Phoenix-based Grand Canyon University (GCU) is offering scholarships as high as $7,000 per year for students who transfer from community colleges and other post-secondary institutions. The scholarship program is being offered in conjunction with a host of other academic, athletic and program scholarships that make attending GCU as affordable or in some cases more affordable than attending a state university in Arizona.

For example, a student from Arizona Western College with a 3.5 GPA qualifies for an automatic $7,000 per-school-year Transfer President's Scholarship. If that student wants to study secondary education, he or she will also receive a College of Education Scholarship of $4,000 per school year. The student's tuition cost for the year: $5,500, rather than GCU's published $16,500 tuition price.

In addition to these scholarship programs, GCU is continuing a tuition freeze instituted in 2009 for current and incoming students attending classes on its west Camelback Road campus. The University is currently accepting applications for the 2011-2012 school year.

"These scholarship programs, in addition to our extended tuition freeze, make a private education very accessible -- particularly in light of tuition increases at state universities," said Grand Canyon University CEO Brian Mueller. "We are seeing tremendous growth in enrollment as many top-notch transfer students are taking advantage of enhancements to our academic programs, on-campus housing, recreation, and classroom and athletic facilities."

Any student transferring to GCU with at least a 3.0 GPA qualifies for an academic scholarship ranging from $3,000 to $7,000 per year. These scholarships can be combined with other GCU academic, athletic and college major scholarships ranging from $1,000 to $10,000, making tuition for the typical on-campus student comparable to or less than Arizona's state schools. In fall 2010, nearly 75 percent of all on-campus students received institutional scholarships at an average of $5,500 per student. Total scholarship dollars awarded exceeded $10.5 million.

In September 2011, GCU will welcome approximately 2,300 new students, bringing its on-campus enrollment to 4,400.

The University's private school experience offers major advantages, including accreditation by the Higher Learning Commission, multiple program-specific accreditations, equal cost for both in-state and out-of-state students, small class sizes, and full-time campus faculty.

For more information, email CampusTransfer@gcu.edu or call 1-877-525-6129.

Grand Canyon University was founded in 1949 and is Arizona's premier private Christian university. GCU is regionally accredited and emphasizes individual attention for both traditional undergraduate students and the working professional in six colleges: the Ken Blanchard College of Business, the College of Education, the College of Nursing, the College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Fine Arts and Production, and the College of Doctoral Studies. GCU offers traditional campus-based programs, as well as online bachelor's, master's and doctoral degree programs. The University's curriculum fuses academic and clinical rigor with Christian values to prepare its students to be skilled, caring professionals. For more information about GCU, visit www.gcu.edu