an enrollment agreement and send it in as soon as I can so I can start my classes. After signing and sending in the paper, I get a phone call from a student councilor telling me that I have to take twice the amount of classes because GCU has changed the requirements for the same degree. I was shocked and disappointed, I told the councilor no one has notified me of this until now. The student councilor said she will verify and call me back the next day. The next day, she said that I do need to take six classes now instead of only three that I had left to complete. I spoke to the student councilor's manager also but she was not able to help me. GCU should honor the original contract I signed, I have spent thousands of dollars to complete classes which have been now taken out of the program. Student councilor's are giving inaccurate information that has lead me to waste time and money. I was assured that I would have no issues as long as I get back to school in 2015 by a GCU councilor.Desired Settlement: I ask GCU to honor the original agreement and allow me to finish my degree by taking the three classes I have left, or I ask for a refund for the courses that I have completed but are now replaced by new courses that I have to spend thousands of dollars of my hard earned money to complete.

Business

Response:

Dear Revdex.com,Grand Canyon University (“GCU”) is in receipt of Ms. [redacted] complaint and we value the opportunity to respond. The issue has been reviewed by the College of Nursing Health Care Professions [redacted] and based on that review, GCU has determined that Ms. [redacted] complaint was appropriately resolved. This determination is based on the following information:On May 1, 2014 Ms. [redacted] spoke with her Student Services Advisor, [redacted] and stated that she was going to “sit out for a while”. On May 18, 2014 Ms. [redacted] unsuccessfully completed [redacted]. This was her last day of attendance with GCU. Between June 24, 2014 and July 18, 2014 Ms. [redacted] attempted to contact Ms. [redacted] numerous times via telephone and email in order to discuss her return however, she was unable to reach her. On August 15, 2014 Ms. [redacted] spoke with Ms. [redacted] and confirmed she would return to her classes on October 6, 2014. However, on September 12, 2014 Ms. [redacted] received notice that the October 6, 2014 class was shut down so she placed Ms. [redacted] into the September 29, 2014 course instead and attempted to reach her to inform her of this information. Ms. [redacted] was unable to reach her by phone so she sent her a detailed email with the information. On October 2, 2014 another SSA attempted to reach Ms. [redacted] as she did not post into the course. As GCU was unable to reach Ms. [redacted] she was removed from the course for nonattendance. Ms. [redacted] next course was scheduled to begin on November 10, 2014; however, Ms. [redacted] did not post into this course either so again, she was removed from the course for nonattendance. At this point, Ms. [redacted] was out of attendance for over 180 days thus she would have needed to complete a new Enrollment Agreement and would now fall under the current version of her program. If Ms. [redacted] had returned by October 27, 2014 she would have remained in the previous version and would have had only three courses remaining to complete her program of study. However, GCU was unable to reach Ms. [redacted] until January 22, 2014 at which time Ms. [redacted] spoke with her about returning, sent her a new agreement and advised her that she would now fall under the new program. Ms. [redacted] never returned the new enrollment agreement. GCU did not hear from Ms. [redacted] again until August 2015 and since she was out of attendance for so long, she was considered a new enrollment. Ms. [redacted] Enrollment Counselor informed her of this but to date, Ms. [redacted] has not re-enrolled with GCU.In addition to the above information, by signing her enrollment agreement on October 12, 2012, Ms. [redacted] acknowledged her understanding that all University programs follow a Program of Study which can be changed by the University at any time.Since Ms. [redacted] still had three courses remaining in order to complete her degree at the time she fell out of attendance, an approved appeal would be needed for GCU to put her into her prior program version. Ms. [redacted] can submit an appeal requesting to return to the retired program version to finish degree requirements and if the appeal is approved GCU will be able to re-enroll Ms. [redacted] into her previous program version. Appeals procedures can be found in the Student Policy handbook on page 67. Students must initiate the appeal by contacting their Student Services Advisor. The Student Services Advisor will gather the information and route to the appropriate parties at the university. All supporting documentation should clearly and explicitly describe the appeal (including the actual policy being appealed), demonstrating he or she attempted in good faith to resolve the issues with the involved parties. Students are strongly encouraged to discuss the intended appeal with a Student Services Advisor prior to submission. On September 23, 2015 Student Services Manager, [redacted] sent Ms. [redacted] a detailed email with this information. However, to date, Ms. [redacted] has not contacted him or anyone else at GCU regarding an appeal. GCU takes student complaints very seriously and does everything it can to resolve them in an amicable manner. I hope the aforementioned information will bring this matter to a satisfactory conclusion. Sincerely,[redacted]Regional Director of OperationsCollege of Nursing and Health Care ProfessionsGrand Canyon University

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

I have been communicating with [redacted]. I have submitted an appeal form on 10/01/2015 through e-mail to [redacted]. He said he has submitted my appeal and it will take upto 15 days to receive the response for my appeal through e-mail. I have not received a response yet.

Review: I attended this school for online classes, I completed one class and dropped all others. I was awarded financial aid which was refunded back to the department of education once I left the school. Now Grand Canyon University is trying to collect for the dropped classes. They are trying to make me resonsible for classes that I did not even take, all because they refunded financial back to the department of education.

This is prohibiting me from starting another college locally because they will not release my transcripts without my balance being paid. I do not feel that I am responisble for this balance as I dropped the classes in time. They are not willing to work with me on a payment plan, they are referring to a third party and told me that the third party will also not be willing to work with me to get my transcripts.

