Another Question about GCU's Ph.D. in Psychology

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by PuppyMama, Feb 5, 2016.

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  1. expat_eric

    expat_eric New Member

    Hello Puppymama.

    It varies quite a bit based on each course. Right now, I am in a research methods course and it is on the higher side of the workload. We have 2 discussion boards each week and you must make at least 3 replies to other students during the week. That is normally pretty easy. Most courses have 2 papers and 1 or 2 smaller assignments during the 8 weeks. The course I am in now is quite a bit more. 6 out of 8 weeks have written assignments due and 4 weeks have SPSS assignments that are quite time consuming. I would stay I am spending about 20 hours a week between reading assigned material, discussion boards, written assignments and other assignments. I would say that an average course is less...maybe 10 - 15 hours a week.

    I saw your other posts about the residencies. I wish I could tell you otherwise, but the residencies are pretty much time sinks in my opinion. I think GCU added them to bring a bit more legitimacy to the programs. If you can get some good one on one time with the instructors then they are very worth it. If you just sit through the seminars then they are not all that worth it. I guess they do a good job at making dissertation expectations and process clear.

    That said, they seem to offer them all over the USA to make it as easy as possible for people to attend. I chose to attend in Phoenix in order to have a bit more connection to the campus.

    Good luck in your choice and feel free to shoot me any more questions.
     
  2. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

  3. Maxwell_Smart

    Maxwell_Smart Active Member

    That would be the worry, because the only people it would look more attractive to are people who don't know any better, which unfortunately includes a lot of people.

    I'm becoming increasingly concerned with the way For-Profit colleges are being viewed because of a handful of crummy schools that made some errors in judgement. It's silly, because many of the things that are being brought up are the same issues one can find at a non-profit school. The current witch hunt of For-Profit schools is as idiotic and misguided as the uneducated dopes who've crafted the ill-conceived Fight For $15 Movement.

    This new idea driven by our presstitute media that the non-profit is an angel and model of educational excellence is laughable. A school's quality is determined by a great deal of factors, none of which have to do with its tax status.

    I tell ya, the way people are easily persuaded to believe utter nonsense—and to believe it with deep conviction—is just at times frightening.
     
  4. sanantone

    sanantone Well-Known Member

    I hope GCU will eventually be allowed to return to non-profit status. It'll be more in line with its mission as a Christian university. They will also pay less in taxes and qualify for research grants as noted in the article Kizmet posted. Their graduate students and professors would benefit from research grants. It would help increase the status of the school.
     
  5. LearningAddict

    LearningAddict Well-Known Member

    I'm not making a judgement on GCU specifically, I don't know much about its quality. But aside from some new features, if by chance it is a bad school, being a non-profit won't change that since it's the personnel running the school that ultimately dictates its quality.
     
  6. sanantone

    sanantone Well-Known Member

    They would be operated by a different company. You can't tell me that shareholders don't have an influence on how an organization is operated. Their accreditor rejected their request to become a non-profit because they claim that the new plan still allowed for control by the for-profit company. But, I think GCU is more concerned about trying to be a Christian university, getting rid of the stigma of being a for-profit school, and saving money on taxes than improving the quality of education.
     
  7. LearningAddict

    LearningAddict Well-Known Member

    But would the faculty be totally different? Different Professors? Different course developers? Different Advisors, etc.?

    Of course it has an influence, just like the board of a non-profit has an influence.

    Perhaps there are other things to worry about besides a stigma that has generally grown out of anecdote and ignorance? Most For-Profit schools operate without issue, but because some investigations into some of the worst schools around that just happened to be For-Profit brought up some issues, now all For-Profit schools are the devil and must be rebuked. I feel like any school willing to fold up and go through an arduous restructuring process in response to that kind of rhetoric leaves me with questions about the strength of its leadership. For other reasons like the others you pointed out, I can agree with, but not for this.
     
  8. Tim D

    Tim D Member

  9. Tom729

    Tom729 New Member

    I am a relatively new student in the Ph.D program in general psychology. Prior to that I had earned 18 credits in ACE's Ed.D program. I made the choice to switch because I felt that the program was not for me. One important fact to consider about GCU is that for the majority of it's existence it was "not for profit" and because a for profit institution about 10 years ago as it was faced with financial difficulties. Now I hear that they may very well return revert back to not for profit.
     
  10. Tim D

    Tim D Member

    They were a non-profit School but hit some financial difficultly. That was when they were sold and became for-profit. The article I posted a couple of days ago, makes it seem very unlikely from them to go the non-profit route at this point. GCU wanted to split the company and create a for-profit branch(for the shareholders) that would sell the curriculum, market to the students and recruit students. The non-profit branch would be the school itself. That would pay the for profit for students and curriculum. The Higher Learning Commission said no. Which is understandable, as what is a school that does not control it's own curriculum and how do you accredit such? GCU currently has no plans to try and go non-profit as it can not keep HLC and it's shareholders happy.
     
  11. NMTTD

    NMTTD Active Member

    I actually do know several people here that do and did attend GCU. Not a single person had any complaints at all except that they didn't like that there's 3 or 4 christian classes built in to the curriculum. 2 of the ladies I know went on campus and said weekly chapel was manditory, which they did not like. Other than that, there haven't been any complaints that I'm aware of. As I said previously, it's a huge school with a gorgeous campus, it's really well known and well respected here, and they offer a TON of online programs, some which are harder to find. I really like them.
     

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