Grantham University started as Grantham Radio License School, a private school founded in 1951, in Los Angeles. Its founder, Donald Grantham, was an engineer and World War IIveteran who offered Federal Communications Commission License certification courses to other World War II veterans after returning from the war. Through the 1950s and 1960s additional campuses were opened in Washington, D.C.; Hollywood, California; Seattle, Washington; and Kansas City, Missouri. In 1961, the university received formal recognition by the U.S. Department of Education. The Grantham School of Electronics became accredited by the Distance Education and Training Council. In 1968, the GSE was renamed to Grantham College of Engineering. 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. 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. The university decided to relocate to Kansas City permanently and secured a certificate to operate from the Missouri Department of Higher Education. In June 2006, Grantham University signed articulation agreements with Bellevue University and Central Wyoming College. Grantham University in January 2007 signed a memorandum of understanding with the Defense Acquisition University to accept educational credit earned through successful completion of DAU courses and programs as transfer or elective credit at Grantham University.
Academics
Mark Skousen School of Business
In December 2015, the school received specialized accreditation for its business programs through the International Assembly for Collegiate Business Education. In April 2005, Grantham University renamed its online School of Business after Mark Skousen 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 courses, 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 accreditation for its Bachelor of Science in electronics engineering technology program through the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology.
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.
The College of Nursing and Allied Health is the newest college. In 2010, Grantham University offered its first online RN-to-BSN program. In 2016, it was awarded program "candidate" status by the Accrediting Commission for Education in Nursing.
Faculty
Grantham University employs 36 full-time instructors and 255 adjunct instructors.
Student outcomes
According to College Scorecard, Grantham University has a 38 percent graduation rate, a typical debt after school of $24,806, and a 21 percent student loan repayment rate. There were no data on typical salary after attending.