This review is based strictly on my opinion as a visitor. I work in the next building and my friend goes here which prompted me to visit. I thought it was an interesting experience since this was the first university I've been to in San Francisco. The building was well-maintained and it wasn't crowded at all. The elevators we're pretty fast and this university has a pretty nice view. From what my friend told me, he would rate this university a 5/5 and I trust his feedback. read more

Golden Gate University - Colleges & Universities Near Me - San Francisco, California

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PLEASE do not consider this school. Their focus is getting as much money from Veteran students as possible and very little about the actual education provided. Getting in touch with someone to assist you, whether it be admissions, register's office, advising, is nearly impossible. I regret the day I enrolled in this school. read more

Golden Gate is not a good school and ate up nearly all my financial aid and I don't like Joseph he's very sneaky and I wish I would of never went here waste of time now I have loans read more

I am a 23 year USAF vet, and was planning to use my GI bill to attend GGU. So far I have completed all enrollment asked of me, and have received very little, if any information in my standing or what to do next. I have been attempting to enroll for over a year and a half now, and keep getting told "you are on the waiting list, please be patient ". Although I was told GGU is veteran friendly, I can't imagine how hard this would be if they weren't! I fear this stalling is because of my age and veteran status. I think it's time to enroll elsewhere now. read more

My husband applied and it allowed him to select what term he was interested in starting which was fall 2023. after he paid the application fee he was called and let know they had no spots open for military/veterans until fall 2024 but they refused to refund our application fee. Had they made it known on the website they wouldn't have spots he wouldn't have applied. It seems like they are trying to steal people's money and disabled veterans money at that! read more

I signed up to get information about a certain course. This was two years ago. They keep calling me very two weeks or so asking if I need more information or if I am interested. I've told them a dozen times to stop calling me, that I was not interested. When I block their number, they call with a new one. Really annoying... read more

I don't remember why I only gave my alma mater 3 stars. Also that review was practically a whole dissertation lol... TL;DR: GGU is a great place for second chances and second acts. read more

I received my undergrad degree here and am almost done with my Master's. When I worked at a large corporation in downtown San Francisco, there were LOTS of people from the company attending GGU for their degrees (mainly in finance and accounting). I figured if it was good enough for our CEO and Executive and Senior Vice Presidents (to attend GGU), then it was good enough for me. I have experienced both in-class and cyber courses and the teachers were great instructors. They were very knowledgeable in their subject matters and always responded quickly - usually within 1 business day. Some teachers even gave their personal cell phone numbers out. One teacher in particular said he was available 24/7 !! Seriously, there are some dedicated teachers at this school. I can understand comments about some foreign students being kind of "cliquey", and I have witnessed some of that myself. However, there are usually many other people in the class who "work well with others". Think of it this way, if you were studying in a foreign country, in a foreign language, you would naturally bond with people who speak your native language. Another reason why I like this school is because they are innovative - they are constantly changing the programs to suit the economic environment. The classes are not cheap, but they are not as expensive as St. Mary's College in Moraga. read more

I completed my doctorate at GGU and it was an incredibly rewarding experience. I was first drawn to the program because it was the only fully-accredited doctorate in finance in the Bay Area that could be pursued part-time by someone who also had a career. The experience proved to be so much more than that, however.. The full-time faculty who run the program are passionate about what they do, offering students the opportunity to engage in significant personal growth and deep learning. The faculty are also well suited to GGU's mission, combining, as they do, first class degrees with significant real world experience. There are two distinct phases to doctoral study, and GGU's program delivers the best of both. The first phase is focused on core doctoral seminars that provide the tools and conceptual framework for understanding and conducting formal research. It was here that I came to fully appreciate the nature of the academic enterprise and begin to master the tools and techniques for its pursuit. The second phase involves the development of a research question that will result (if you're sufficiently diligent) in the production of a formal dissertation. This is the apprenticeship phase, where you work closely with your dissertation committee and, most especially, your chair. My own committee chair was at once both guide and mentor, sending me back again-and-again to reexamine my sources, rewrite my proposals, and revisit the evidence. Each time, my dissertation got better. In the end, I was able to produce work that I believe will have a real impact on my profession. The doctoral program is probably the smallest part of what GGU does, but it represents the best of the University's mission and values. Beyond that, I can heartily recommend GGU to anyone who seeks to improve their skills and advance their career through any any of the University's many degree and certificate programs. read more