I will also be disputing this on my credit reports if I find it on there.Desired Settlement: I would like this balance waived as I do not see why I am responsible for classes I did not take and have my official transcripts sent to my new college immediately. At the very least I would like a letter sent to my new college on their official letterhead stating what classes I took and which ones I dropped.

Business

Response:

See attachment.

Review: I am a current student at Grand Canyon University. My issue is in regards to housing for spring semester 2015. I am currently in student housing at an off campus location. Per GCU policy and deadlines, I notified my advisor that I would not be needing student housing for the spring semester 2015, as I was just recently married. I expected that when my [redacted] student loan funds were disbursed for next semester, housing would not have to be included. My student advisor informed me that I would HAVE to pay for student housing next semester even though I do not plan on living in any GCU associated housing. The problem with this, is that on the withdraw website, it clearly states that I should be reimbursed accordingly. I am not being reimbursed, even though it says I should be, since I gave ample notice.Desired Settlement: Not required to pay for housing that I do not need or want!

Business

Response:

Dear Revdex.com,Grand Canyon University (“GCU”) is in receipt of Ms[redacted] complaint and we value the opportunity to respond. The issue has been reviewed by the [redacted] Regional Director of Operations, [redacted] and, based on that review; GCU has determined that Ms. [redacted] complaint was appropriately resolved.It is Ms. [redacted] contention that she recently requested to drop her housing for the Spring 2015 semester at her [redacted] student housing location due to her recent marriage and that she did not discover until after doing so that the [redacted] housing location is charged on an academic year (Fall & Spring) rather than a term basis. On October 16, 2014 Ms. [redacted] completed a withdraw form and acknowledged that she had read and understood GCU’s Housing Reimbursement Policy. See Attached. Per GCU’s housing policy this was well past the July 1, 2014 deadline to receive 100% reimbursement of rent charges. In addition, [redacted] residents are charged by the academic year and will be reimbursed accordingly. In addition to the above information, GCU provides students ample housing notifications regarding deadlines, timelines, and information around reimbursements. GCU Housing policies to include the policy for [redacted] housing is located in the GCU Housing Application and the Student Policy Handbook. As well, supporting emails are provided to students prior to cancelation deadlines. See Attached GCU takes student complaints very seriously and does everything it can to resolve them in an amicable manner. I hope the aforementioned information will bring this matter to a satisfactory conclusion. Sincerely,[redacted]Traditional Campus OperationsRegional Director of OperationsGrand Canyon University

Review: In February I was given a stipend from my college. I called and asked them about it. They said it is mine to buy supplies. So I did just that. I purchased a new laptop, because I attend online school, and I also bought supplies. They are now trying to tell me it was sent to me in error. Well I called them to ask them about it and they said it was mine! Now they are claiming they will send me to collections if I do not send them money. I am not paying them for THEIR MISTAKE!Desired Settlement: I would like them to take this loss because it is THEIR error. I do not feel I should have to pay them back considering it was their mistake and they knew they sent me the stipend even after I called them about it. They still insisted it was mine. Therefore, I owe them nothing.

Business

Response:

Dear Revdex.com,Grand Canyon University (“GCU”) is in receipt of Ms. [redacted]’s complaint and we value the opportunity to respond. The issue has been reviewed by the Regional Director of Operations, [redacted]. Based on that review, GCU has determined that Ms. [redacted]’s complaint was appropriately resolved. This determination is based on the following information:In Ms. [redacted]’s complaint she feels she should be entitled to an over-awarded stipend check. She received a stipend check in the amount of $3,721.45 in February, 2015. GCU does inform its students that per Title IV regulations stipends are to be used for educational purposes only. The reason why the stipend was not for the correct amount was primarily caused by a schedule change. On January 9, 2015 Ms. [redacted] made a request to change her program of study from a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education to a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature. She had her program change take effect on February 5, 2015. She was currently in a course ([redacted]) which was scheduled to complete on March 15, 2015. This means her Student Advising team had a deadline of March 15, 2015 to schedule her new classes for her new program. The GCU Accounting department cut her next scheduled stipend on February 10, 2015 but there were no future courses scheduled at that point due the program change. Our Student Advising team did get the future courses scheduled on February 18, 2015 but by that point the stipend had already been sent to the student. Ms. [redacted] was told twice to return the stipend (phone calls on 2/18/15 and 2/26/15) to cover her out of pocket obligation within two weeks of the stipend being cut. Even though the stipend was for the incorrect amount she would have received a stipend $709.55 for the current academic year (AY) had she stayed in her current program of study. The team also instructed her that returning the money would be required in order to fund the remainder of her education. Her current balance is $3901.90 and as long as she continues to the next course, she will then be eligible for $890 as a Persistence Scholarship (only if she passes the next course) and this would then bring her balance to $3011.90 which she would be responsible for. I called and left a voicemail with Ms. [redacted] on May 27, 2015 and May 28.2015 to explain the situation and offer my assistance. She did email her Student Advising team on May 27, 2015 in response to this situation. In the email she stated she already cashed and spent the stipend; however, she would only be able to do a payment plan of $100.00 per month. As long as Ms. [redacted] is willing to make $100.00 monthly payments then we should be able to make an arrangement at a later date to help scholarship her on the rest of the outstanding balance as long as she maintains her current GPA or better (3.45). As soon as I speak with Ms. [redacted] I will inform her that we also have a university appeal process she can complete. I will email her the appeal form and provide her with further instructions.GCU takes student complaints very seriously and does everything it can to resolve them in an amicable manner. I hope the aforementioned information/actions will bring this matter to a satisfactory conclusion. Sincerely,[redacted]Regional Director of Operations Grand Canyon University

