Grand Canyon University (GCU) is a
private
Private or privates may refer to:
Music
* " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation''
* Private (band), a Denmark-based band
* "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...
for-profit Christian university in
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1,608,139 residents as of 2020. It is the fifth-most populous city in the United States, and the on ...
.
Based on student enrollment, Grand Canyon University was the largest Christian university in the world in 2018, with 20,000 attending students on campus and 70,000 online.
Grand Canyon was established by the
Arizona Southern Baptist Convention on August 1, 1949, in
Prescott, Arizona
Prescott ( ) is a city in Yavapai County, Arizona, United States. According to the 2020 Census, the city's population was 45,827. The city is the county seat of Yavapai County.
In 1864, Prescott was designated as the capital of the Arizona ...
, as Grand Canyon College.
In 1999–2000, the university ended its affiliation with the Southern Baptist Convention.
Suffering financial and other difficulties in the early part of the 21st century, the school's trustees authorized its sale in January 2004 to
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
-based Significant Education, LLC,
making it the first
for-profit Christian college in the United States.
[Bob Smietana]
Christian Ed That Pays Off
, ''Christianity Today
''Christianity Today'' is an evangelical Christian media magazine founded in 1956 by Billy Graham. It is published by Christianity Today International based in Carol Stream, Illinois. ''The Washington Post'' calls ''Christianity Today'' "evange ...
'', May 19, 2005, ''Accessed May 11, 2006'' Following that purchase, the university became the first and only for-profit to participate in
NCAA
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...
Division I
athletics
Athletics may refer to:
Sports
* Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking
** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport
* Athletics (physical culture), competi ...
.
In 2018 the university received approval to return to non-profit status from its regional accreditor as well as the
IRS
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting U.S. federal taxes and administering the Internal Revenue Code, the main body of the federal statutory tax ...
and the Arizona State Board for Private Postsecondary Education. However, the
U.S. Department of Education
The United States Department of Education is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government. It began operating on May 4, 1980, having been created after the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare was split into the Department ...
rejected the university's request to reclassify it as a non-profit and continues to classify the university as for-profit.
The university operations partner directly alongside the for-profit publicly traded
online program management corporation, Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (formerly Significant Education
) that bundles services for the university to operate. The university president, Brian Mueller, also serves as the CEO of Grand Canyon Education.
The university offers various programs through its nine colleges including doctoral studies, business, education, fine arts and production, humanities and social sciences, nursing and health care professions, science, theology, and engineering and technology.
History
Founding
Grand Canyon College was founded as a
nonprofit
A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...
institution in 1949 in
Prescott.
Arizona
Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
Southern Baptists
The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) is a Christian denomination based in the United States. It is the world's largest Baptist denomination, and the largest Protestant and second-largest Christian denomination in the United States. The wo ...
felt the need to establish a faith-based institution that would allow local Baptists the opportunity to obtain a bachelor's or master's degree without going east to one of the Baptist colleges in Texas or Oklahoma. On October 8, 1951, Grand Canyon College relocated to its current location in Phoenix.
[ In 1984, the college's trustees voted to transition the college to a university for the 40th anniversary of the school in 1989, becoming Grand Canyon University. At this time, it also changed governance from the Southern Baptist Convention to the GCU Board of Trustees.]
Restructuring/conversion to for-profit
Suffering financial and other difficulties in the early part of the 21st century, the school's trustees authorized its sale in January 2004 to California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
-based, Significant Education, LLC, making it the first for-profit Christian college in the United States. Significant Education was a subsidiary of education entrepreneur Michael K. Clifford's company. Clifford became managing director of the privatized institution, with the former board of trustees serving in an advisory role. Significant Education changed to a corporation in 2005 and became publicly traded under a new name Grand Canyon Education, Inc in 2008. It trades on NASDAQ under the ticker symbol "LOPE."
After the infusion of capital, Grand Canyon University's size increased. After having fewer than 1,000 students enrolled in 2008, the university had 17,500 students in the spring of 2017. A 2015 economic impact study revealed that the university was adding about $1 billion into the state's economy each year during its expansion. In February 2017, Arizona Governor Doug Ducey
Douglas Anthony Ducey (, né Roscoe Jr.; born April 9, 1964) is an American businessman and politician serving as the 23rd governor of Arizona since 2015. A member of the Republican Party, Ducey was previously the CEO of Cold Stone Creamery, a c ...
said that the neighborhoods surrounding the university have experienced a 30% increase in housing values while concurrently seeing a 30% decrease in crime rates.