GGU really puts emphasis on academics so the classes can be really hard. We have assignments and readings all the time and because the class size is fairly small, everyone has to participate in the class discussion. The professors will certainly notice if you are not doing your work and not producing expected results. Students come from varied backgrounds and fields. It's not surprising that most of them are working professionals who want quality education and a flexible schedule. Degrees are accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) and faculty members are very knowledgeable and are also employed in their field. I have been supremely impressed with their cyber campus and their service quality. I wish they would increase their national presence and expose their cybercampus feature. The university needs to do some serious investment is marketing to be more visible. read more

Golden Gate University - Colleges & Universities Near Me - San Francisco, California

Great school, excellent instructors, school shares many of the same instructors from University of San Francisco. Coursework can be challenging, some classes are easier than others, overall great school! read more

I received my BA in Management in 1990 and was so pleased with the education that I continued on for my MBA. This was all after having earned a BA in Music fifteen years earlier. GGU had relatively small classes, mostly comprised of working professionals. The teachers were successful professionals teaching about the fields in which they worked. All current information. It was great. read more

This is probably the most honest review you will ever read regarding GGU... I earned an MS Finance last year and I am currently working toward my MS Taxation which I expect to finish by the end of the summer. I have found all of the coursework relatively challenging and have the highest regard for the majority of professors that I encountered, especially in the Tax program... One element that I find particularly appealing about GGU is the practical approach to higher education with a stronger emphasis on application as opposed to simply regurgitating theory.. All of the professors I have had at GGU are seasoned professionals with a wealth of experience and are always more than willing to share their own personal accomplishments and challenges in relation to the topic of class discussion, a far cry from the career academics you find at a lot of schools.. The professors in the Tax program have impressed me not only with their experience, but also with their command of what is undoubtedly complex subject matter and their ability to clearly articulate difficult concepts in a way that would allow even the most novice student the ability to grasp the more pertinent ideas. Other than that I find that there are a considerable amount of foreign students, I find it inspiring that for many of these students English is not their first language yet they have the courage to take on rigorous course matter such as finance, taxation, accounting, etc. Pretty damn impressive. What's attractive for students coming from foreign countries is that GGU does not require the GMAT for a number of graduate business programs other than the MBA program. Most of the students in my classes are working professionals that need additional training/education to climb the corporate ladder or simply want to improve on their existing skills. Mostly accounting and tax professionals including many CPA's, Enrolled Agents, etc. I feel the school has done extremely well with it's business model by gearing towards students that are working professionals, allowing them the ability to attend school and continue working full-time with relatively little complication. Not trying to "sell" the school year, just giving an honest opinion from my own experiences. I think one thing GGU needs to do is get rid of this "shine" campaign and replace it with marketing approach that gives the institution a fresh new "university" feel, if that makes any sense. It's also a pretty expensive school by any measure, so if you can get your employer to pay, attending GGU may be the right move. Anyway good luck and I hope my review helped. read more

I have been doing my masters in IT management here. The school is actually very good. I like that the professors are industry experts in the bay area and the curriculum is very good. Only thing is you will need to put good amount of effort to learn the concepts which I think is the case in most grad schools. The staff is very friendly and the college has a good reputation around the Bay area. I like my experience so far. read more

I went to grad school here and I loved it. Unlike my undergrad experience, my professors were all well-seasoned industry professionals with 20+ years in their area of expertise. So they taught from their own experience, along with the text, which made the concepts "stick' alot better because we talked about them in real-world scenarios. The students were all serious about learning, and they also brought their own experiences into the classroom, so that raised the bar even more. It was challenging, but I love a challenge. There's nothing worse than spending thousands of dollars on a class, only to have the professor read from the text or ask you to memorize terms from a book. I could do that myself. But here, concepts are not full taught until they are excercised in some way, which sometimes included the use of role playing. Most of my classes used some form of role-playing. I was a bit uncomfortable at first, and I honestly thought it was a bit cheesy. But I have to admit, the role playing was immensely helpful in helping me to apply the concepts I had learned. For example, we conducted mock union negotations where we alternated roles between the employer, the employees and the union, which helped me see all sides of a labor negotiation. In my mediation class, we alternated roles between the mediator and the feuding parties, to understand how to effectively mediate and get resolution between parties. I don't plan to be a mediator, but as a manager (one day), and I'm sure I'll need to mediate among my employees at some point. The facilities aren't the newest or most modern, but they make up for it in technology. No outdated computers here. If it were any different, I'd wonder where all my tuition was going! Cheesy as it sounds, going to GGU was a challenging, refreshing and rewarding experience. My only gripe (aside from the cost) is that the classes are 12-16 weeks long so it takes quite a bit to finish a degree here. Fortunately, graduate degrees only require around 10 classes so it's not THAT bad. But it's well worth it. I'm proud to be a GGU alum :) read more