Review: I was recently enrolled at Grand Canyon University and decide to withdrawal from the university, because thge instructor was not teaching me anything and they were very expensive. Furthermore, this was the second week in the beginning of class on July 14, 2015, when I dropped this class ( BIO-220). Now they are trying to charge me 1,753.08 for a class I did not complete. I did not even complete the the second week and had 6 weeks to go. I would like to file a complaint about them charging me for a class I did not complete, and they applied my 5.00 transcript toward the balance without my permission, and it was paid through my credit card. I would like for them to be investigated because I did not complete the class they are trying to charge me for. I did my research and other students filed a complaint against them for the same reason. Grand Canyon University is unprofessional and a ripoff.Desired Settlement: I would like my balance to be zero balance because I did not complete the class, and the instructor did not teach me anything. In fact, she never responded to any questions that the students had. She barely participated in the online classroom.

Business

Response:

Dear Revdex.com,Grand Canyon University (“GCU”) is in receipt of Ms. [redacted] complaint and we value the opportunity to respond. The issue has been reviewed by the Regional Director of Operations, Ian Flores, and based on that review, GCU has determined that Ms. [redacted] complaint was appropriately resolved. This determination is based on the following information:Ms. [redacted] enrolled with GCU starting in December of 2014. She completed her first payment period and moved into her second payment period starting on May 18, 2015. Ms. [redacted] Title IV funds posted to her account and covered the entire cost of her second payment period. Ms. [redacted] completed her first course of her second payment period and began course two on July 6, 2015 (BIO-220). Ms. [redacted] then decided to withdraw from the course on July 13, 2015 which would be in week two of the course. Per GCU Drop Policy (Page 86 of Policy Handbook):The University will refund tuition according to the following policy unless a student attending courses online is a resident of a state that requires the University to follow different guidelines. These state policies are listed in the State Refund Policies section of this handbook. Refer to the Official Enrollment Status Change section of the University Policy Handbook for a complete explanation of the University’s Withdrawal Policy. Nontraditional Students Students who drop/withdraw from a course/all courses are eligible for the following refund: Before Week 1................................................ 100% tuition refund During Week 1 ................................................. 75% tuition refund During or after Week 2 ................................................... No refund Therefore Ms. [redacted] is responsible for the full cost of her course based on her time posting into her BIO-220 course.In addition to the above information, once Ms. [redacted] withdrew from her course, the Office of Financial Aid was required to calculate a Return of Title IV funds, which in-turn required GCU to send back any financial aid Ms. [redacted] had not earned for her payment period. Ms. [redacted] received a $3,471.15 stipend check on June 8, 2015 after all her course tuition and fees were covered. However, when Ms. [redacted] fell out of attendance the Office of Financial Aid returned $2,968 in Unsubsidized loans and $611 of Subsidized loans back to her lender which created the $1,753.05 balance which Ms. [redacted] currently owes to GCU. Ms. [redacted] did not meet the requirements needed to earn her financial aid including the stipend which she received.In regards to the $5.00 transcript fee, the fee was applied correctly to the request and the $5.00 payment was not applied towards Ms. [redacted] current balance owed to GCU. The $5 transcript fee was processed on July 21, 2015 and a copy of Ms. [redacted] official transcripts were mailed to Stockton University, per Ms. [redacted] request. Per GCU records, Ms. [redacted] file at GCU has been handled appropriately and correctly per GCU policies and the Department of Education. We will continue to work with Ms. [redacted] if she wishes to return back to GCU to complete her degree.GCU takes student complaints very seriously and does everything it can to resolve them in an amicable manner. I hope the aforementioned information will bring this matter to a satisfactory conclusion. Sincerely,[redacted], Regional Director of OperationsCollege of Nursing and Healthcare ProfessionalsGrand Canyon University

Review: I attended GCU for about 3 weeks. During that time, GCU led me to believe that all transcript and financial aid matters had been completed. On 9/3/15, GCU told me that [redacted] was auditing me. Due to personal matters, on 9/5/15, I notified GCU that I could not longer attend. However, GCU then claimed that [redacted] had not covered the tuition for that class due to due to suspicious attendance [redacted]erns, hence the 9/3/15 "audit." Well, anything that might be suspicious did not occur until 2 days after GCU claimed that the audit started.

Now, GCU is charging me personally for over $2300. GCU claims that since they did not finish billing [redacted] before I left class, they cannot do it now. GCU said that the only way for me to have [redacted] cover this bill would be for me to re-enroll in that class (costing a new tuition). This sounds like fraud against the government plus blackmail, or at least a scam to force me to keep attending (and having [redacted] pay).

Furthermore, this ~$2300 bill is for much more than the per-course tuition that I had been quoted before I started attending.

I feel like I was given bad information. I might not have stopped attending if I had been told that the student loan had not been processed yet. I also would not have applied for GCU, a for-profit college, if they had been honest about what they actually charge.