In 2008, the university was sued by the United States federal government for paying enrollment counselors according to how many students they had enrolled while at the same time accepting federal financial aid, a violation of the Department of Education
An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...
's incentive compensation ban. GCU eventually reached a settlement in the case, and was forced to pay a $5.2 million fine to a former employee and the federal government.
By 2014 the accumulated student loan debt of Grand Canyon students was estimated to be more than $5.9 billion.
Due to GCU's for-profit status, Arizona State University had refused to play against GCU in any sport, even though both are NCAA Division I schools and located only 16 miles apart. ASU eventually reversed its decision, and sporting events between the two universities recommenced in the fall of 2020.
Attempts to return to non-profit status
In fall 2014, the college announced the exploration of a return to non-profit status. Grand Canyon's regional accreditation body, the Higher Learning Commission
The Higher Learning Commission (HLC) is an institutional accreditor in the United States. It has historically accredited post-secondary education institutions in the central United States: Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa ...
(HLC), rejected the university's petition for conversion to non-profit status in 2016, stating that the school's proposed strategy, particularly its plan to outsource some of its activities (such as curriculum development and student support services) to outside vendors, did not meet the criteria for "such a conversion". In 2018, the university submitted another application to HLC to change to non-profit status. This second application was accepted on July 1, 2018. Although some organizations have approved this transition, the U.S. Department of Education still classifies the university as a for-profit university. The government specifically stated that GCU is a captive client to Grand Canyon Education, and the college is operating for the benefit of shareholders of a for-profit company. The university plans to challenge the department's ruling. Grand Canyon Education has also been accused of engaging in securities-law fraud with its relation to GCU.
Grand Canyon University was alleged to switch from for-profit status to non-profit status due to its yearly $9.2 million property tax bill. Numerous school officials said this was unsustainable and was one of the key reasons a required switch from for-profit to non-profit status was made, to reduce that burden. Some critics of for-profit education still criticize that the relationship between GCU and Grand Canyon Education, Inc. is too intertwined. A former department of education official notes that no other university in the country has its CEO working for its contractor and itself. Brian Galle, Professor of Law at Georgetown Law, has written extensively about the relationship between the non-profit and for-profit entities and argues that because the non-profit is wholly dependent on the for-profit, the non-profit status should not be allowed.
In 2021, a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit by GCU that claimed the university didn't receive all the coronavirus relief funds to which it was entitled because it was a non-profit entity.
Campuses
In 2006, the college spent USD $150 million to renovate the campus, adding a brick promenade, an aquatics center, with pool and hot tub, and a café offering an assortment of games and big-screen televisions.
In 2009, Grand Canyon University's campus began work on a USD $60 million campus expansion project which includes a 500-bed dormitory, a fitness and recreation center, 125-classroom facility, food court and bowling alley, and a 5000-seat arena
An arena is a large enclosed platform, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators ...
. The GCU Arena
Grand Canyon University Arena (GCU Arena) is a 7,000-seat, multi-purpose entertainment and athletics facility in Phoenix, Arizona, owned and operated by Grand Canyon University. The arena is the home of Grand Canyon University Lopes men's and w ...
, which opened on September 2, 2011, is used for concerts, speakers, and other events. The arena is also home to the college's men's and women's basketball teams and women's volleyball games. The arena was expanded to 7,000 seats with construction beginning in spring 2014 and concluding in August of the same year. Grand Canyon University offers several fast food restaurants, coffee shops, student union, cafeteria, video game
Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...
room, and six-lane bowling alley for student recreation. In August 2016, the university announced it was establishing a campus police
Campus police or university police in the United States and Canada are sworn police or peace officers employed by a college or university to protect that private property of the campus and surrounding areas and the people who live, work, and v ...
department, converting its Public Safety Department, a 177-member force.
In August 2016, GCU announced its 10 in 2 initiative, the building of 10 on-campus athletic facilities in a two-year span. Highlights of the project included brand new facilities for the university's soccer, baseball, softball, tennis and beach volleyball programs. It also included a sports medicine expansion, an equipment room expansion, practice facilities for the basketball and golf programs, and a student-athlete academic center.
In August 2017, Grand Canyon's Phoenix campus was ranked as one of the 10 Best College Campuses Across America by ''Town & Country''.
