Grand Canyon University Ph.D. Questions

My dear new friends,

In another thread that I unintentionally hijacked, I asked some questions about Grand Canyon University and a couple of you were gracious enough to answer me (thank you, by the way!). Since I am seriously considering applying to this school for the PhD in psychology, I obviously need to be as informed as possible so I hope you will understand that I have more questions. I am hesitant to contact the school with all of my questions at this point because I understand they use aggressive recruiting tactics and I probably will not be able to begin until close to the beginning of next year. Also, I would like the perspective of actual students, not any potentially biased opinions of someone who stands to make a commission off of my enrollment. ;-) If you'd be so kind to answer any of my questions below, I'd be most grateful. I apologize in advance for the length of my post!

-Is the GRE required? I took the exam almost 5 years ago so I'm really hoping I will not have to retake it! If so, what is the score requirement?

-Are admissions rolling, or do I need to apply by a certain date and begin several months later? Hypothetically speaking, if I applied tomorrow, when could I begin my first course?

-What about letters of recommendation? My BA and MA are from state schools and all of my former professors have expressed disdain toward the for-profits. Call me a chicken, but I'm a little worried about asking them to write me letters of recommendation for a for-profit program. I'm sure they'd do it, but I'd rather not "hear about it." Could I use the letters that were used for my master's program, or do the letters have to be mailed directly from the authors?

-What are the other application materials? I am assuming transcripts, a writing sample or essay, possibly a résumé?? What about an interview? Anything else?

-How much, exactly, does this program cost? Every time I click on the tuition link, the page goes blank. Could this be intentional so that potential students will be tempted to call the school and get roped in to the high-pressure sales pitches?

-Someone already mentioned that the school does not automatically enroll you in courses without your permission, but that you have to verify that you would like to continue in order to proceed. Has everyone else had this experience?

-Are books included in the tuition prices? I have heard that sometimes the for-profits include books. I've never experienced this before so it would be interesting if this were the case.

-Regarding the school's reputation: I asked this question before. I was told that it is certainly better than the University of Phoenix, but maybe a notch below Arizona State. I'm in my thirties and getting ready to start my family. I am interested in a PhD for a few reasons, but none of them include a goal to secure a position as a tenured professor at Yale - in other words, I don't need a big fancy name (nor am I trying to impress anyone) but at the same time, I don't want to spend a bunch of money on something that is "worthless." My sister lives in Phoenix and her opinion of the school isn't great only because she says they advertise on television there. I think TV ads tend to cause some to think "for-profit scam." Any comments?

-How difficult time-wise is the program? I want this to be challenging but I also do not want to spend undue time away from my family. Again, I'm not a 22-year-old who is going for a big important career. I actually resented my master's program a bit because I finished a 3 year program in 2 years and I spent my every waking moment on school. I felt like I missed out on life. I don't want to do that again... I want my education to enhance my life, not hinder it. I realize that if this were a traditional program, I could expect to go into an education coma for several years but I was hoping GCU would allow me to also live while going to school. Maybe it's too much to ask, I dunno. Would it be manageable to take these courses while on vacation or while caring for my future children?

-What is the busy work to actual learning ratio (haha)? What is the typical frequency of papers, and roughly how long do you find they are? I have read that Walden University has recently upped their busy work in hopes of making their programs appear to be more rigorous. Is this the case with GCU? I am used to quite a heavy workload so you cannot scare me, but again, if there is no time for my family, the PhD just may not be for me...

-Are residencies in this program *optional* for all emphases? It would be great to not have to make trips to Phoenix if I am unable.

-What is the overall vibe of the faculty? Do they desire to see students succeed, or are there a lot of politics and game playing? I realize that even the best programs are political.

-Can I basically choose the focus of my dissertation, or do I need to gear it toward the department's research interests?

-Has anyone heard about whether or not the dissertation can be defended from afar via video conferencing?

-Speaking of the dissertation, I believe someone mentioned that you can work on it throughout the program. Can anyone elaborate on this? I'd certainly appreciate the ability to do that. How are the dissertation committees? I hear that at Walden, they give students the run-around and change faculty in order to draw out the process and milk the student's financial aid. I have a BA and an MA so my remaining financial aid aggregate is limited. If someone plays this game with me, I won't be able to finish. It is very important that this does not happen in my case or I will not be able to attend the program.