After just 3 weeks (out of 8) of attending the first class at a college, the student should not have to pay over $2300.Desired Settlement: Reduced bill (for tuition only), [redacted] coverage, or zero bill

Business

Response:

Dear Revdex.com,Grand Canyon University (“GCU”) is in receipt of Mr. [redacted] complaint and we value the opportunity to respond. The issue has been reviewed by the Executive Director of Student Services, [redacted], and based on that review, GCU has determined that Mr. [redacted] complaint was appropriately resolved. However, as a measure of goodwill, GCU is willing to write off the Learning Management Fee in the amount of $400 based on the following information:At the time Mr. [redacted] submitted his 15/16 [redacted] to GCU, the [redacted]’s c-code 359 for unusual enrollment was only applicable to undergraduate learners who were receiving PELL grants. As of July 1, 2015, those students who began a new academic year under 15/16 [redacted] and who received the unusual enrollment c-code 359, that c-code was now applicable to students at all levels who were applying for [redacted] Loans. Mr. [redacted] account was financially cleared on 8/12/15 to start classes on 8/20/15. Mr. [redacted] received a welcome call from his Student Services Advisor (SSA) on 8/18/15 to review the University’s financial and academic policies prior to starting his program. During this call, Mr. [redacted] was fully informed of the in-class posting requirements, the financial aid processing time of 30-45 days from the start of his program, as well as the financial implications associated with dropping a course. These policies are also available for public viewing on the GCU website in the Policy Handbook. At that time, the c-code 359 was not noticed on the [redacted] by the SSA.On 8/29/15, the SSA was reviewing Mr. [redacted] financial aid status, and noticed a comment entered by the Office of Financial Aid that informed us that due to the 359 C-code populated by the [redacted], Mr. [redacted] needed to provide unofficial transcripts from colleges attended over the last four years in order to move forward with financial aid processing. On 8/29/15, Mr. [redacted] was notified that GCU needed to secure the following transcripts:For the 11/12 aid year: transcripts from [redacted]- SacramentoFor the 12/13 aid year: transcripts from [redacted] – University CampusFor the 13/14 aid year: [redacted] and [redacted]-University Campus.For the 14/15 aid year – [redacted].Unfortunately, Mr. [redacted] ceased attending class as of 9/5/15, which is well after the published refund policy for tuition and prior to providing the above transcripts so that his financial aid could be processed. Since Mr. [redacted] ceased attending classes prior to financial aid being processed, GCU cannot bring in financial aid to cover the tuition and fees incurred. Further, Mr. [redacted] did not consult his SSA to discuss his intentions of not continuing in class so they could reiterate the information about the financial policy that was reviewed in the 8/18/15. While published policy states that Mr. [redacted] owes 100% of the tuition and fees incurred since he dropped his class after the published tuition deadline, and prior to financial aid being processed, GCU is willing to write off the Learning Management Fee which is charged to all new learners in the amount of $400 as a measure of good will. Mr. [redacted] will then be responsible for tuition and book fees only. Tuition for the course he attended is $1,890 plus the cost of his electronic books is $105 for a total amount of $1,995. GCU has further applied his military discount in the amount of $94.50 to reduce the total amount owed to GCU of $1,900.50. We hope this gesture will meet Mr. [redacted] request as outlined in his complaint.GCU takes student complaints very seriously and does everything it can to resolve them in an amicable manner. I hope the aforementioned information/actions will bring this matter to a satisfactory conclusion. Sincerely,[redacted]College of Doctoral StudiesGrand Canyon University

Review: My problem with Grand Canyon is that they continue to bill for classes never taken, When I signed to take Business accounting classes, I explained to the Counselor and also the Financial counselor that I wanted to process my financial application first and then start the classes . Since, I did not wanted to be stuck with a bill, The counselor guaranteed me that will not be the case. He proceeded to signed me up for two classes, once my financial aid came back, he told me that they only approved around 2,000 dollars and he added that, I would not be able to continue with the program, so he stated that my class was covered but he deleted the rest of the upcoming classes, when the semester was over, they proceeded to bill me up for 2,000 for a class that I did not signed up for, nor taken. My counselor stated that he would fix the problem but the problem was never handled. I expressly stated in my application that I was unemployed I could not afford to pay for classes and that I was relying on financial assistance. These people ignore my concerns where I stated that in the application and in every recorded conversation with my counselor. I do not owed these people a penny! I later on had a medical emergency, I had to battle for my life so, that is why it took me sometime to make this complaint.Desired Settlement: I want them to remove all the charges in my account, since I did not take any additional classes, and I explained to the enrollment counselor, financial counselor and it was even recorded that I WAS SOLELY counting on FINANCIAL AID ASSISTANCE, that without it, it was impossible to pay for tuition. I need them to CLEAR my account or I will even join a collective law suit!!!!!!

Business

Response:

Dear Revdex.com,Grand Canyon University (“GCU”) is in receipt of Ms. [redacted] complaint and we value the opportunity to respond. The issue has been reviewed by the Business Division Regional Director of Operations, Brett M[redacted] and, based on that review, GCU has determined that Ms. [redacted] complaint was appropriately resolved. This determination is based on the following information:Per GCU records, Ms. [redacted] only completed one course in GCU’s Master of Business Administration program; Leadership and Organizations (MGT605). Ms. [redacted] successfully completed the course with an “A” and was charged tuition accordingly for the cost of the class in the amount $2,285. In addition, she was charged $400 for the Learning Management Fee (LMS) which all students pay, for a total of $2,685 in tuition and fees. Ms. [redacted] was close to her aggregate limits for financial aid, meaning that she was only eligible for $1,980 in student loans and this was to be broken into two disbursements as financial aid is based on earned credits and weeks completed in a payment period. Thus, Ms. [redacted] received her first disbursement of financial aid, in the amount of $990 which was for two courses (8 credits and 16 weeks). However, since she only completed one class, the Office of Financial Aid had to complete a review to determine how much funding was earned and had to return any unearned funding to the lender. As a result, the Office of Financial Aid was required to return $495 to the student’s lender. Additionally, the second disbursement did not occur as Ms. [redacted] was not eligible since she did not attend anymore classes. Following is a breakdown outlining this information.

