Grand Canyon University (GCU) is a private university in Phoenix, Arizona USA. Based on student enrollment, Grand Canyon University was the largest Christian university in the world in 2018, with 20,000 students on campus and 70,000 online.
Grand Canyon was founded by the Arizona Southern Baptist Convention on August 1, 1949, in Prescott, Arizona, as Grand Canyon College. Due to financial and other difficulties in the early 2000s, the school’s trustees authorized its sale in January 2004 to California-based Significant Education, LLC, making it the first for-profit Christian college in the United States. Following this purchase, the university became the first and only for-profit participation in NCAA Division I athletics.
In 2018, the university received approval to return to nonprofit status from its regional accreditor, as well as the IRS and the Arizona State Council on Private Postsecondary Education. However, the US Department of Education rejected the university’s request to reclassify it as a non-profit and continues to classify the university as a for-profit.
The university’s operating partner is directly alongside the for-profit, publicly traded online program management company, Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (formerly Significant Education), which brings together services for the operation of the university. University President Brian Mueller also serves as CEO of Grand Canyon Education.
The university offers a variety of programs through its nine colleges, including doctoral studies, business, education, fine arts and manufacturing, humanities and social sciences, nursing and health professions, science, theology, and engineering and technology.
History of Grand Canyon University
Grand Canyon College was founded as a non-profit institution in 1949 in Prescott, Arizona. Southern Baptists felt the need to establish a faith-based institution that would allow local Baptists to earn a bachelor’s or master’s degree without having to go east to one of the Baptist schools in Texas or Oklahoma. On October 8, 1951, Grand Canyon College moved to its current location in Phoenix.
In 1984, the college’s board of trustees voted to transition the college to a university for the school’s 40th anniversary in 1989, when it became Grand Canyon University. It was also at this time that governance changed from the Southern Baptist Convention to the GCU Board of Trustees.
Due to financial and other difficulties in the early 2000s, the school’s trustees authorized its sale in January 2004 to California-based Significant Education, LLC, making it the first for-profit Christian college in the United States. Clifford became CEO of the privatized institution, with the former board serving in an advisory role. Significant Education was incorporated in 2005 and became publicly traded in 2008 under the new name of Grand Canyon Education, Inc.
It trades on NASDAQ under the symbol “LOPE”.After the capital infusion, Grand Canyon University increased in size. After enrolling less than 1,000 students in 2008, the university had 17,500 students in spring 2017. A 2015 economic impact study revealed that the university added about $1 billion to the state economy each year during its expansion.
In February 2017, Arizona Governor Doug Ducey stated that the neighborhoods surrounding the university had experienced a 30% increase in housing values while simultaneously seeing a 30% decrease in crime.
In 2008, the university was sued by the United States federal government for paying enrollment counselors based on how many students it enrolled while accepting federal financial aid, a violation of the Department of Education’s prohibition on incentive compensation. GCU eventually settled the case and was forced to pay a $5.2 million fine to the former employee and the federal government.
Campuses
In 2006, the college spent US$150 million renovating the campus, adding a brick promenade, an aquatics center, and a cafeteria.
In 2009, the Grand Canyon University campus began work on a $60 million campus expansion project that includes a 500-bed dormitory, a 5,100-square-foot fitness and recreation center, a 125-classroom facility, a food court, and a bowling alley. ,[and 5,000 seats. The arena is also home to the varsity men’s and women’s basketball teams and women’s volleyball games.
The arena was expanded to seat 7,000 with construction beginning in the spring of 2014 and ending in August of that year.] Grand Canyon University offers several fast-food restaurants, coffee shops, a student union, a dining hall, an arcade, and six bowling alleys. for student recreation. In August 2016, the university announced it was establishing a campus police department and transitioning its public safety department, a 177-member force.
In August 2016, GCU announced its 10 2 initiative, building 10 athletic facilities on campus over two years. Highlights of the project included new facilities for the varsity’s soccer, baseball, softball, tennis, and beach volleyball programs. It also included a sports medicine expansion, equipment room expansion, practice facilities for the basketball and golf programs, and an academic center for students and athletes.
In August 2017, Phoenix’s Grand Canyon campus was ranked among the top 10 college campuses across America by city and country.
Academics
Grand Canyon University offers over 200 bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degree programs through its nine colleges
- College of Business
- Faculty of Education
- College of Fine Arts and Production
- College of Humanities, Social Sciences
- College of Nursing and Health Sciences
- College of Science, Engineering, and Technology
- Theological college
- College of Doctoral Studies
- GCU Honors College
In April 2017, Arizona Board of Nursing officials censured GCU after the school’s nursing programs fell below an 80% graduation rate for two consecutive years. GCU said it would implement a plan to increase graduation rates. Three months later, the Board of Nursing announced that it was pleased with the “enormous improvement” the university had shown in addressing all the issues. In 2018, Grand Canyon’s nursing program was reprimanded by the Arizona State Board of Nursing for its test pass rate.
The censure occurred due to the number of students who failed the registered nursing exam for the first time and after numerous complaints from both students and educators. In the second quarter of 2018, nursing students at Grand Canyon University recorded a 95.65% pass rate for the first time on the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX). This results in a year-over-year rate of 92.86 percent, which is higher than the Arizona Board of Nursing’s year-over-year national average of 91.89.
Grand Canyon University’s academic staff includes 335 full-time employees and more than 4,200 part-time employees.
Admission requirements for a Grand Canyon University undergraduate are either a 3.0 high school GPA or a 2.5 high school GPA with an SAT score of 1000 or an ACT score of 19. In 2021, the university acceptance rate was 76.9%; 23% of those accepted enrolled. The university does not list the scores of matriculating students, while high school grades, high school preparatory classes, and letters of recommendation are not required or recommended.
Athletics
Grand Canyon University is a member of NCAA Division I, with most sports participating in the Western Athletic Conference. Grand Canyon’s reclassification to Division I status in athletics began in the 2013–14 academic year.
In 2013, a former Phoenix shooting guard named Dan Majerle became the coach of men’s basketball/ Majerle oversaw GCU’s transition to NCAA Division I basketball in the WAC.
On August 23, 2017, the NCAA approved Grand Canyon’s move to Division I, elevating the university to active membership status and making it the only for-profit Division I basketball institution.
In March 2020, Majerle was fired after seven seasons as the head coach of the GCU men’s basketball team. In May 2020, Majerle sued the university for breach of contract, claiming the university failed to provide a reason for terminating him or to pay him severance pay. The suit was dismissed the following year with an unclear ruling.
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