Online tuition is per-credit and program-specific: the RN-to-BSN publishes in the $340 to $345 per credit band, so a three-credit class runs a bit over $1,000 and the six-credit NRS-465 capstone about double; the MBA runs $675 per credit, roughly $2,700 per four-credit class and $31,050 across its 46 credits; military students carry their own reduced rate. Materials fees ride alongside in some programs. The campus flat rate of $16,500 a year belongs to the traditional 15-week campus, not to online study, and comparing the two misleads. The honest ways to pay less, in order: transfer up to 90 credits through the free Lopes evaluation, never fund a retake, and check the military rate if it applies to you.
The program-rate reality
Because rates vary by program, and program pages and the tuition hub occasionally publish figures a few dollars apart, treat any per-credit number you read, including ours, as the band it is, and let your enrollment counselor's written quote be the final digit. What never varies is the structure: credits times rate, plus stated fees, with no out-of-state surcharge and no flat-term arbitrage to play. GCU's model rewards exactly two behaviors, arriving with credits and finishing what you start, and the rest of this manual is those two behaviors with numbers attached.
The waste table
| Event | What it costs, roughly | The prevention |
|---|---|---|
| Retaking a 3-credit RN-to-BSN class | Over $1,000 paid twice for the same credits | Support in the first run costs a fraction, and the carousel leaves no room to average it away |
| Retaking a 4-credit MBA class | About $2,700, twice | The quant classes that cause most retakes are the desks' bread and butter |
| Taking a transferable class at GCU | The full sticker for credits a transcript already held | Run the free Lopes Credit Evaluation before registering for anything |
| A dropped class past the refund window | Program-dependent, never zero | Decide with the calendar open and the drop policy read |
Budgeting on the carousel
- One class at a time means one invoice at a time; map the whole degree's class count early so the total is never a surprise
- The 90-credit transfer ceiling is worth up to tens of thousands on a bachelor's, and the evaluation costs nothing
- Aid and employer benefits apply per the normal channels; weekly starts mean disbursement timing is worth one counselor conversation
- Doctoral learners: continuation credits for an unfinished DPI Project are the program's hidden cost, which is why the DPI desk optimizes for on-time completion above all
Where support fits the math
Per-credit pricing makes the case arithmetic simple: a supported class costs its sticker plus a fraction; a failed one costs its sticker twice plus weeks of the carousel. Our engagements are priced so that preventing a single retake covers a class's worth of help several times over, and the comparison page walks the full ledger with the marketing turned off.
Price the degree, then shrink it
Send your program and transcript situation. The class-count math, both ways, comes back free.
Sources and verification
Facts on this page come from official and independent sources, and anything that matters is worth checking against the originals:
- www.gcu.edu/academics/calendar: GCU's official academic calendar, source for the weekly-start model
- www.gcu.edu/tuition-and-financial-aid: official tuition and aid figures published by GCU
- support.gcu.edu: GCU's official support center, source for Halo classroom and LopesWrite mechanics
- www.hlcommission.org: Higher Learning Commission, the institutional accreditor
- www.ccneaccreditation.org: Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education, the nursing accreditor
- apastyle.apa.org: APA Style, the official style authority behind the formatting rules