Pros
I stay at GCU because i have a passion for students, and also because I am consistently assigned courses (I have 2-3 courses at any given time)
Cons
First, let me just start off by saying that online instructors are not appreciated at GCU. We are evidently a dime a dozen. I have been here for nearly 8 years, and not once, have I received any validation or been acknowledged for my efforts. The pay is not competitive and is much less (almost 50 percent less) than I receive from any of the other 7 colleges where I teach. And, it has never increased over the 8 years!
-the instructors do not create their own courses and cannot make any edits, revisions, or editions to the course. This wouldn't be an issue, if they were well designed, but they are a disaster. The courses, at least the ones assigned to me, are poorly designed and don't tap into important concepts. The assignments lack creativity, the instructions are wordy (and confusing), and the discussion questions lack the application to the real world(and are often irrelevant). What’s more many of the courses are not up to date with the advances in the field. Some appear to be created by those who have little knowledge in the field (and have never taught). There is also little if any Christian integration.
-There is zero support for online faculty (at least I haven’t received any). They do provide a faculty support number and email, but nobody returns calls. At least this has been my experience. I have no point of contact whatsoever even after 8 years. I feel like I am on my own little island.
-the online educational platform (the LMS), developed by GCU, is a joke. It is antiquated (even though it's been "updated"). It is not "student friendly" nor is it instructor friendly.
-From my perspective, it appears that the school has very low expectations for students. It also appears that they would rather instructors just pass the student along and ignore infractions. For instance, although instructors are asked to file a report if a student plagiarizes, the process for doing so is complicated and confusing. This discourages reporting.
-GCU has no guidelines or rules against students using AI. Nearly half of my students submit papers and discussion posts that are written entirely by AI. I give zeros, which unfortunately will probably cost me my job.