-I believe it was mentioned that the program is 3 years in duration. Is this correct?

-Are comprehensive exams required? If so, does anyone know if they can be taken remotely through a proctor, or will I need to make a trip to Arizona?

-Are there any scholarship opportunities? I am considering renewing my active membership with Phi Kappa Phi so that I can apply for scholarships, but then again, I am not certain it is wise to pay money just so I can enter the scholarship lottery. I'm not much of a gambler. Lol.

-This program sounds a bit too good to be true. Can anyone tell me if there is something I need to know? What's the catch?

Thanks for all of your help! I really appreciate you all!

 

Admissions requirements.
Graduate and Doctoral Programs | Grand Canyon University

Don't click on the link for online programs. Just scroll to the bottom.
Tuition and Fees | Grand Canyon University

 

Thank you! Apparently I missed some things in my search for answers!

 

I attend GCU as an evening student at the main campus in Phoenix in the MBA program. I cannot address your questions aboutthe Ph.D in psyche program but I can speak about the school and 'reputation.'

Your sister has a low opinion of the school because they have billboards and tv/radio ads? It should be noted that both ASU and UofA advertise their schools HEAVILY in this area. I would put ASU's marketing of their W.P. Carey MBA program right up there with the University of Phoenix. Ask your sister to stop by Arrowhead mall, ASU has 'sponsored' the food court and the entire place is painted up in ASU colors and talks about finding your dreams through an ASU degree. I am not making this up. GCU marketing is not nearly as aggressive.

I would not let the for profit model of the University turn you off.

I did attend UoP for a few classes and find GCU to be of much higher caliber. I have no complaints about the quality of the MBA program. I did have an academic adviser that was difficult, if not impossible, to get in touch with. I have been reassigned someone else and they are much better. My books are free (in e-book format) but I do not know if that would apply in the Ph.D program. Some students still prefer to buy hard copies of the books.

I will say that they take academics seriously. I am currently serving a sixteen week academic suspension for letting my GPA fall below a 3.0!

 

Ok. I’m a current student. Here goes:

Is the GRE required? I took the exam almost 5 years ago so I'm really hoping I will not have to retake it! If so, what is the score requirement?

No, the GRE is not required for admission.

-Are admissions rolling, or do I need to apply by a certain date and begin several months later? Hypothetically speaking, if I applied tomorrow, when could I begin my first course?

You can apply and get started pretty quickly, definitely within 60 days, and possibly within 30 if everything falls just right. I know they start new cohorts regularly, so there’s no long wait in any case.

-What about letters of recommendation? My BA and MA are from state schools and all of my former professors have expressed disdain toward the for-profits. Call me a chicken, but I'm a little worried about asking them to write me letters of recommendation for a for-profit program. I'm sure they'd do it, but I'd rather not "hear about it." Could I use the letters that were used for my master's program, or do the letters have to be mailed directly from the authors?

No letters of recommendations are required.

-What are the other application materials? I am assuming transcripts, a writing sample or essay, possibly a résumé?? What about an interview? Anything else?

You have to send transcripts and a statement of purpose. Transcripts need to show you have to have taken a statistics course or you can take a prerequisite statistics exam.

-How much, exactly, does this program cost? Every time I click on the tuition link, the page goes blank. Could this be intentional so that potential students will be tempted to call the school and get roped in to the high-pressure sales pitches?

ED Gainful Employment Disclosure Template

-Someone already mentioned that the school does not automatically enroll you in courses without your permission, but that you have to verify that you would like to continue in order to proceed. Has everyone else had this experience?

That was me. I’m sure I’m not the only student who gets this treatment, but maybe I’m special. I wouldn’t worry about it.

-Are books included in the tuition prices? I have heard that sometimes the for-profits include books. I've never experienced this before so it would be interesting if this were the case.

