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A class action lawsuit recently removed to federal court claims that Grand Canyon University requires its online doctoral students to take continuous courses that have no value.
Plaintiffs Eileen Carr, Clayton Kolb, Samuel Stanton, and three unnamed plaintiffs filed the class action lawsuit against Grand Canyon University. The six plaintiffs say they were online doctoral students at GCU.
The Grand Canyon University class action states that GCU is a for-profit university, and has mostly online students.
Allegedly, the university uses numerous tactics to get as much money as it can out of its students, including requiring them to take classes that provide no value to them.
Allegedly, GCU represents that an online doctoral program can be completed in 60 credit hours, which include three dissertation courses worth three credit hours each. However, the university allegedly does not provide the resources needed to complete the dissertation courses.
The students claim that the result of this is that GCU doctoral students must then enroll in additional courses to complete their dissertation.
According to the students, the university has designed its dissertation program and requirements so that it is highly unlikely that a student could complete the program within the advertised 60 credit hours.
The GCU class action goes on to claim that the dissertation courses are not actual academic courses, but are mechanisms by which students receive individualized support in their “dissertation journeys.”
Allegedly, if a student does not satisfactorily complete the dissertation at the end of the dissertation courses, they are then required to take what is referred to as “research continuation” courses.
The students and their attorneys claim that in reality, the programs are designed so almost all students are required to take “research continuation” courses, though this is not advertised to students.
The GCU doctoral program class action lawsuit argues that though students receive credits for the continuation courses, these classes are basically worthless because by the time a student has to take a continuation course, they have already completed the required 60 credit hours to complete the doctorate, though they cannot receive the doctorate until they have completed the continuation courses if they are deemed necessary.
Allegedly, these courses are designed to enable the university to maximize the profits it can gain from students, because doctoral students are charged $650 for each credit towards the first five continuation courses, for a total of $1,950 per research continuation courses.
So, if a student took all five continuation courses, they would have allegedly received 15 unnecessary course credits, for which they paid the university a total of $9,750.
The students claim that the university knowns that these courses provide no value to students and only uses them to maximize profits.
The students are represented by E. Adam Webb, Matthew C. Klase, G. Franklin Lemond Jr., and D. Grant Coyle of Webb Klase & Lemond LLC.
The GCU Continuation Courses Class Action Lawsuit is Eileen Carr, et al. v. Grand Canyon University Inc., et al., Case No. 1:19-cv-01707-MLB, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, Atlanta Division.
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45 thoughts onGCU Class Action Says Doctoral Students Must Take Worthless Courses
This is happening to me as well. I am so frustrated… how can I join this Class Action Lawsuit and what can be done?
Yes, how do i join this class action lawsuit??
They did this to me too, I won a grievance based on my chairs incompetence – however was not allotted back the time the 4 wasted and misguided dissertation courses used up. This of course, was during the 4 month hiatus I took from work. Having to return full time to work – was challenging , I changed jobs twice to find a work -dissertation balance. In the end, my second appeal for 1 yr extension was denied – by someone who wouldn’t contact me – no one above an SSA supervisor would respond – my proposal was almost ready for AQR , but they cited that they did not think I couldn’t finish it in a year! However- I was sold a program where all 60 credits including the dissertation could be finished in 3 years! Yeah – if you work for them, maybe. After GCU : 70,000 in student loan debt, job that pays $ 40,000 less, no opportunity to move into education, and a bunch of useless credits – I’ll be watching for their accreditation announcement . Would love to sue them.
GCU has been predatory and fraudulent since Mueller took over from the University of Phoenix. There are no academic outcomes, no quality assurance, and no intent of giving you the degree you were told you paid for. Typical Ponzi scheme and not even the Department of Education seems to want to stop it, or at least, not yet. When VP Mike Pence, Ben Shapiro, and Governor Ducey made appearances at GCU this year and last year I knew I made a terrible mistake. Defrauding college students is all the rage with the far-right nowadays.
I received straight As in the Ph.D. doctoral program (2018 cohort) until Dissertation I when Chair #2 decided to gaslight me from start to finish. Both chairs even admitted to being unqualified to advise me on my topic because basically, it involved math. The program even strung my wife along for 5 years. 3 chairs, 4 methodologists, and 2 content experts later, she decided to leave with me after I received an F in Dissertation I, and for reasons that were never made clear because the entire program is fraudulent.