I'm curently in my senior year at Grand Canyon University with four classes remaining to graduation. I was suppose to graduate May 2015 however doesn't look like that will happen. I was told that I max out my financial aid for this school year of 2014 and until I take another class and pass it that financial aid will not give the school anymore money. So I will have to pay out of pocket 1945 in order to start a new class. But I currently only have 330 some dollars available to use which is not enough to cover for the next class. I'm so upset that in my senior year I have to pay for school already and I haven't even graduated yet. I thought this was supose to be a Christian school however their more concerned about money and not about students.

Review: I enrolled in Grand Canyon University. During the first week of the regular class I had told my counselor that I wanted to drop out, because I don't learn well by just reading. I had never been to an online school, so I did not know exactly what it had entailed. The counselor said he would call me back the next day, which would have been Friday. I waited for the call, but he never called. I tried contacting him, but with no success. Then I finally got through to him the following Monday, after the deadline for withdrawl. He had told me the previous Thursday that the deadline to drop out was that Sunday. By that Monday when I got through to him, I thought it was too late to drop out. So, I attempted to stay in the class. A few days later I was not able to log into the class. I tried calling tech support multiple times, but was unable to get through. I tried calling the teacher, but no luck. Since I was hardly able to do any class w9rk, the school still wants me to pay.Desired Settlement: Not to have to pay anything to the school.

Business

Response:

Grand Canyon University (“GCU”) is in receipt of Mr. [redacted]’s complaint and we value the opportunity to respond. The issue has been reviewed by the Associate Vice President, College of Education, [redacted] and, based on that review; GCU has determined that Mr. [redacted]’s complaint was appropriately resolved. This determination is based on the following information: By signing his Enrollment Agreement Mr. [redacted] acknowledged having received Grand Canyon University’s Policy Handbook, Academic Catalog and Student Handbook available to him at the website: www.gcu.edu/Admissions/Admissions/php and that he understood he could receive the most up-to-date information at the above site regarding all University policies, including cancellation and refund policies. Per University policy, students who drop a course during or after week 2 are not eligible for a refund. On May 29, 2014, Mr. [redacted] spoke with his Enrollment Counselor and expressed concerns with his online course. During this call, Mr. [redacted]’s Enrollment Counselor reviewed GCU’s drop/refund policy with Mr. [redacted]. Mr. [redacted] indicated he was not aware of the policy but stated that while he did not want to drop his class, he did want to think about it as at that point in time, Mr. [redacted] would have been responsible for 25% of the cost of his course if he chose to drop it. On June 2, 2014 Mr. [redacted] spoke with his Enrollment Counselor again and stated that he had decided not to drop his course and that he wanted to continue in his program. However, soon after, Mr. [redacted] stopped attending his course and became less responsive to multiple attempts from GCU staff to contact him regarding his course and his intentions. As Mr. [redacted] was already in week 2 of his course and never dropped his course he is responsible for 100% of the tuition cost for his course. In addition to the above information, per University records, Mr. [redacted] did contact GCU technical support. However, this was prior to his complaints that he was unable to submit his assignments. Based upon the above information, Mr. [redacted] is responsible for the cost of his course. However, GCU is open to working with Mr. [redacted] on a possible resolution although Mr. [redacted] will simply not return any calls from GCU. He is more than welcome to contact me at ###-###-#### in order to discuss a possible resolution regarding his account balance. GCU takes student complaints very seriously and does everything it can to resolve them in an amicable manner. I hope the aforementioned information will bring this matter to a satisfactory conclusion. Sincerely, [redacted] College of Education SE Division Grand Canyon University