GCU adds a materials fee of $105 to each course. At first I didn’t like the idea, but now I think it works great. You get an e-book for each course and other programs like SPSS that you’ll use later in the program are covered in this fee. Also, I don’t need to shop around for books or anything like that. I think the fee is more or less what you pay on average for materials per course anyway.

-Regarding the school's reputation: I asked this question before. I was told that it is certainly better than the University of Phoenix , but maybe a notch below Arizona State. I'm in my thirties and getting ready to start my family. I am interested in a PhD for a few reasons, but none of them include a goal to secure a position as a tenured professor at Yale - in other words, I don't need a big fancy name (nor am I trying to impress anyone) but at the same time, I don't want to spend a bunch of money on something that is "worthless." My sister lives in Phoenix and her opinion of the school isn't great only because she says they advertise on television there. I think TV ads tend to cause some to think "for-profit scam." Any comments?

Reputation was/is a concern for me as well and I thought about and researched the school as extensively as I could before committing to the program. I believe GCU is doing things the “right way,” building their brand to attract better students and offering high quality education at a reasonable price (they haven’t raised tuition for about four or five years which is rare among all schools). Yes, GCU is a for-profit corporation (which in and of itself just tells you it has owners as opposed to non-profits which have no owners), but I don’t think it would be fair to compare them to other for-profit schools. They appear to operate on a different model than the other for-profits, as they have heavily invested in their campus, building new facilities, classrooms, dorms, etc., and have expanded their on-campus enrollment to about 10,000, with plans to ultimately reach 25,000. Also, by raising their entrance GPA requirements they have been lowering their acceptance rate, something uncharacteristic of the “classic” for-profit college. Here’s GCU 2012 SEC statement that states some of their plans. The 2013 statement should be available soon: http://phx.corporate-ir.net/External.File?item=UGFyZW50SUQ9MTc5MTk4fENoaWxkSUQ9LTF8VHlwZT0z&t=1
Regarding this program specifically: it’s too new to have a reputation because it has yet to produce any graduates. The first cohort has recently entered the research stage of the program, so we should expect to see its first graduates within a year. It should be interesting to see.

 

-How difficult time-wise is the program? I want this to be challenging but I also do not want to spend undue time away from my family. Again, I'm not a 22-year-old who is going for a big important career. I actually resented my master's program a bit because I finished a 3 year program in 2 years and I spent my every waking moment on school. I felt like I missed out on life. I don't want to do that again... I want my education to enhance my life, not hinder it. I realize that if this were a traditional program, I could expect to go into an education coma for several years but I was hoping GCU would allow me to also live while going to school. Maybe it's too much to ask, I dunno. Would it be manageable to take these courses while on vacation or while caring for my future children?

The workload is reasonable. You take one 8 week course at a time, year round, with two weeks off around Christmas. So, it’s like a low, steady hum of work. I have a job (2, actually), a family, etc., and the program fits without seriously disrupting any other aspect of my life.

-What is the busy work to actual learning ratio (haha)? What is the typical frequency of papers, and roughly how long do you find they are? I have read that Walden University has recently upped their busy work in hopes of making their programs appear to be more rigorous. Is this the case with GCU ? I am used to quite a heavy workload so you cannot scare me, but again, if there is no time for my family, the PhD just may not be for me...

I have encountered no “busy work” so far. Everything has been relevant to whatever we’re learning at the moment.

-Are residencies in this program *optional* for all emphases? It would be great to not have to make trips to Phoenix if I am unable.

Again, I mentioned in response to your previous posts that PhD residencies are optional, but mandatory for the EdD and DBA. That’s still true.

-What is the overall vibe of the faculty? Do they desire to see students succeed, or are there a lot of politics and game playing? I realize that even the best programs are political.

I don’t know at this point. I think the early courses are taught more by adjuncts and the later ones more by the full-time campus-based faculty as you get closer to the dissertation. So, I don’t have a good answer for you on this one.

-Can I basically choose the focus of my dissertation, or do I need to gear it toward the department's research interests?

You can choose the focus of your dissertation. I don’t believe it needs to be geared towards anyone’s particular research interest (apart from your own, of course).

-Has anyone heard about whether or not the dissertation can be defended from afar via video conferencing?