Anyone who got through it paid A LOT of money to have others do their work for them. The GCU Doctoral Support groups on Facebook are full of statisticians and editors for hire. Acts of plagiarism are not enforced because no one cares so long as you have the money to fork over. Unethical and fraudulent practices define GCU leadership. After all, Rick Singer was a doctoral student at GCU until last summer and enrolled in November 2019. That means the GCU doctoral program admitted him a solid 6 months AFTER he even admitted to racketeering, money laundering, fraud, and obstruction in March 2019. If you haven’t heard, in 2019 Singer got caught using similar dishonest and fraudulent tactics via his contacts in admissions departments within top-tiered universities, accepting bribes from dozens of elites to get their underwhelming kids into elite schools. No accountability, no background checks, and no matter who; that’s GCU for you.
I would like to join the class-action lawsuit …
My story will make you all win!
How do I join this class action suit?? They are doing the same thing to me?
I want to join the lawsuit too.. I’m getting railroaded
I am interested in joining this class action lawsuit; due to all of the above reasons/issues. Please advise.
I too have spoke to attorney Webb. I still want to continue being a part of this class action against GCU. I have taken all the required doctorate course, and now in my 3rd research continuation course and the faculty at GCU is and has not provided me the resources to complete my degree. As a matter of fact I have not passed the prospective yet which I an still on the background and have vee since the last 3 courses. I am now placing my 3rd grievience against GCU because of this. They have drained all my funds and has made it impossible to complete my degree.
I am in my seventh year of a doctoral program at Grand Canyon University. The proposal stage was a very expensive nightmare in which an external reviewer would ask me to change one or two words in the proposal, then she would allow herself the entire 14 days allocated to reviewers to read a one-word revision. This went on for months until I was finally allowed to defend my proposal. Currently, I am finally in the last stage of the dissertation, and the three professors on my dissertation committee commended me for my excellent dissertation with specific comments on my great writing style. They recommended me for the final Level 5 review. However, an external reviewer who had never read my dissertation, was assigned to review it. He was very critical of my writing style, paragraph structure, and he identified numerous deficiencies and issues never mentioned by any of the professors on my committee, including my chair. Therefore I am back at square one with editing the entire document.
I believe you. I am still trying to finish the background section of the prospectus and my chair keeps diub the same thing to me, I am placing my 3rd grievience in this coming week, I want a new chair but I know they not fkubv to give me one it I am done, checked out with this chair. I will also forward my complaint to the department I’d education.
I agree, now they are saying that you have a seven year window to complete the degree. I do not think it is fair for those like myself who have been bogged down with the continuation courses. GCU’s program is designed for the institution to generate revenue and the school does not care if you graduate. I have completed the 60 Credits and recently inquired about the Ed.S. program, I was told that I would lose thirty credits that I worked hard for if I chose to complete the Ed.S. program and could not continue on to complete the doctorate at a later date. Very disappointed with this process and would like to join any class action suit for my money to be refunded in full.
They told me that I would have to do 4 more other classes to get a masters because my courses was not in education so I could not get the Ed.S.
Can we get on board with this suit? I have made numerous complaints over my time there for this very reason. I have liked my professors but the whole program is severely misrepresented.
I’m currently a doctoral learner
And GCU appeal committee rejected my appeal 6 times to protect the proffessor who is not telling the truth
I am a current Doctoral student enrolled at GCU since 2017 and I have not even gotten to the CEU courses. I am in a situation where the committee or the chair takes forever to approve the ten points then spending forever redoing and rechanging the prospectus and getting pulled in different directions with my topic. I am at the point where I refuse to sign loan documents to repay for a course when the third draft I turned in for my prospectus was turned in three weeks before the course ended. Yet in 10 days no one looked at it, then I was told to send a another dissertation deliverable (I had a more updated one). Would you believe that was not looked at until almost ten business days leaving no time for the methodologist to weigh in, which would have been helpful? I am grateful for my content expert, who has done more than what she is required to do and the chair to help me. I would like to speak with Ms. Carr and see if I have a case. I am purturbed and disappointed with my experience. Then, I got emailed from the dissertation counselor that mentioned a possible third residency. I am not paying to go back to Phoenix the first two residencies did not help in the long run. Every professor changes then the chair has his or her own plan.