Review: My names is [redacted] and I am writing to you today because I feel as if I have been cheated by Grand Canyon University by having my time and money wasted. I literally broke down in tears at work because I after a big run around and no response from counselors called GCU to find out if they have received my transcripts and what my total GPA was now with the new grades included. I was planning on applying for spring nursing program 2015 and deadline being so close I was anxious with it being on September15th. I was told that the classes I am transferring from community college qualifies as meeting requirements for pre req’s needed to be accepted but would not change my GPA. That I have to have had taken the courses at GCU to affect my GPA. Now I have been going to GCU on and off since 2013 possibly earlier. I have been getting misinformed and told incorrect information since I have been going here. At first I began attending there as an athletic training major was told and given the impression that I would be graduating within a year or year and a half because they had semesters that had classes summer fall and spring which would help me finish faster. So I signed up and agreed to attend. The short amount of time was because I had the majority of pre req’s already prior to attending from community college which at that time were included in my GPA for Grand Canyon. So after I had started and was moving on to my second semester they told me they don't have summer just spring and fall semesters. It is now going to take two years to two and a half years instead because certain classes are only offered during specific times. So I was upset and said I did not agree to attending for that long e decided to then look into other majors and found nursing best suited since most of the classes I had already taken would qualify towards those requirements. They said my GPA was currently a 2.9 and needed a 3.0 to be considered. I asked if I would have to take classes there or can I finish my pre req’s at community college they said to save me some money to take classes at community college and specified which ones to take that matched their class description requirements and that way I can also boost up my GPA to where it needs to be. So I went back making sure to pay out of pocket as advised so this way I would be able to utilize my financial aid upon return when continuing the nursing program if accepted. So now I am being told I basically cannot start and have to go back to Grand Canyon to retake classes to boost my GPA at a greater expense and most likely have to take out student loans because the person I spoke with today said sorry for the miscommunication but now stated in our student handbooks. Mind you that since 2013 I have changed several counselors have had several meetings in person with counselors as well as phone calls verifying each step I need to take to stay on track as well as making sure what they told me was correct each time because I had kept getting misinformed. I am just trying to finish school as soon as possible so I can provide for my daughter. I am a single mother who works and goes to school full time. I would have never thought that with Grand Canyon being a division one university to be so unorganized and so misleading. The biggest part is that they advertise they are a Christian school and I have never in my life felt so fooled, cheated, and basically they are stealing my money and my time with their miscommunications. This is unacceptable in so many ways I have already paid for my fingerprint card, background check, transcripts, and I just paid out of pocket for summer courses as well as the ones I am currently taking this fall which I can no longer drop out of, and also paid for my hesi exam. How on earth did I basically waste two years of time and money thinking that I would be a nurse with a bachelor’s degree one year from now and now all that is taken away by one phone call I made today. Please help me I don’t know what to do and honestly barely have any time to handle such a terrible stress and situation or where to even begin!Desired Settlement: I would like the 70 dollars it cost me to pay for a backgroud check to be refunded to me as well as something to be done about what has happened to me I wuold like to know what can be done because this is not right at all and I have attached proof of what I have been told thru some emails I have kept. the exact wording specifies what I have been told as well as apparently mislead to think I was well on my way to being able to apply for nursing everything I was told was apparently wrong according to the recent people I have talked to and said it would be best to wait to apply in the fall of next year.

Business

Response:

Dear Revdex.com,

Grand Canyon University (“GCU”) is in receipt of Ms. [redacted]’s complaint and we value the opportunity to respond. The issue has been reviewed by the Ground Traditional Campus, Associate Vice President, [redacted] and, based on that review; GCU has determined that Ms. [redacted]’s complaint was appropriately resolved.

This determination is based on the following information:

While Ms. [redacted] believes she was misinformed, her earned grades and her choice of changing her program have impacted her time to receive her degree. GCU proposes that Mr. [redacted] consider programs without competitive admissions that have more room for transfer credits.

Per University records, Ms. [redacted] first attended GCU in 2010 by enrolling in the Athletic Training Program, for one semester then she returned in 2013, three years later. When she returned in the Fall of 2013, Ms. [redacted] began her reenrollment in the Athletic Training program, and took courses that applied to her previous enrollment; the Athletic Training Program.

Ms. [redacted] then began exploring the possibility of changing her major several times and ultimately decided she wanted to apply for the Nursing program. GCU responded to the requests made by Ms. [redacted], including her desire to change her degree to nursing, documented in the Pre-Licensure Program Notice of Intent to Attend signed by Ms. [redacted] on December 23, 2013. See attached. As a result, Ms. [redacted] took classes related to the Nursing degree at GCU for the Spring 2014 term only. Ms. [redacted] also took courses at Phoenix and Mesa Community Colleges in Summer 2014, which GCU applied to her Nursing Program at GCU appropriately.

As for Ms. [redacted]’s complaint regarding the nursing program and its GPA requirements, when Ms. [redacted] signed the above referenced Pre-Licensure Program Notice of Intent to Attend she initialed understanding the requirements that students must meet, including having a 3.0 pre-requite course GPA. It also states this is a competitive admissions program. Ms. [redacted] retook course content in which she did average or poorly at the Community College, to demonstrate she could master the content, which is a requirement for admissions into the program. This was in her best interest financially.

In addition to the above information, GPAs do not transfer into the educational institutions. However, for the purpose of pre-req a GPA is calculated for science courses and pre-req courses that does take into account grades earned at all institutions. Ms. [redacted]’s GPAs for prerequisite work is 2.75 and she has a 2.8 science GPA with her community college work. This is a mathematical calculation, and there is no subjectivity to that. Therefore, Ms. [redacted]’s GPA is directly related to the grades she earned.

GCU has determined there was no mis-advisement and proper protocol was followed with Ms. [redacted]. GCU takes student complaints very seriously and does everything it can to resolve them in an amicable manner. I hope the aforementioned information/actions will bring this matter to a satisfactory conclusion.

Sincerely,

GCU Traditional Campus

Grand Canyon University

Review: Post masters graduation, or perhaps, any graduation, could and likely does requires that the post grad students produce different correspondence with their graduate school, so to have ongoing verifications available for their different career needs, like state licensing, testing and/or jobs etc. One might like to believe that it's limited to just an ordering of transcripts, but in fact, the need goes far beyond transcripts. I am a graduate counselor and already need several items, such as practicum hours verification, degree verification, and so on. I had had an issue earlier with one student representative who never replied, so I wrote the [redacted], and I got connected with someone swiftly and he has been great to work with. However we're at an issue now where he is getting derailed by the system, nobody is responding to our needs to communicate. I asked him for degree verification and it took weeks to clarify a correct path for access, then once I did my part in offering the form, it's now been a month and the state (who is requiring the correspondence) has not received anything and the student representative can not locate answers from the supposedly responsible party within the schoolDesired Settlement: If I paid for school to allow for this correspondence and I'm not getting it post-graduation, then please refund parts of my tuition. I am now wasting time and losing money in work progress due to the school's delay. Who is accountable to that? Please make a solid channel for these correspondence needs for future issues that I or another student would have available to move swiftly through resolution with a student rep. Whoever is responsible to creating the proper channel functioning of these post graduate needs, is not doing their job. I have heard many other students complain. GCU needs to be accountable to the post graduation needs a lot more strongly

