Grantham University

Grantham University
Motto Praestantia et Eruditio (Excellence and Knowledge)
Type For-profit
Established 1951
Students 17,486
Undergraduates 15,003
Postgraduates 2,483
Location Lenexa, Kansas, U.S.
Colors Yellow and blue
Mascot Talon
Website www.grantham.edu

Grantham University is a for-profit university based in Lenexa, Kansas, that offers online degree programs.[1] Grantham University was founded in 1951 as Grantham Radio Licensing School. Today, the university is organized into four different schools: the Mark Skousen School of Business, the College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Engineering and Computer Science and the School of Nursing and Allied Health.[2] The university offers 40+ accredited online degrees and certificate programs.[3] Grantham University is accredited by the Accrediting Commission of the Distance Education Accrediting Commission (DEAC) since 1961.[4]

Beginnings

Donald Grantham, founder of Grantham University

Grantham University started as Grantham Radio License School, a private school founded in 1951, in Los Angeles, CA.[5] Its founder, Donald Grantham, was an engineer and World War II veteran who offered Federal Communications Commission License certification courses to other World War II veterans after returning from the war.[6] Through the 1950s and 1960s additional campuses were opened in Washington, D.C.; Hollywood, California; Seattle, Washington; and Kansas City, Missouri.[7] In 1961, the university received formal recognition by the U.S. Department of Education.[8] The Grantham School of Electronics (GSE) became accredited by the Distance Education and Training Council. In 1968, the GSE was renamed to Grantham College of Engineering (GCE). A second Los Angeles campus was erected in 1974. In the following years GCE consolidated all of its activities to the Los Angeles location and switched to offering only distance learning programs. In 1990, GCE received approval to operate in Louisiana and relocated to Slidell. It was licensed by the Louisiana Board of Regents in 1993.

Recent history

In 2005, Hurricane Katrina hit Grantham University's main campus in Slidell, Louisiana, destroying approximately eighty percent of their facilities. Days later, more than 140 employees had the university up and running again in temporary offices in Kansas City, Missouri. Many of them drove all night to make the 900 miles (1,400 km) journey to Kansas City.[9]

After Hurricane Katrina, Grantham continued to serve its more than 8,000 students, without interruption—as described in the Harvard International Review.[10] The university decided to relocate to Kansas City permanently, and secured a certificate to operate from the Missouri Department of Higher Education.[11]

In June 2006, Grantham University signed articulation agreements with Bellevue University of Bellevue, Nebraska, and Central Wyoming College of Riverton, Wyoming.[12] In September 2006, the university enrolled its oldest student, 83-year-old John "Jack" Childs. He had already earned a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering at MIT in 1944.[13]

Grantham University in January 2007 signed a memorandum of understanding with the Defense Acquisition University (DAU)[14] to accept educational credit earned through successful completion of DAU courses and programs as transfer or elective credit at Grantham University.[15]

In 2006, eLearning World University Rankings ranked Grantham University 13th out of 27 US distance education programs.[16]

In November 2007, the university participates in numerous programs, such as GoArmyEd, Marine Corps Academic Explorer, and The Air University Associate to Baccalaureate Cooperative (CCAF); has been recognized as a provisional school in the Navy College Distance Learning Program; and is a member of the National Association of Institutes for Military Education Services.[17][18]

In its 2008 edition, KMI Media Group/Military Advanced Education ranked the university's undergraduate program 10th out of 20 military-friendly universities.[19][20]

In November 2010, Grantham University was ranked 93 out of 100 in the “Best for Vets: Colleges 2010” list compiled by Military Times EDGE. .[21] 4,000 institutions of higher learning were invited to submit information about their veterans programs, policies and resources, and then the top 100 schools were named. Colleges and universities were evaluated on four criteria: financial assistance, academic flexibility, campus culture, and support services.

In 2010, the KMI Media Group listed Grantham in its Guide to Military-Friendly Colleges and Universities for the fourth year in a row.[22] Grantham University received the Innovative Best Practice/New Program Award for its VIP2 and SSS training modules at the Annual Achievement Awards ceremony hosted by APSCU on June 8, 2011.[23] Grantham graduate, First Sergeant Louis Sidney, Jr., was honored with the Hall of Fame Award. The university also received an honorable mention in the category of Community Service for its Grantham Gives Back charitable initiative.

In January 2012, Military Advanced Education magazine listed Grantham University in its 5th Annual Guide to Top Military-Friendly Colleges & Universities. This marks the fifth consecutive year Grantham University has achieved the distinction.[24]

Academics

Mark Skousen School of Business

Mark Skousen has lectured on economics and finance at Columbia Business School and Barnard College at Columbia University.[25] In April 2005, Grantham University renamed its online School of Business title to "The Mark Skousen School of Business."[26] In December 2015, the school received specialized accreditation for its business programs through the International Assembly for Collegiate Business Education (IACBE).[27][28]

College of Engineering and Computer Science

The College of Engineering and Computer Science oversees number of different programs and coures, including associate degrees, bachelor's degrees and course offerings from project management, digital systems, physics, calculus, differential equations, and programming. In September 2016, the school received specialized accreditation for its engineering technology programs through the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET).[29]

College of Arts and Sciences

The College of Arts and Sciences is the largest college. The arts and sciences courses offered are aimed at strengthening basic skills in writing, speaking, critical thinking and quantitative reasoning. The arts courses include writing and communication, while the sciences include knowledge of the natural world and human civilization.