Academics
Grand Canyon University offers over 200 bachelor's, master's and doctoral degree programs through its nine colleges.
* College of Business
* College of Education
* College of Fine Arts and Production
* College of Humanities, Social Sciences
* College of Nursing and Health Care Professions
* College of Science, Engineering, and Technology
* College of Theology
* College of Doctoral Studies
* GCU Honors College
In August 2016, the university announced that it was opening a seminary
A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy ...
.[
In April 2017, Arizona nursing board officials censured GCU after the school's nursing programs fell below 80% graduation rate for two consecutive years. GCU said it would implement a plan to increase graduation rates.] Three months later, the nursing board announced it was pleased with the "tremendous improvements" the university had shown to addressing all concerns. In 2018, Grand Canyon's nursing program was censured by the Arizona State Board of Nursing over test passage rates. The censure came due to the number of first-time students failing to pass the registered nursing exam and after numerous complaints by students and faculty. In the second quarter of 2018, Grand Canyon University's nursing students posted a 95.65 percent first-time pass rate on the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX). This leads to a year-to-date rate of 92.86 percent, which is higher than the Arizona Board of Nursing's year-to-date statewide average of 91.89.
Grand Canyon University's academic workers include 335 full-time workers and more than 4,200 adjunct faculty.
Grand Canyon University's undergraduate entrance requirements are either a 3.0 high school GPA, or a high school GPA of 2.5 with either an SAT score of 1,000 or ACT score of 19. In 2021, the university acceptance rate was 76.9%; of those admitted, 23% enrolled. The university does not report scores of matriculating students, while high school class rank, high school college preparatory classes, and letters of recommendation are neither required nor recommended.
GCU has a graduation rate of 41%, below the national average.
Athletics
Grand Canyon University is a member of NCAA Division I
NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athletic ...
with most sports participating in the Western Athletic Conference
The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) is an NCAA Division I conference. The WAC covers a broad expanse of the western United States with member institutions located in Arizona, California, New Mexico, Utah, Washington, and Texas.
Due to mos ...
. Grand Canyon's reclassification to Division I status in athletics started in the academic year 2013–14. Men's Volleyball competes in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation
The Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) is a college athletic conference with members located mostly in the western United States, although it now has members as far east as Pennsylvania. The conference participates at the NCAA Division I ...
and Beach Volleyball competes independently.
In March 2013, former Phoenix Suns shooting guard Dan Majerle
Daniel Lewis Majerle (; born September 9, 1965), also known by the nickname "Thunder Dan", is an American former professional basketball player and former coach of the Grand Canyon Antelopes. He played 14 years in the National Basketball Associat ...
became the 13th men's basketball coach. Majerle oversaw GCU's transition into 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 Division I basketball's only for-profit institution. GCU immediately became eligible for post-season competition.
In March 2020, Majerle was fired after seven seasons as head coach to GCU's men's basketball team. In May 2020, Majerle sued the university for breach of contract. Majerle's complaint said the university did not give reason to terminate Majerle, and make any severance payments."
Rankings, recognition, statistics, and accreditation
Grand Canyon University is regionally accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC). According to the HLC, Grand Canyon College entered candidacy for accreditation in 1961. By 1968 the school was regionally accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools and remains accredited, successfully renewing its 10-year comprehensive evaluation in 2017. GCU also holds additional accreditations from the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP), the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE), the Arizona State Board of Educations, and the Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education (CAATE). The university teachers and administrator preparation programs are approved by the Arizona Department of Education.
In 2021, the university acceptance rate was 76.9% and, of those admitted, 23% enrolled.[ The freshman retention rate is 61%,][ and GCU has a graduation rate of 41%, below the national average.][ ''U.S. News & World Report'' classifies the university among "National Universities", wherein it was classified in the 2022 ''Best Colleges'' as a Tier 2 institution (meaning it is placed in the bottom 25 percent of institutions in its ranking category).]
Notable alumni
* Anthony Birchak, wrestler; MMA fighter
Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorp ...
* Henry Cejudo
Henry Cejudo (born February 9, 1987) is an American professional mixed martial artist and freestyle wrestler. He is the former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Flyweight Champion and Bantamweight Champion. He is the fourth UFC fighter to h ...
, MMA fighter, Ultimate Fighting Championship
The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...