Business

Response:

Dear [redacted],

Grand Canyon University (“GCU”) is in receipt of Mr. [redacted] complaint and we value the opportunity to respond. The issue has been reviewed by [redacted], Assistant Vice President [redacted] and, based on that review; GCU has determined that Mr. [redacted] complaint requires no further action. This determination is based on the following information:

Per University records, on September 25, 2014 Mr. [redacted] submitted a document for GCU to complete regarding his state licensing; however the form was submitted incomplete. On October 2, 2014 Mr. [redacted] resubmitted the form. On November 12, 2014, the form was completed by GCU and was mailed via [redacted] to Mr. [redacted] at GCU’s expense. GCU also noticed that although it was not requested by Mr., [redacted] when he submitted his form, an official transcript was needed along with the completed form. As such, on November 13, 2014 GCU sent the completed form along with an official transcript to Mr. [redacted]. In addition, [redacted], Student Services Manager, contacted Mr. [redacted] to address his complaint and to provide him with this information. As well, Mr. [redacted] sent an electronic version of the documents via email to Mr. [redacted] and also provided the [redacted] tracking number. Mr. [redacted] appreciated the call and getting the documentation completed. GCU apologizes for any inconvenience this delay has caused.

GCU takes student complaints very seriously and does everything it can to resolve them in an amicable manner. I hope the aforementioned actions will bring this matter to a satisfactory conclusion.

Sincerely,

Assistant Vice President

Grand Canyon University

Review: I entered into an online Master's program with GCU in July of 2015. One week into the program I traveled out of state for family business, notified my professor and submitted my assignments due before departing. Four days later I received email notification that my assignments were missing; in a pending status and needed to be resubmitted. This is not why I am writing, but this triggered the following events to transpire.

I requested policy information from my GCU contact (DF) via email requesting details about the drop deadlines and procedures. I heard back from DF several days later..... several days after the drop deadline. The program week cycles are Thursday to Wednesday evening at 12am. The heaviest traffic is on weekends. Since my email request for help was prior to the weekend (traditional non business days) I would have expected to receive a timely response within 24hrs to have made my request to withdraw prior to the deadline. Since my request was acknowledged several days later, the deadline had passed and now I am handed a $970.88 bill.

I believe that if I had had timely customer service (email response), then I would not have this bill.

And, regarding the bill, I had applied for student loans to cover the costs. Once my withdrawal was processed, I received notification from the lender that I had utilized 6.4% of the aid ($234.40) and the remaining 93.60% ($3,426.70) would be returned to the lender. My loan was pro-rated to accommodate my withdrawal. GCU on the other hand, did NOT pro-rate. Instead, I am being held responsible for an additional $736.48 to cover e-books and a MS Office technology subscription that were cancelled the day the withdrawal was processed. I think these services ought to be pro-rated as well and I requested such several times from GCU. GCU is not listening to my request.

Because I have been threatened with collection action, I sent a $50.00 installment payment. It will be in tomorrow's (9/8/2015) mail. I still disagree with the bill and stated such to the GCU contact and his manager.

I sincerely hope that consumers (myself included) have some protections in cases such as these.

Thank you for your concern and support in this matter.Desired Settlement: I am willing to repay the $234.40 of aid received.

I am unwilling to pay the full face values charged for services that were terminated upon dissolution of our relationship. These charges ought to be pr-rated as well. Since the situation itself arose from poor customer service.

Business

Response:

Dear Revdex.com,Grand Canyon University (“GCU”) is in receipt of Ms. [redacted] complaint and we value the opportunity to respond. The issue has been reviewed by the Associate Vice President, [redacted] and, based on that review, GCU has determined that Ms. [redacted] complaint was appropriately resolved. This determination is based on the following information:Ms. [redacted] started class with GCU on 7/9/2015 and withdrew from class on 7/21/2015 with her last date of attendance on 7/17/2015. GCU’s Course Tuition Refund police as outlined in the student handbook states that there will be no tuition refunded during or after the second week of class. GCU records indicate that Ms. [redacted] was actively attending her online class between 7/9/15 and 7/17/15 thus all charges are valid. In addition to the above information, prior to starting class Ms. [redacted] received a welcome call in which the drop policy was covered. That call took place on 5/28/2015. Leading up to the call Ms. [redacted]’ Student Services Advisor (SSA), [redacted] attempted to contact her sooner for the welcome call on 5/18/2015, 5/21/2015 and 5/27/2015 and when he was unable to reach Ms. [redacted], he sent emails to her regarding GCU policies which included the refund policy. In all three of those emails the following information was outlined:Drop Policy: If a course is dropped prior to the start date you will not be charged for the course. If you start a course and formally request to drop before week 1 ends you will be charged 25% for that course (canyon connect charge remains the same). If you drop or request to drop on or after day one of week two you will be charged the full course tuition.As well, the following refund policy is also outlined in the GCU Student Handbook: Course Tuition Refund – (Page 85 of Student Handbook)The University will refund tuition according to the following policy unless a student attending courses online is a resident of a state that requires the University to follow different guidelines. These state policies are listed in the State Refund Policies section of this handbook. Refer to the Official Enrollment Status Change section of the University Policy Handbook for a complete explanation of the University’s Withdrawal Policy.Nontraditional StudentsStudents who drop/withdraw from a course/all courses are eligible for the following refund:Before Week 1................................................ 100% tuition refundDuring Week 1 ................................................. 75% tuition refundDuring or after Week 2 ................................................... No refundGCU records also indicate that SSA [redacted] reached out to Ms. [redacted] on 7/16/2015. He left her a voicemail and also sent her an email in regards to her low grades in the class and advised her to email her instructor if she was having any issues in her course as she was coming down to the final two weeks of class. On 7/17/2015 Ms. [redacted] replied that she was away from home and with her parents back east for their 50th wedding anniversary party but that she would email that day. However, the next email received from Ms. [redacted] was not until 7/23/2015 in which she stated that she wanted to withdraw from her class. Therefore, as stated above Ms. [redacted] balance is due and owing.GCU takes student complaints very seriously and does everything it can to resolve them in an amicable manner. I hope the aforementioned information will bring this matter to a satisfactory conclusion. Sincerely,[redacted]Southwest DivisionCollege of Education

