Grantham University

Grantham University is a for-profit university based in Lenexa, Kansas, that offers online degree programs. 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. The university offers 40+ accredited online degrees and certificate programs. Grantham University has been nationally accredited by the Accrediting Commission of the Distance Education Accrediting Commission (DEAC) since 1961. The student body comes from the 50 US states and 106 countries and includes military and Department of Defense personnel. Grantham has a retention rate of 38% for full-time students and 10% for part-time students.

History

Beginnings

Grantham University started as Grantham Radio License School, a private school founded in 1951, in Los Angeles, CA. 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. In 1961, the university received formal recognition by the U.S. Department of Education. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, additional campuses were opened in Washington, D.C.; Seattle, Washington; Kansas City, Missouri; and Hollywood,California. 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 1990, GCE received its license to operate by the Louisiana Board of Regents. In 1993, GCE relocated to the state of Louisiana in Slidell.

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.

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

June 2006, Grantham University signed articulation agreements with Bellevue University of Bellevue, Nebraska, and Central Wyoming College of Riverton, Wyoming.

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.

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

In November 2010, Grantham University was ranked 93 out of 100 in the “Best for Vets: Colleges 2010” list compiled by Military Times EDGE. . 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.

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. 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.

In 2006, eLearning World University Rankings ranked Grantham University 13th out of 27 US distance education programs. In its 2008 edition, KMI Media Group/Military Advanced Education ranked the university's undergraduate program 10th out of 20 military-friendly universities. In 2010, the KMI Media Group listed Grantham in its Guide to Military-Friendly Colleges and Universities for the fourth year in a row.

Academics

All academic classes are 100% online.

Mark Skousen School Of Business

Mark Skousen has lectured on economics and finance at Columbia Business School and Barnard College at Columbia University. In April 2005, Grantham University renamed its online School of Business title to "The Mark Skousen School of Business."

College of Engineering and Computer Science

The College of Engineering and Computer Science oversees number of different programs and coures, including associate degrees, bachelor degrees and course offerings from project management, digital systems, physics, calculus, differential equations, and programming. Although not currently accredited by the Technology Accreditation Commission of ABET, Inc., ABET does accredit programs that are offered in a 100-percent online format.

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. Grantham has a retention rate of 38% for full-time students and 10% for part-time students.

Faculty

Grantham University employs 28 full-time and 485 adjunct instructors and 359 full-time staff. 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. In 2009, Grantham University elected its newest Board of Governors member Thomas Rhame.

Alumni

Grantham alumni have been employed in the fields of government, law, science, business, writing, computer science, and health care. A 1960 graduate, Dick Booth, a licensed Federal Communications Commission (FCC) radio engineer had his own highly rated television show called Teen Date. Teen Date was aired on KPIC-TV CBS4 television station located in Roseburg, Oregon. A 1961 graduate, Mr. Winchester's Tele-Car business became the fastest-growing mobile communications firm in the Northwest called "Tele-Car.

References

External links

• Official website