Questions students ask most.
Short answers to the things that come up every term. Each one points to the page that covers it in full. Setting up for the first time? Start with Getting Started.
Before The Term Starts
Setting up the pieces you'll need.
Do I need Excel installed on my computer?
Not strictly — but it's usually better. GCU gives every student free access to Microsoft 365 (including Excel) through office.com. If your computer can install desktop Excel, do that — it's faster and more reliable for the course workbooks. Chromebook users can run Excel Online in the browser and still complete every assignment.
Excel setup →Can I use Google Sheets instead of Excel?
Not recommended. The DQ and Major Assignment templates use Excel features (named ranges, specific formulas, formatting) that Google Sheets either handles poorly or doesn't carry over cleanly. Stick with Excel — desktop or online — to make sure your work opens correctly when your instructor reviews it.
Excel setup →What happens if I rush through the Initial Knowledge Check?
ALEKS uses the Initial Knowledge Check to decide how many of the course's 208138 topics you'll need to learn through ALEKS homework. If you rush or guess, ALEKS puts more topics on your plate than you actually need, which means more homework across the term. Take it seriously, use scratch paper, and click "I don't know" on anything unfamiliar — honesty gives ALEKS the signal it needs to calibrate correctly. In your section it runs under LockDown Browser, so this site is closed while you take it. Do any warm-up beforehand.
The ALEKS guide →During The Term
Day-to-day questions students ask most often.
What counts as a “substantive” DQ post?
Two things: show your math and connect it to the topic. Every DQ post should include the specific work you did — a formula, a computed value, a screenshot of your Excel — not just a conclusion. And it should tie back explicitly to the concept the DQ asks about ("this uses the L2 amortization formula because…"). Two sentences of arithmetic plus one sentence of context usually clears the bar. One-line replies like "I got $500" don't earn the participation credit even when the number is right.
The DQs guide →My Excel formula gives a different answer than the walkthrough — what do I do?
Three usual culprits, in order of likelihood:
(1) Missed a $ on a cell reference. If your formula uses a fixed
value (a tax rate, a mortgage APR), that reference needs to be absolute (like
$B$28) so it doesn't drift as you copy the formula down.
(2) Wrong range in a SUM. One row off at the top or bottom is easy to miss.
(3) Percent not converted to a decimal. If the walkthrough uses 0.07 and you typed 7, your answer will be 100× off.
Check these three first. If none of them explain it, screenshot your workbook and email your instructor — sometimes the walkthrough itself has a bug we should fix.
Excel functions →ALEKS says my pie is at 100% — am I done with ALEKS for the term?
Not necessarily. The pie shows how much of the course's ALEKS material you've mastered. Your grade comes from the graded ALEKS assignments themselves (homework, reviews and exams), and each one has its own due date. A full pie doesn't mark any of those complete, so check each assignment in ALEKS and keep to the weekly schedule in your syllabus.
The ALEKS guide →Can I use notes or a calculator on the Mastery Check?
Yes to both. The Mastery Check is a self-check, not a proctored exam — use notes, a calculator, Excel, or anything else you'd use during regular study time. The point is to confirm you can produce the right answer in a real workflow, not to test memorization. If you can't get to a passing score even with tools available, that's the signal to go back to the lesson before attempting the DQ or the exam.
Try a Mastery Check →Can I retake the ALEKS review questions?
Yes, for Topics 1–6, while that topic's week is open. Each Review is the same six questions, with new numbers on each attempt, and you can retake it as often as you like until the week closes. Topic 7's cumulative Final Exam Review is different: a larger review across the whole course, designed as exam warm-up.
Not in onground sections. There are no six-question topic reviews. Each Exam Review opens the week before its exam with the same question count and the same clock as the exam: timed, one attempt, under LockDown Browser. Do your retaking here on the topic pages, then sit the review once.
How is my final grade calculated?
The course is worth 1,000 points, split like this in your section:
- Major Assignments: 375 points. MA1 (100) + MA2 (175) + MA3 (100). The heaviest single pieces of work.
- Reviews: 225 points. Six topic reviews at 35 each, plus the 15-point Final Exam Review.
- Participation: 140 points. Weekly engagement across all seven weeks, 20 points per week.
- Exams: 100 points. One cumulative Final Exam. No midterms in the online sections.
- Homework: 90 points. Six ALEKS topic homeworks at 15 points each, the adaptive reps.
- Discussion Questions: 70 points. Fourteen Excel-driven discussions at 5 points each.
The course is worth 1,000 points, split like this in your section:
- Exams: 425 points. Exams 1, 2 and 3 at 75 each, plus a 200-point cumulative Final Exam. All under LockDown Browser.
- Major Assignments: 300 points. MA1 (50) + MA2 (200) + MA3 (50). MA2 alone is a fifth of your grade.
- Participation: 150 points. Engagement across all fourteen weeks.
- Reviews: 65 points. Three Exam Reviews at 15 each, plus the 20-point Final Exam Review. Each is timed and taken once.
- Homework: 60 points. Three paired ALEKS homeworks at 20 points each, covering two topics apiece.
Your syllabus is the source of truth. If it disagrees with anything on this site, follow the syllabus.
Course Overview →Can I use this site during an Exam Review or exam?
No. Your Initial Knowledge Check, every Exam Review and every exam run under LockDown Browser, which blocks every other tab, this site included. Everything here is preparation for those windows, not help inside them. Do your practice on the topic pages and exam review pages beforehand, then sit the ALEKS assessment on its own.
The ALEKS guide →What’s on each exam?
Each exam has its own review page on this site: what the exam covers, what it does not cover, and every question type with a worked walkthrough.
Start about a week out, before the ALEKS Exam Review opens, so you sit that review already prepared.
Exam 1 review →About This Site
Reporting issues and how this site sits relative to the official course.
A walkthrough is missing, wrong, or unclear — what do I do?
Email your course instructor with the specific location — "the Topic 3 Q2 walkthrough shows the wrong column" is much more useful than "the site has an error." Walkthroughs are authored by the listed instructors, and specific feedback is the fastest path to a fix.
Is this site affiliated with GCU?
No. This is an independent study resource maintained by individual instructors as a companion to the course. It's not affiliated with, endorsed by, or funded by GCU. The official course — its syllabus, assignments, and grading — is owned and run by GCU through the student portal. If anything here ever conflicts with the course portal, the course portal is the source of truth.
The quickest path is your course instructor: they can answer for your specific section, and if something on this site needs a fix, they're the ones who can update it.