College of Nursing & Allied Health

The College of Nursing and Allied Health is the newest college. In 2010, Grantham University offered its first online RN-to-BSN program.

People

Students

The student body comes from the 50 US states and 106 countries and includes military and Department of Defense personnel.[30] Grantham has a retention rate (percentage of freshmen who return as sophomores in the following year based on the most current figures for 2013-14) of 27% for full-time students and 22% for part-time students.[31]

History

Faculty

Grantham University employs 28 full-time and 485 adjunct instructors and 359 full-time staff.[32] Russ Meade, received a Tegrity Grant from textbook publisher McGraw-Hill. He has taught and developed over 22 different courses on all major distance learning platforms and has presented numerous papers on “Quality and Distance Learning” at webCT and blackboard conferences.[33] In 2009, Grantham University elected its newest Board of Governors member Thomas Rhame.[34]

References

  1. ↑ "About Archive - Grantham University – Get your Degree Online". Grantham.edu. Retrieved 2016-07-14.
  2. ↑ "About GU". Grantham University. 2010. Retrieved 2010-10-11.
  3. ↑ "online degrees". Grantham University. 2014. Retrieved 2014-09-04.
  4. ↑ "Directory of Accredited Institutions". DETC. Retrieved 2016-03-17.
  5. ↑ "A Chronology of University History at Grantham University". Grantham University Archives. Retrieved 2010-02-14.
  6. ↑ "About Grantham University". CollegeCrunch.org. Retrieved 2010-02-14.
  7. ↑ "About Grantham University". Retrieved 17 June 2015.
  8. ↑ "Accreditation history". U.S. Dept of Education. Retrieved 2010-02-26.
  9. ↑ "Grantham University Relocates to Kansas City in Aftermath of Katrina: 1926-2001". Grantham University Newsletter. 2001. Retrieved 2005-10-01.
  10. ↑ "The Future of Urbanization. How Tele-technology is Shaping a New Urban Order". Harvard International Review. 2002–2008. Retrieved 2009-10-09.
  11. ↑ "Grantham University Relocates to Kansas City". Business Wire. April 7, 2006. Retrieved 2009-10-09.
  12. ↑ "Grantham University Signs Articulation Agreements with Bellevue University and Central Wyoming College Newsletter". Business Wire. June 2006. Retrieved 2006-06-01.
  13. ↑ "Student Spotlight, Mr. Jack Childs, GU Newsletter 2006". Grantham University. September 2006. Retrieved 2006-09-30.
  14. ↑ "Memorandum of Understanding Between GU and DAU" (PDF). Grantham University. January 2007. Retrieved 2007-01-01.
  15. ↑ "Grantham University Partners with the Defense Acquisition University". Grantham University. January 2007. Retrieved 2007-01-01.
  16. ↑ "Modeling eLearning World Rankings" (PDF). USDLA - Distance Learning Association. 2003. Retrieved 2006-04-25.
  17. ↑ National Association of Institutes for Military Education Services (NAIMES)., 2009. Retrieved on 2009-10-30.
  18. ↑ "AU-ABC Program, 2007 GU Newsletter". Grantham University. November 2007. Retrieved 2007-11-02.
  19. ↑ "MAE Top 20 Universities Rankings" (PDF). Military Advanced Education. 2008. Retrieved 2008-05-19.
  20. ↑ "Top 20 military friendly colleges". Higher ed Assessment. January 7, 2009. Retrieved 2009-01-07.
  21. ↑ "Best for Vets: Colleges 2010". Military Times EDGE. November 2010. Retrieved 2011-10-04.
  22. ↑ "4th Annual Guide to Military Friendly Universities Rankings" (PDF). Military Advanced Education. 2010. Retrieved 2011-01-08.
  23. ↑ "APSCU Announces Winners of 2011 Annual Achievement Awards". APSCU. May 27, 2011. Retrieved 2011-10-04.
  24. ↑ "2012 GUIDE TO TOP MILITARY-FRIENDLY COLLEGES & UNIVERSITIES". Military Advanced Education. 2011. Retrieved 2012-01-30.
  25. ↑ "Mark Skousen Biography". Mskousen.Com. 2016-04-21. Retrieved 2016-07-14.
  26. ↑ "Online Mark Skousen School of Business". Grantham.edu. Retrieved 2016-07-14.
  27. ↑ http://iacbe.org/pdf/directory-accredited-programs.pdf
  28. ↑ "International Assembly for Collegiate Business Education Accreditation" (PDF). International Assembly for Collegiate Business Education. 30 December 2015. Retrieved 2015-01-01.
  29. ↑ "ABET ACCREDITED PROGRAM SEARCH" (url). Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology. 1 October 2016. Retrieved 2016-10-01.
  30. ↑ "U.S. Army Warrant Officers Association Corporate Membership". U.S. Army Warrant Officers Association Online. December 2009. Archived from the original on June 8, 2009. Retrieved 2009-12-01.
  31. ↑ "Grantham University Data". Institute of Education Sciences. Retrieved 2016-01-01.
  32. ↑ "College Navigator - Grantham University". Nces.ed.gov. 1961-02-07. Retrieved 2016-07-14.
  33. ↑ "Russ Meade, McGraw-Hill Tegrity Grant". Grantham University. Retrieved 2010-02-10.
  34. ↑ "Thomas Rhame". Grantham University. Retrieved 2009-06-12.

External links

Coordinates: 36°40′37″N 94°35′46″W / 36.67694°N 94.59611°W / 36.67694; -94.59611

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/13/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.