* Bill Engvall
William Ray Engvall Jr. (born July 27, 1957) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and television host. Engvall has released a number of stand-up comedy albums through Warner Records and the defunct BNA Records. His most commercially success ...
, comedian
* Efrain Escudero
Efraín Escudero (born January 15, 1986) is a Mexican mixed martial artist. He trains under Drew Fickett and competes in the 155 lb (70.3 kg) weight class. Efrain was the winner of season eight of Spike TV's reality show ''The Ultimate ...
, wrestler; MMA fighter, TUF 8 winner
* Bayard Forrest
Bayard Forrest (born July 8, 1954) is a retired American professional basketball player. He was a 6'10", 235 lb center who played at Grand Canyon University before being drafted by the Seattle SuperSonics in the 1976 NBA draft. Forrest nev ...
, professional basketball player
* Christine Weidinger, American opera
Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...
tic soprano
A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880&n ...
* Grandy Glaze
Grandy Glaze (born March 4, 1992) is a Canadian professional basketball player who last played for the Niagara River Lions of the Canadian Elite Basketball League. Born in North York, Ontario, he started high school at St. Edmund Campion Seconda ...
, St Johns Edge Canadian League Basketball
* Steven Green, Christian music singer
* Niki Jackson
Niki Jackson (born August 25, 1995) is an American soccer player who plays as a forward for San Diego Loyal in the USL Championship. He grew up in Collierville, Tennessee and Scottsdale, Arizona before attending Cactus Shadows High School and G ...
, Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...
player
* Killian Larson, professional basketball player
* Horacio Llamas
Horacio Llamas Grey (born July 17, 1973) is a Mexican former professional basketball player. He played two seasons with the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA), becoming the first Mexican-born player in NBA history.
Early y ...
, professional basketball player
* Randy McCament, professional baseball player
* Josh McDermitt
Josh McDermitt (born June 4, 1978) is an American film and television actor and comedian. He is best known for playing Eugene Porter on AMC's '' The Walking Dead''. In 2006, McDermitt appeared on ''Last Comic Standing'' as a contestant. McDermit ...
, American film and television actor and comedian
* Moriah Peters, singer-songwriter
* James L. Pharr, fire marshall and professor of fire safety and engineering technology
* Cody Ransom
Bryan Cody Ransom (born February 17, 1976) is an American former professional baseball utility infielder. He played for the San Francisco Giants, Houston Astros, New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies, Arizona Diamondbacks, Milwaukee Brewers, San ...
, professional baseball player
* Tim Salmon
Timothy James Salmon (born August 24, 1968), nicknamed "King Fish", is an American former professional baseball player and current sportcaster. He played his entire career in Major League Baseball (MLB) from to with the Anaheim Angels as an o ...
, professional baseball player
* Randy Soderman
Randy Soderman is a retired American soccer player and technology entrepreneur.
The younger brother of Rick Soderman, Randy played for CISCO Soccer Club in Phoenix growing up. In 1992, he graduated from Cactus High School. That year, he join ...
, professional soccer player
* Rachel Mitchell, sex crimes prosecutor and Maricopa County
Maricopa County is in the south-central part of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2020 census, the population was 4,420,568, making it the state's most populous county, and the fourth-most populous in the United States. It contains about ...
attorney who interviewed Justice Brett Kavanaugh
Brett Michael Kavanaugh ( ; born February 12, 1965) is an American lawyer and jurist serving as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He was nominated by President Donald Trump on July 9, 2018, and has served since ...
and Christine Blasey Ford
Christine Margaret Blasey Ford ( ; born November 1966) is an American professor of psychology at Palo Alto University and a research psychologist at the Stanford University School of Medicine. She specializes in designing statistical models f ...
* David Stapleton, professional baseball player
* Kevin Warren
Kevin Fulbright Warren (born November 17, 1963) is an American attorney and sports executive. He is the Commissioner of the Big Ten Conference. The first Commissioner who is African-American, he is also the first in any of the major American stu ...
, COO of the Minnesota Vikings and commissioner of Big Ten Conference
The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...
* James White, reformed theologian; apologist; director of Alpha and Omega Ministries
References
External links
*
Grand Canyon University Athletics website
Grand Canyon Education, Inc. web site
{{Authority control
Educational institutions established in 1949
Companies listed on the Nasdaq
1949 establishments in Arizona
Private universities and colleges in Arizona
Universities and colleges in Phoenix, Arizona
For-profit universities and colleges in the United States