Press releases

For the 13th consecutive year, GCU will be freezing tuition rates on its Phoenix campus. Tuition before institutional scholarships are factored in will remain at $16,500 for the 2021-22 academic year. The campus also is competitive when it comes to room and board, which means graduates at GCU are incurring less debt than the national average at public and private nonprofit colleges.

GCU’s Student Inspiring Students (SIS) Scholarship Program has received a $500,000, five-year grant from The Bob & Renee Parsons Foundation. The grant, largest in the program’s history, will fund full-tuition scholarships for “Parsons Scholars” – high school seniors who are the most academically qualified among SIS recipients.

GCU began the 2020-21 school year with another increase in the number of traditional students connected to its Phoenix campus. It expects its largest incoming class ever — more than 8,200 new students — when the fall semester started Sept. 8, bringing total campus-based enrollment to approximately 23,000.

(Aug. 28, 2020) — Grand Canyon University’s bachelor’s degree program in Computer Science has been accredited by the Computing Accreditation Commission of ABET and bachelor’s degree programs in Biomedical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering have been accredited by the Engineering Commission of ABET, the global accreditor of college and university programs in applied and natural science, computing, engineering, and engineering technology.   ABET accreditation assures that programs meet standards to produce graduates ready to enter critical technical fields that are leading the way in innovation and emerging technologies, and anticipating the welfare and safety needs of the public. “We are very excited to receive this acknowledgment from the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET),” said Brian Mueller, President of Grand Canyon University. “Our computer science program was launched in 2014 and engineering followed in 2015, so this was our first opportunity for accreditation after they had their first graduating classes. These innovative, interdisciplinary, project-based programs are already meeting the high standards that GCU academics are known for.” Sought worldwide, ABET’s voluntary peer-review process is highly respected because it adds critical value to academic programs in the technical disciplines, where quality, precision, and safety are of the utmost importance. […]

In an open letter, GCU President Brian Mueller writes about the conversations he has had with Black students and employees and stresses the importance of acting on those talks.

To the Grand Canyon University community: In times of tragedy such as the inexplicable death of George Floyd and the racial tensions that have engulfed this country, it is helpful to focus on a core belief at GCU – that all persons are created in God’s image. Every single person you come in contact with, whether at the grocery store or at school or your place of work, is a unique creation of God and has immeasurable value. He loves them, and you, with all of His heart. We are all children of God and there is no place for racism, for we are all one in Christ Jesus. We stand with our GCU community to denounce such acts against marginalized people and know that, beyond those words, we are committed to affecting societal change through the actions of our united efforts. As your television screen gets filled with the images of Mr. Floyd’s reprehensible death, your emotions may be filled with anger, fear, sadness and confusion. Other images of violence, rioting and looting in various cities may add to those feelings. As you process that, always remember this: Jesus’ greatest commandment is to love God with all your heart […]

A class-action lawsuit against Grand Canyon University has been dismissed by the U.S. District Court in Atlanta. The court ruled on May 11, 2020, that GCU’s Enrollment Agreement “clearly stated” that the plaintiff’s academic program would not lead to licensure in Georgia and that the plaintiff would have known that “had she read the Enrollment Agreement.”

(April 24, 2020) – Grand Canyon University will confer 26,096 degrees for its traditional-aged and working adult students in the 2019-20 academic year, the largest graduating class in its 71-year history. The accomplishments are something not even a global virus could stop. “Dealing with the challenges of this COVID-19 pandemic is not how our graduating seniors on campus nor our working adult students online envisioned their college careers finishing up,” said GCU President Brian Mueller. “But they met those challenges with true Lopes spirit and persevered. This has truly been a historic year and they should feel extremely proud of their accomplishments.” GCU, a leader in online education with more than 85,000 students studying remotely, was well prepared for the challenges that COVID-19 presented. “The transition was seamless for our 20,000-plus on-campus students,” Mueller said. “Because we have invested over $200 million into a learning management system that serves both ground and online students, our students on campus were already familiar with that infrastructure. We were able to maintain the same continuity of instruction and learning, the same educational outcomes, the same small class sizes and the same curriculum within the same learning management system that students had already grown […]

GCU will begin production next week of personal protective equipment (PPE), such as masks and respirators, for both its campus and community partners. It also is providing housing in GCU Hotel for first responders who are serving on the front lines in the fight against this pandemic and is in discussions with the Phoenix Veterans Administration Medical Center to use the Canyon Activities Center as an overflow area for non-COVID patients.

Grand Canyon University announced that the entire $22.3 million it is receiving from the federal government as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (or CARES Act), will go directly to students in the form of emergency cash grants.