I believe it can be, as there is no on-campus requirement, but I have never personally inquired about this.

-Speaking of the dissertation, I believe someone mentioned that you can work on it throughout the program. Can anyone elaborate on this? I'd certainly appreciate the ability to do that. How are the dissertation committees? I hear that at Walden, they give students the run-around and change faculty in order to draw out the process and milk the student's financial aid. I have a BA and an MA so my remaining financial aid aggregate is limited. If someone plays this game with me, I won't be able to finish. It is very important that this does not happen in my case or I will not be able to attend the program.

You begin to think about your research very early on in the program, but you won’t really work much on it as part of the program until you get closer to the research phase. Like I said earlier, the first cohort has just reached the dissertation stage. So we’ll see what happens soon enough. I know the EdD has produced something like 30 graduates, I believe.

-I believe it was mentioned that the program is 3 years in duration. Is this correct?

You’re looking at about 3.5 years at minimum taking one course every 8 weeks with the 2 week break each year. I think you have 6 (maybe 7, don’t remember) years to complete max.

-Are comprehensive exams required? If so, does anyone know if they can be taken remotely through a proctor, or will I need to make a trip to Arizona?

No comps.

-Are there any scholarship opportunities? I am considering renewing my active membership with Phi Kappa Phi so that I can apply for scholarships, but then again, I am not certain it is wise to pay money just so I can enter the scholarship lottery. I'm not much of a gambler. Lol.

The school itself doesn’t offer any funding to PhD students.

-This program sounds a bit too good to be true. Can anyone tell me if there is something I need to know? What's the catch?

There’s nothing I can think of that didn’t turn out to be more or less what I expected when I enrolled. I like the program and think the school is headed in the right direction.

Thanks for all of your help! I really appreciate you all!

No problem. Good luck finding a program that works best for you.

 

FJD,

Thank you for taking the time to answer all of my questions. I really appreciate all of your help. So far, I am thinking this could very well be the right program for me.

 

Sickburn,

This has been very helpful; thank you! Yes, I think my sister feels like the television commercial situation takes the marketing to a whole new level of cheap... but I would not be surprised if ASU followed suit soon. Good grief - in my search for online programs, I have had nothing but maroon and gold ads all over my computer. A while ago, I considered USC's MSW program and my phone rang non-stop. Are you kidding me?? Yikes! Good points though!

You're going to think I'm a baby who needs someone to hold my hand (and I'm sorry for that) but I get feeling okay about GCU, and then I do a Google search and get scared. There are so many reviews talking about how the school sent them to collections or people claiming to be former employees talking about how the CEO and administration make fun of students for being "duped" into their programs (I'm sure they do not have degrees themselves). One of my searches found that the school took it upon themselves to take out a student loan for someone who was paying in cash. Someone else mentioned that somehow, they were being charged more than tuition (maybe they didn't realize there were also associated fees?). I guess you can see my minor hesitations, right? Have you ever heard about things like this?

I get that for-profit means that the school answers to share holders and someone gets rich at the top rather than a non-profit where the profit is diverted back to the school and ahem, someone at the top (the president) still gets rich. While I prefer the non-profit business model (since I'm not a huge fan of corporations), I do not think it is necessarily where profits end up that make a school a good school or a bad school. It's the way they do business to get said profit that causes concern for me. It's the horror stories that I mentioned that make me cringe. The last thing I need is some major clerical error or for someone to erroneously send me to collections. It worries me. Call me crazy...

Grand Canyon University Reviews - Online Degree Reviews

There's the link I was talking about. If you have nothing better to do (which I doubt), feel free to read through the reviews. I have seen much worse from the other for-profits... GCU seems to be one of the best, but it isn't without problems.

Thank you again for all of your help. I have taken everything you've said very seriously!

 

Hahahahahahahahaha!

THANKS, STEVE!!

 

Even so, there is a big difference between "non-profit rich" and "for-profit rich".

The President of Harvard University (Drew Faust) makes about $875,000 in salary and benefits. OK, that's rich.