I'll dedicate my 100th review to my almost Alma mater, GGU, where I'll be graduating from in a few months. GGU is hardcore and has challenged me, inspired me, and developed me into the awesome human being I am today. I honestly feel like I could go up against the Trump and if I chose to get my Master's here, I most definitely will. GGU offers great programs and classes to prepare you for the real world and kick some corporate ass. GGU is particular geared for working adults but I would recommend it to anyone who wants a serious education, applicable to the real world of business, management, information technology, tax and law. Faculty are highly intellectual and effective. They bring real world experience and knowledge to the classroom. Many of them have noteworthy careers or professions and/ or run their own companies. Each one has inspired me and opened my eyes and mind. Props to Chris Clark, hands down one of the best instructors ever who got me through statistics and had me actually feeling like genius instead of a moron. The programs are designed so that undergrads can maximize electives and obtain a certificate in a particular concentration or prepare for a smooth transition into a master's program. The programs are completely applicable to the real-world and you'll find the classroom material working for you constantly in your career. As a SF institution GGU has an excellent reputation in the business community. The location is great and they offer online classes which I've found to be super cool and convenient for a girl like me with a busy, jam-packed schedule. I've enjoyed my experience at GGU. I truly feel I've learned a lot and gained a lot of knowledge from this place. I'll be proud to say I graduated from GGU. Best of all, GGU is a non-profit, public-benefit institution and they offer scholarships to their students. Now get your edumacation on! read more

- US News & World Report (2001) rated GGU's online programs as among the best in the nation. - GGU's School of Taxation is one of the nation's largest tax schools. - GGU led the San Francisco Bay Area in the number of business related graduate degrees awarded in 2003, according to the Integrated Post secondary Education Data System (IPEDS). - The School of Accounting has the only evening master of accountancy program in the San Francisco Bay Area. - Accounting Today recognized David Hardesty, adjunct professor, as one of "The 2004 Top 100 Most Influential People in Accounting." - Five GGU professors have been Fulbright Scholar recipients including GGU Professor of Law Clifford Rechtschaffen who was granted the award in 2004 for his environmental law/justice work with the university. - The 2003-2004 edition of Great Colleges for the Real World, a national guidebook, rated GGU as exceptional or above average in the areas of meeting student needs, total college experience and contributing to students' career development. - GGU was honored in 2002 for its outstanding internship program by the California Cooperative Education & Internship Association. - GGU is a recipient of IDG's CIO magazine "2004 CIO 100" award, which recognizes organizations around the world that exemplify the highest level of operational and strategic excellence in information technology. - GGU's online Core Research Skills class is a model online course for the Internet Education Project (IEP) sponsored by the Association of College & Research Libraries (ACRL). Wow, I guess GGU isn't too much of a joke among the business community. Let's see, they offer undergraduate, mastered, executive masters, doctoral and multiple law degrees. Not to mention they have 7 different campuses and one of the top online programs in the nation (US News & World Report). I mean...really. I know it's not as distinguished as a state university... (inside joke) but, it's still a credible school. My only complaints are that while finishing my degree, I had one professor who returned my emails and phone calls 2-3 weeks late, (which he did this all the time) and that tuition was fairly expensive. Other than that, I took courses at the school and online and some were extremely challenging and other were extremely easy. I believe that sums up damn near every single "worthy" college in the nation. BTW, waaaay back when, I scored a 1220 on my SAT - so, if some of the courses were challenging to me, it was because they were in general and not because I'm a complete idiot --- even though, that is very possible =) read more

I am an MSA candidate at GGU in my second semester. So far I have had a great experience at GGU. There are a lot of great teachers here from lots of different professional backgrounds. They are mostly all very approachable and willing to talk. They are also very responsive by email for the most part (a noticeable difference from my undergrad teachers). I have taken ACCTG 351C with Reardon, ACCTG 305 with Bennett, ACCTG 361 with Ferris, and ACCTG 351A with Phil Neyland. 351C was easy, 305 was difficult, 351A is very interesting and I'm learning a lot, and 361 is whatever (tax yuck). GGU also offers a ton of student services. They offer resume review sessions, tons of speaker panels, and activities like networking events and bowling nights and holiday parties and etc etc. I love GGU and I am trying to make the most of my year and a half here. I would recommend it for masters students interested in taxation and accounting. read more

