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LOUDCLOUD RUBRICS — GRAND CANYON UNIVERSITY

GCU, by the rubric.

GCU grades tightly to the rubric and stacks benchmark assignments that carry the course. We write to the criteria wording and get the benchmarks right the first time.

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How the program actually runs

FORMAT
8-week online courses; some 7-week doctoral residencies
GRADING
Rubric-weighted, benchmark assignments heavily weighted
PROGRAMS
RN-to-BSN, MSN, DNP, EdD, MBA, counseling, psychology

Where it gets heavy — and what we carry.

Coached with you by a specialist who works in this program every term. You review and approve everything before it is submitted.

01 Benchmark weighting One benchmark can be a third of the grade. We treat it like a mini-capstone: outline, draft, rubric check, revise.
02 Rubric literalism Graders mark the exact criterion language. We build the paper around those rows instead of hoping.
03 Doctoral residencies & DPI project Residency deliverables and the DPI project need to be ready in advance. We prepare both to your chair’s expectations.
"Every benchmark came back with points I did not lose. That was new for me."
T.S. — RN-TO-BSN, GCU · INITIALS ONLY, HOUSE RULE
ALSO SUPPORTED Capella Walden Chamberlain Purdue Global Western Governors Southern New Hampshire Herzing American College of Education Arizona State University of Phoenix Liberty

Grand Canyon this term? Send the details.

Two minutes, fully confidential, no obligation. A specialist who works in this program replies with a plan and a quote within two hours.

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BEFORE YOU ASK US

How Grand Canyon University actually runs.

Which time zone are deadlines set in?

Arizona time, which does not observe daylight saving. That means the effective deadline in your own zone shifts twice a year while the posted time stays identical, and students on the eastern seaboard lose an hour they were counting on without any announcement. Set your calendar to the university's clock rather than converting it in your head each week.

How is late work treated?

Through a stated deduction that increases with each day, with a point beyond which work is no longer accepted at all. The specifics sit in your syllabus and faculty apply them with some discretion. What matters practically is that the deduction schedule makes a late submission worth far less than a slightly weaker submission filed on time.

How many courses is it sensible to run at once?

Concurrent enrolment is permitted, and in compressed sessions it is harder than the credit count implies, because the heavy weeks of two courses tend to land on top of each other. Check first whether your program restricts it, then plan around the collision rather than around the arithmetic, since the arithmetic looks reassuring and the calendar does not.

What happens if I drop a course partway through?

Where you are in the session decides everything: the deadline for withdrawing without a transcript entry, the refund tier, and whether financial aid is affected are all date-driven. Those dates arrive early in a compressed course. Look them up on the day you first consider dropping rather than the day you decide.

Who decides my collaborative learning group?

Faculty assign them, normally at the start of the course, and you do not choose your own. That is worth knowing early because it means the composition of the group is not something to negotiate, only something to plan around. Establishing who is doing what in the opening days is the only real lever you hold.