Review: I recently signed up to attend Grand Canyon University and qualified for scholarships and financial aid. I found another education plan with my job and decided to accept that instead.

I was signed up with Grand Canyon since Sept 29,2015!and the class started on September 28th.. It's been 2 days and it's now October 1,2015.I was told if I leave today I will owe the school $935.00 in fees which I don't have.Desired Settlement: I would like for them to waive the fees.

Business

Response:

Dear Revdex.com,Grand Canyon University (“GCU”) is in receipt of Ms. [redacted] complaint and we value the opportunity to respond. The issue has been reviewed by the College of Education- Matthew N[redacted] and, based on that review, GCU has determined that Ms. [redacted] complaint requires further action. This determination is based on the following information:Ms. [redacted] started her classes on September 28th, 2015 with Grand Canyon University. Upon her starting her classes she received a thorough walk to class from her enrollment counselor Mike G[redacted] which outlined the expectations of Ms. [redacted] class. Three days after Ms. [redacted] started her class with GCU she contacted her assigned student service advisor, Catherine C[redacted] on October 1st, 2015 and requested to withdraw from the program because her school offered her a different academic option. Ms. C[redacted] let her know of the financial impact of withdrawing from the course and Ms. [redacted] stated that she would not be able to pay so she would let us know what she decides with her withdrawal. Approximately two hours later she contacted Ms. C[redacted] again and let her know of her formal request to withdrawal. At that point Ms. [redacted] was notified again of her financial responsibility in the amount of $925 since she did withdraw during the first week of her course. After leaving a voice message for Ms. [redacted] today, GCU has decided that in the interest of good customer service, GCU is willing to remove the $400 LMS fee from Ms. [redacted] account leaving a remaining tuition/fee b[redacted]ce of $525 that she will be responsible for paying. While Ms. [redacted] is fully responsible for the b[redacted]ce of $925 GCU does understand the student’s situation and would like to work with the student to resolve the b[redacted]ce. GCU takes student complaints very seriously and does everything it can to resolve them in an amicable manner. I hope the aforementioned information/actions will bring this matter to a satisfactory conclusion. Sincerely,Matthew N[redacted]College of EducationGrand Canyon University

Consumer

Response:

I am requesting that the full amount be waived

Business

Response:

Dear Revdex.com,Grand Canyon University (“GCU”) is in receipt of Ms. [redacted] complaint and we value the opportunity to respond. The issue has been reviewed by the College of Education- Matthew N[redacted] and, based on that review, GCU has determined that Ms. [redacted] complaint was appropriately resolved. This determination is based on the following information:Ms. [redacted] started her program with Grand Canyon University on September 28th, 2015. Two days later Ms. [redacted] contacted her student service advisor Catherine C[redacted] requesting to drop because she received communication that she was accepted into a different program through her work. The Ms. [redacted] requested to withdraw after posting into her class the first week which placed her in the 25% refund period. Grand Canyon University’s refund policy would require that Ms. [redacted] be responsible for the full $925 balance based on her attendance in her class. Ms. [redacted] contacted Grand Canyon University again after the initial Revdex.com response was submitted and stated that she found out she was not eligible for the new program that was offered to her through her work. At this time Ms. [redacted] had already officially withdrawn from GCU but has since asked to return to GCU. We have approved for her to return as of November 2nd, 2015. At this time the university will only offer to waive the 25% tuition that was previously charged as long as Ms. [redacted] completes the retake of the previously withdrawn class. The total amount eligible to be waived is ($440) and Ms. [redacted] will be responsible for the remaining balance of $485 because the LMS fee and Canyon Connect fees are non-refundable. This balance can be paid out of pocket by Ms. [redacted] or through the use of her future available financial aid funding upon her return to the university. If Ms. [redacted] chooses not to return she would be responsible for the $925 balance in full and due immediately. At this time, the university feels that this offer is more than reasonable based on Ms. [redacted] current situation. Mr. N[redacted] is in the process of contacting Ms. [redacted] to explain this to her voice to voice and to answer any questions she may have. GCU takes student complaints very seriously and does everything it can to resolve them in an amicable manner. I hope the aforementioned information/actions will bring this matter to a satisfactory conclusion. Sincerely,Matthew N[redacted]College of EducationGrand Canyon University