I am getting my Masters in Business here, and they are really a great , accomodating school. The teachers are great, and I have met so many cool people from all different countries. The school itself is clean and very modern . The technology is great, and most important the resources are great. I am proud to be getting my MBA at such a great school ! read more

I'm attending GGU for my Masters in Human Resources and I love it! The students are great and the professors are excellent. Great way to network also. I have just started the program and it has opened many new doors for me! In fact, I just landed a new position with a great company. So to those that doubt this school - too bad! read more

I passed you Ole' Golden Gate U....last night en route to 111 Minna. I got my "Web Administration" Certificate here back in 1996. Whooooa! Damm! I am old. I am getting alittle sick of the WWW as we know it. I am ready for Web3.0 The "Semantic" Web!! Google it Yelpers!!! Wake up!! Smell the Ajax, the PHP, the API....Go open source. Go OpenID, especially all those with Yahoo accounts like myself. It was an 11 Eleven Week Course.... Most of what I heard and saw in this non hands-on course was obsolete when they printed it. It cost $100.00 per course. They were offered on Fridays at the Lunch Hour. I worked @44 Montgomery St 94104 then. I was happy to get it on paper my love and obsession with the Internet. The Law School almost lost its accreditation in the 90's. I never applied here. To me the Law School does not have a good reputation even though it is an ABA accredited school. S.F. Law School where I attended is only State Accredited. The Elevators are slow. Take the stairs. Develop those Gluets. Food???!!! Pack a Lunch!! Unless you like "Roach Coaches", Jack-In-The-Box, etc....... There is no traditional Cafeteria. Bookstore....??? Sucks... There was a big scandal back in the 90's about Golden Gates Bookstores... was it copyright, employee-management or theft related??? Hmmmmm yeah 5 stars Yelpers... Why?? because it is a Skool Fool!! I can't hate on schools as conflicted and fucked up as they are. I am glad my black nappy headed ass can enroll in this University any time I dam well please. oooh that reminds me I have to request a transcript. Hey "Me Generation" design a SNS site that aggregates all my school transcripts. Remember Infodiva gave you the idea. Luv ya'll Sweeties... I love my terms of endearment. BCB reppin 94132 read more

Great school. They have on-line and in person classes. (I prefer in person)The school is quite and in a great area in San Francisco. The staff and students are very helpful. I would recommend this school to you! CLASS OF 2011! One more semester to go! Yeaaaa me! Pros: Near bus stations & Bart,on-line classes, evening classes. Cons: Parking, No day time classes if you're a business student,only for Law students. read more

Golden Gate University seems to forget that we students have a choice of schools. I'm tired of being treated poorly. Their financial aid process is slower than the movements of a glacier. Their tech support for online courses is equally slow. It's ironic that a school that teaches business administration is so unresponsive to their students. I'm paying $4500 for two classes and I have to put up with an online learning platform that is frequently out of order? I'm tired of navigating their voice mail mazes and still not getting the help that I need. I would never recommend this school to anyone. It's unfortunate because there are some good professors here (Dr. Dawe, Dr. Kent, Dr. Stevenson, for example). It's just that the way students are treated makes it unpleasant to attend this school. Especially nice is having your call disconnected after you've been on hold for 15 minutes. Cootz OUT! read more

Happy to receive from GGU a scholarship of academic excellence. You need to have a control freakish personality, be annoying and ask several questions to make sure the admin/ enrollments department don't make any mistakes. I like the open door approach to the university. read more

My paycheck more than doubled right upon graduated from GGU. I hold a BA from a University that is ranked 8th worldwide this year, and I can confidently say that the value added to my resume from my GGU degree is as significant as my undergrad degree. I am a Visa student, and it is very hard to land a job (any job) in the states with a student visa. However, with a pending GGU degree on my resume, I received interviews with world class corporations before graduation. Within 3 months of job hunting, I was able to land a dream job with a GGU MS Finance degree 1 week before departing from the school program. GGU's location is one of the best in the nation, and it is the same reason why I received so many opportunities before graduated. The economy of Bay Area has been exploding, and the city of San Francisco is showered by endless finance opportunities too. Going to GGU is all about getting marketable skills and knowledge. As other reviewers, I did encounter good and bad professors, but it is up to you how you market yourself in the job market, not your school. read more