The founder of the University of Phoenix (John Sperling) recently retired. His retirement package included a $5,000,000 bonus, two company vehicles, and a $70,000 annuity every month for the rest of his life. So even in retirement, he will receive $840,000 per year -- nearly as much as the President of Harvard gets for working full-time.

Sperling's current net worth is estimated at $1,200,000,000. The President of Harvard may be rich, but she would have to work for 1,371 years at her current salary to match that.

 

If you dig deep enough you will always find someone somewhere who is disgruntled with something. I would perform the save level of research against a few state universities; I'm sure you will find people who are just as upset with those institutions. I think you are digging in to this too far. In the end it will be you who determines how valuable your Ph.D is. You can have a Harvard Ph.D and be useless or you can have a GCU Ph.D and be tremendously valuable - it really depends on you and your work ethic.

Fly to Phoenix and stay with your sister. Drop by the GCU campus and take a tour or show up unannounced and walk the campus by yourself. I think you would be impressed.

 

I think this is a great idea. PuppyMama, you're right to be worried about investing your time and money in something that might not be right for you. Since your sister already lives there, why not spent the relatively small amount of money it would take to visit the school? Arrange a meeting with Dr. Radda or another member of the College of Doctoral Studies. Sit in on a class, tour the campus, etc., and then decide if it's what you want to do. Great advice, sickburn.

 

Good heavens. It's hard to believe that this is legal since it involves federal dollars. Wow. Yeah, I definitely do NOT love corporations. :-/

 

Sickburn,

I do think I will visit the campus. I will be out there this spring. I might as well, right? I hear that if anything, the students are a great group.

 

Good heavens... it's beautiful:

https://www.google.com/search?q=Grand+Canyon+University+campus+photos&tbm=isch&imgil=mz3e69L-iuYczM%253A%253Bhttps%253A%252F%252Fencrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com%252Fimages%253Fq%253Dtbn%253AANd9GcQddkHmMva0YObo4un3wIBsMXvp-U43iRGWHxjCdFSDR_1fARvlUg%253B640%253B425%253Bo7U7iKyqTxZ6gM%253Bhttp%25253A%25252F%25252Fwww.insidehighered.com%25252Fnews%25252F2012%25252F10%25252F08%25252Fgrand-canyon-uses-online-pay-scholarships-and-campuses&source=iu&usg=__BgJqA7NGKZR4oXnhQltztJyfgTI%3D&sa=X&ei=7P0LU-OoGvP7yAG8xoDgDg&ved=0CCcQ9QEwAA&biw=1280&bih=568#facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=f32Q_5WhQsc55M%253A%3Be78t_DGz80uVuM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fcolleges.niche.com%252Fimages%252Fstandard%252F36095%252F%253Fv%253DC3CB3A4%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fcolleges.niche.com%252Fgrand-canyon-university%252Fvideos--and--photos%252F%3B533%3B400

How could something so pretty possibly be bad? I want to attend in person now!

 

Brian Mueller CEO of Grand Canyon University

You mentioned how much the President of Harvard makes; you mentioned how much the founder of UoP made and what he retired with...
The acting President and CEO of Grand Canyon University, Brian Mueller, took home over $3 million in 2015!! The CFO and good buddy of Brian's walked away with over $2 million!!

 

Comparing the president of Harvard's pay to the CEO of a publicly traded corporation is not a good comparison. Harvard's president does not have to answer to shareholders looking to make a quick buck like a CEO of a publicly traded corporation. A CEO of a publicly traded corporation these days generally is very much oriented towards short term, quarter by quarter results that boost the share price. Mega-deals, share buybacks and top line growth / cost management are the main goals of most CEO's. GCU has a quarterly investor call just like most publicly traded companies. You should read the transcripts. They talk about revenues, ops margins, effective tax rates, instructional costs as a percentage of revenue and even advertising expenses. I doubt you would ever hear a Harvard president having a similar meeting / call with trustees.

Check out the Q2 conference call. It is very enlightening.

Investor Relations Home | Grand Canyon University

 

Find out if you're right

Annual Financial Report | Financial Administration

 

I stand corrected. I should have looked for a Harvard report. They are shockingly similar.