GCU Nursing: Hybrid ABSN Site Enrollment Keeps Growing Ahead of Grand Canyon's Nov. 4 Results

Enrollment at the off-campus nursing sites that Grand Canyon Education (Nasdaq: LOPE) runs for Grand Canyon University and its other university partners reached 5,829 students on June 30, 2026, up 16.8% from a year earlier, according to the company's second-quarter earnings release. GCU nursing students made up only about 26% of that total: the filing counts 1,519 GCU students at those sites, up from 1,142 a year earlier. The rest attend other universities that contract with the company.

GCE uses these sites for its partners' healthcare programs, including accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing (ABSN) programs, which combine online coursework with in-person skills labs and clinical rotations. The company kept its site count at 47 in the first half of 2026 and said it plans to open one more site in the fall. Grand Canyon Education reports third-quarter results after the market closes on Nov. 4, 2026.

What Grand Canyon Education's Filings Show

Grand Canyon Education (GCE) is a services company. It provides technology, academic, counseling, marketing and other support services to universities, and it secures, develops and finances the off-campus classroom and lab sites they use. Its filings report enrollment as of the last day of each quarter. The figures for the off-campus sites, from the July 30 release and the company's quarterly report, show:

• Total site enrollment: 5,829 on June 30, 2026, up 16.8%. Excluding sites that have closed or are in teach-out, enrollment rose 18.5%.
• GCU's share: 1,519 GCU students, up from 1,142, an increase of about 33%. That leaves about 4,310 students enrolled at other partner universities.
• Site count: GCE opened one new GCU site in the first half of 2026 and closed one site where it had stopped recruiting in 2025, so the total stayed at 47.
• Pipeline: one more site is planned for fall 2026. The 10-Q also lists $31.1 million in lease commitments for five off-campus classroom and laboratory sites whose leases had not yet begun as of June 30.

The trend matches the full-year figures. In its annual report for 2025, GCE reported 5,738 students at these sites on Dec. 31, 2025 (1,325 of them at GCU), up 16.6%, after opening five sites during 2025.

Whose ABSN Students Are These?

This distinction matters when reading the GCU nursing numbers. GCE says it serves 20 university partners. Its annual report says the off-campus sites are "branded for specific university partners," with classrooms, faculty, staff and equipment shared across them. The filings name only one partner, GCU, and say the company discloses GCU's figures separately because of its size. The other universities behind the roughly 4,310 non-GCU students are not identified in the release, the 10-Q or the 10-K.

For students, that means a hybrid ABSN site run by GCE may grant another university's degree. Tuition, admission rules, accreditation and NCLEX outcomes belong to the university that enrolls the student, not to GCE. The company also says ABSN students at partner sites bring in "significantly higher revenue per student" than it earns under its GCU agreement, because the partners pay a higher revenue share, charge higher tuition and enroll students who take more credits per semester.

How the GCU Nursing ABSN Program Works

GCU's 10-Q says the university teaches at its Phoenix campus and at 12 off-campus classroom and laboratory sites. In a May 20, 2026 announcement, GCU said it had opened 12 accelerated BSN sites across eight states, using a hybrid model that can be completed in as few as 16 months after secondary admission. GCU's ABSN pages list sites in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Missouri, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah. GCU ABSN applicants need at least 60 college credits or an existing bachelor's degree. For comparison with traditional timelines, see our guide on how long nursing school takes.

GCU's pages for two sites show how new locations come online:

• Miramar, Florida: GCU welcomed its first cohort on May 4, 2026, with Memorial Healthcare System as its clinical partner. The site has start dates in January, May and September.
• Englewood, Colorado: GCU's Colorado ABSN page says the program has interim approval from the Colorado Board of Nursing and "does not currently hold national nursing accreditation." It says the program is pursuing initial accreditation from the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) and refers to a February 2026 accreditation site visit in Englewood. GCU warns that the lack of accreditation "may limit future educational and career options for students."

The Grand Canyon University accelerated BSN also draws from a new online Associate of Science in Pre-Nursing, announced in May, whose credits transfer into the ABSN.

The Federal Cases Against GCU Are Closed

Anyone researching GCU nursing programs may come across two older federal actions. Both are over. On Aug. 15, 2025, the Federal Trade Commission voted to drop its lawsuit against Grand Canyon Education and CEO Brian Mueller over doctoral program marketing, and the parties filed a joint stipulation of dismissal with prejudice, according to GCU. Higher Ed Dive reported that the FTC's claim against GCU itself had been dismissed earlier because, as a nonprofit, the university fell outside the agency's jurisdiction. Separately, the Education Department rescinded its $37.7 million fine against GCU over doctoral cost disclosures. Arizona's Family reported the order was dated March 26, 2025. GCU announced it on May 16, 2025.

What to Watch on Nov. 4

Grand Canyon Education will release third-quarter results and its full-year 2026 outlook after the market closes on Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2026, followed by a conference call at 4:30 p.m. ET (2:30 p.m. Arizona time). The quarter's enrollment figures will be a snapshot as of Sept. 30, 2026. Items to compare with the second quarter:

• Enrollment at off-campus classroom and laboratory sites (5,829 on June 30) and how many of them are GCU nursing students (1,519).
• Whether the planned fall 2026 site opened and whether the total changed from 47.
• GCU online enrollment, which was 113,011 on June 30, up 7.8%.

Strategic Education, parent of Capella University, reports the next morning, Nov. 5. Our report on Capella's first prelicensure BSN covers what its filings show. Figures here are from Grand Canyon Education's SEC filings and GCU announcements as of Oct. 14, 2026.