Professors are professionals in their field. They are very motivating and the services provided at Golden Gate University have been excellent. I achieved my PMP and ITIL certifications through my studies here. I feel like I can run a company as a CIO thanks to what I've learned here. read more

This school is a joke. Horrible for veterans. The communication is awful. I got the run around for 2 months just trying to get enrolled. They literally set my first appointment up with an employee who no longer worked in the department. The next person I got missed 2 scheduled appointments claiming her email wasn't interfacing with schedule. Once I finally got a hold of her she said she couldn't help and referred me the va dept. I got with the VA dept and they referred me back to Claudine. It was all just a waste of time. I was told to write a statement as to why I wanted to attend. Today I got an email saying my statement wasn't enough. I never received any guidance on what exact verbiage needed to be used. I was told 2-3 sentences would be sufficient. Clearly not. All of this hassle for a certificate program. Veterans, don't waste your benefits on this school read more

I graduated from this university. Going there was the WORST decision I've ever made in my life! Going to this place equals putting a huge amount of money and time in the trash! Not easy to say, but it was true for me! Be careful with them! They mislead students. They don't care about their students, the quality of the education, and other related services that they suppose to provide to the students. All they care about is MONEY! I had multiple issues during my study at this place which violated my rights (I had a lot of, so I have many LinkedIn and blog posts to post). I don't want to mention how many times I reported hostile situations to the administration and I was either ignored or received comments like: "oh ... good luck next time", or "it was your fault" etc. Unfortunately, talking to them never worked, and the administration humiliating behavior made everything even worse for me. In one case, I was told by my advisor that I "should learn how to speak with an instructor" after I asked her to help with a course that was so useless. There was no syllabus, clear grading rubric, or clear feedback from the instructor in the middle of the term. My advisor said that her responsibility is to "empower" me to learn how to talk. Beside the advisor, I do blame the university's broken system that hired her and gave her the responsibilities that she wasn't capable of doing. Another time, I was forced to take a one-on-one course to receive my degree on time. I had to take the course with someone who made my experience even more painful, academically and racially. After being racially mistreated by the instructor and after being ignored by the administration for several times, I decided to file a complaint with the school, hoping that at least their HR investigates what happened fairly, and does something. The head of the HR told me that she'll review everything carefully with her other colleague in the HR. Surprisingly, after a few months, I figured out that their HR did nothing about the case! The case was closed by someone outside the HR who had no authority to close the complaint that was against an employee. Their system is broken, and no one cares about what happens to students. They smile and say: be patient! It was a miscommunication, your fault, and etc. Just because they have one mission: to protect their own people, no matter how they intentionally discourage and disparage some students based on their ethnicity. DO NOT GO to this university. This place is HORRIBLE. At first, I thought everything was an accident and the administration has no idea about what is really going on there, but they know! They don't care! read more

I'm currently in pursuing my MSF at GGU and doing the online courses. I was a bit skeptical with it being online and I haven't been in school in over 5 years. GGU was the only one who offered the MSF program. Their program is tailored for working professionals. After speaking with my counselor and taking a few classes, I couldn't be happier. The classes are intense but I like how accessible my professors are, I almost like the online more than the in class because you learn more. read more

GGU makes admission so easy and it's truly tailored to full-time working students. i was really skeptical, thinking, sure, it sounds easy, but in my admissions packet they give you a no-brainer checklist that's really easy to follow. the student enrollment asst director, john, and i are in constant contact (and, i ask A LOT of questions) and he's really informative and always gets back to me in a day. after getting my cpa, i never thought i'd say thing, but i'm looking forward to starting school and studying again! read more

You call this a school? It's located in the middle of downtown and parking is very limited. It's more like an adult education than a, "formal" university since they don't even have an athletic department. They're quick to collect your money but slow to respond to your needs. Enough said. read more

Golden Gate University Campus in Downtown San Francisco is very nice. In January 2010, I attended the Volunteer for Income Tax Assistance lecture here for three Saturdays. The campus looks very clean which I liked. Their classrooms look very nice and can accommodate a class of 20-40 students or more. I haven't been inside all of their classrooms yet, just a few of them. Overall, GGU is a very nice campus. read more

I'm glad I chose GGU for my graduate degree. GGU is the only school in the West to offer the Integrated Marketing Communications M.S., a degree program founded at Northwestern in Chicago. I am in my third year and have enjoyed learning from full-time and adjunct professors who truly have hands-on business experience outside of teaching (in fact, many consult and/or work for major firms). I feel I will be competitive having an integrated marketing degree. The late evening hours, technological features (such as online math tutoring) and accessibility of professors to students are other features I appreciate at GGU. read more

This rating is for the structure of the building, and how it looks both inside and out. I went here for about two months because this is where Kaplan Professional Schools taught their real estate course. The outside of the building looks very nice, with lots of glass windows from the bottom up. Inside is modern, and the everything looks new. The downside of this building are the elevators. There are two in the main lobby. They are often always overcrowded, with people getting on and off at every level. On the very top floor, there are vending machines that serve cold drinks, hot drinks, candy, cookies, microwavable food, and ice cream. It is a large room that has a very relaxed atmosphere. As for the classroom that I was in, there about eight tables that formed two rows. Since there was no space in between the tables, it felt cramped in the classroom. Overall, this place seems cool. I wouldn't mind going to school here. read more

I have mixed feeling attending GGU. I started back in 2013 and have been attending classes on and off because of work and life schedule constantly changing. The school offers cheap tuition for an MBA degree compare to other universities out there. As for the quality of the education, you get what you pay for. Often time, students are from another country with little to no work experience and they have a very poor command in English. Their writing and speaking really show when it comes to doing group project or the level of involvement in group projects. Furthermore, students do not show that they are thinking at an MBA level, at best undergraduate level. As for the professors, I only had two decent professors so far. By decent, I mean they know how teach the course material by either adding their relevant work experiences or making information easy to grasp. I had professor that repeats the same story 5 times through out the course of the semester or having multiple spelling errors on PowerPoint slides. Worse yet, I had a professor that reads off from his note and never look up to the class. Even though most of these professors have working experience, they don't seem to know how to teach, which GGU must reflect when hiring adjunct professor. Teaching takes more than working in the real world. I have a few more classes to go and hopefully I could end up with some decent professors. read more

I have to say right from the beginning that this review is based on my experience with the university during the application process and post admission ONLY. Due to personal circumstances I will not actually be able to start as a graduate student this fall, however still find it important to mention how well GGU took care of me during the past few months. The admission advisors I was in contact with were extremely friendly and helpful and, whenever I wrote an email, always immediately answered the many questions I had. I applied to three universities for the same studies, in order to hopefully have a bit of a choice, and Golden Gate University was by far the most responsive. For me this was very important, also because I am an international student, and it made me choose to confirm my attendance in San Francisco. As I said, I will no longer be able to attend, but the impression this university made on me during those first interactions is a very positive and lasting one. I believe this is due to its size, which allows them to take better care of the individual than other institutions. From what I know and have experienced I can only recommend GGU, especially for students who care about what I described above and who do not want to be treated as just one of many. read more

Golden Gate University is an okay college for undergraduate students. I liked their classrooms and the campus. However, once I graduated and entered their graduate program it all went downhill. There is a Professor, Leslie Swanson, she is basically the reason why I left GGU after two years. GGU does not care about their students. They don't care that I was treated unfairly by a Professor. Their disability department did not care to process my disability in a timely manner. Their VA adviser is cold and non-responsive. GGU put me through a lot of stress during the first two semesters of my Master's program. I've heard a lot of other similar complaints from other students. I wish everyone the best but I hope GGU finally realizes that Leslie Swanson is an unfit Professor. I'm not sure how many emails, bad reviews, and warnings it will take for them to take this horrible person off their staff. Shame on you, GGU. Veterans (especially with disabilities) deserve better. (Since they pride themselves on their high veteran student count and make a ton of MONEY from the VA because of them.) What a shame! read more

[Update #1 Fast-forward to 12/09 and I'm working at the National Institutes of Health in a financial advisory capacity. I think going to GGU is still a good value with the big-picture in mind of changing careers and gaining a skill set (i.e. if you were a liberal arts major undergraduate) however their accounting offering appears to moving away from an academic degree and more towards a glorified CPA-review with their tie-in with 'Roger Philip' CPA review courses. Their accounting program looks more like a commodity ala Keller, U.Phoenix, 'XYZ generic-online-diploma-mill'... and less like a special SF/CA institution. Since my last/below review I've had a chance to take additional accounting evening/online courses at U.Phoenix*** and a local community college back east. I'd say the GGU online programs are unfortuanately not as polished as the user interface at U.Phoenix*** and certainly not as affordable as community college. If ROI is the primary decider for where to study accounting I'd recommend a community college/state program if your goal is to become a CPA since the total cost to you will be so much less. If you're a young person looking for a fun time living in SF for a year or two and meeting some interesting international students than GGU is wonderful.] I went to Penn State for my undergraduate and while working at Siebel Systems (now part of Oracle) I went to GGU for accounting courses at night. The school helped me change careers, pass the CPA**** exam, and get my foot into Pricewaterhouse Coopers*. I did not stay at PwC but I'm glad I went to GGU. I don't understand some of the harsh reviews from people who don't sound like they took many, if any, courses at GGU. The instructors at GGU are not Nobel Prize winners but have cut their teeth in business and the accounting/tax program has some serious heavyweight accounting/tax instructors. If you explain you chose GGU because you are working (the shcool's designed for working professionals) then you won't have any problems with the lack of prestige that the reviewers think is so important. People leave the school with skills and serious jobs ('07 classmates went to Goldman Sachs*, KPMG*, Ernst and Young**, Deloitte*...) so I don't know what else you can ask for. I love the number of international students and a contingent of Fulbright Scholars is a great bonus to study with. Course prices are expensive but I am glad to have chosen GGU over SFSU... there's a reason the former Marshall University President took the helm at GGU - it's a school moving up. - Ray [Update #2 - I should make some explanations of my original review: **** Any accounting program at GGU should be supplemented by doing the CPA exam as soon as possible. Nothing draws scorn more than an accountant boasting about their 'Masters' degree and not being able to pass the CPA exam. Believe me, I work with people who have graduate accounting degrees who can't/don't do the CPA exam and diminish the currency of their studies. ***The user interface was slick at U.Phoenix but the course was complete crap with an instructor who seemed to know very little about accounting or the course subject 'Accounting Ethics'; the 'masters' students at U.Phoenix seemed to know very little basic accounting. Sad. **EY was one Big4 firm that seemed amenable to taking GGU accounting students into their audit practice on a student's performance in the program. This was not the case for the other Big4 firms. *These were very rare exceptions - the student for Goldman was from Japan and worked in a Japanese practice - through personal Japanese contacts. If you study finance/MBA at GGU you have virtually no chance of getting into prestigious banking firm (Goldman, Credit Suise, etc.) unless you have an 'in' somehow outside of your coursework. These firms never interview at GGU; PwC, KPMG, and Deloitte took students from the MS Tax program but were wary of the accounting students for audit positions and everyone that went to these firms had some superlative pedigree prior to GGU (I went to Penn State, worked for top companies...classmates who went to Deloitte went to the Japanese practice, and KPMG audit associates from GGU went to strong undergraduate schools such as Wooster and Trinity College in Ireland. Also my 2007 classmates interviewed in '06 when things were much better for jobs. read more

I just completed a Masters of Science in Human Resources Management with GGU. It is expensive and you have to choose your professors very carefully, but overall I'm happy with the education I received there. It definitely helped me to go to the next step in my career, which is why I did it in the first place. Most of my classes were in person, but I appreciated the one semester in which I could take two classes online. The in person classes were definitely the best. I highly recommend Dan Popkin-Clurman for his coaching class, Rona Layton for her Employment Law class, and John Ford for Conflict Resolution. These were the best classes I had the pleasure of taking during my degree program. Overall, it's a good school. read more

I have had a two great teachers, a handful of OK teachers and way too many crappy ones. Considering how expensive it is, I would want the teachers to be better. They could also respond to students complaints and needs. The school does work nicely into one's work schedule having many classes. Yet they do not really appreciate breaks between terms. I mean one term is back to back to the next. Nor respect the breaks within the class or between the classes. Often this is because they rant and are not using time well. Online platform is a pain in my behind and doesn't work well. Or at least the teachers can't use it. The whole set up is confusing and in general GGU has issues with its AV. The school is not that helpful in any regards with the exception of a few librarians. Try getting help in the computer lab, I dare you. They do not treat students well, nor is it a campus in any regards. It has classrooms, lecture halls and a library in one build. If it didn't so well into my schedule and being so close to done I would have left. read more