Walden University Explained

Walden University
Motto:Education for Good
Established:1970
President:Michael Betz[1]
State:Minnesota[2]
Country:United States
Students:42,312 (6,298 undergraduate) Fall 2022[3]
Faculty:235 full-time and 2,723 part-time (fall 2023)[4]
Campus:Primarily online
Website:www.waldenu.edu

Walden University is a private for-profit online university headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It offers bachelor's, master's, doctoral, and specialist degrees. The university is owned by Adtalem Global Education, which purchased the university in August 2021. The institution is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.

The Carnegie Classification lists Walden among “Doctoral Universities: Doctoral/Professional Universities”[5] Walden is a high-volume granter of healthcare administration master's degrees, Master of Science in Nursing degrees, and public health doctoral degrees in the U.S., according to the National Center for Education Statistics IPEDS database.[6]

History

Walden was established in 1970 by two New York teachers, Bernie and Rita Turner, who created a program for working adults/teachers to pursue doctoral degrees. In the summer of 1971, the first classes took place in Naples, Florida, focusing primarily on school administrators. The initial classes allowed students to form dissertation topics with their faculty partners before returning to work at their respective schools while completing their dissertations. In 1972, Walden conferred its first degrees: 46 PhDs and 24 EdDs at its first commencement in Naples.

In 1979, the Minnesota Higher Education Coordinating Board licensed Walden to grant PhDs and EdDs in the state and in 1982 the school moved its headquarters to Minneapolis. In 1990, the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools accredited the university.

Sylvan Learning Systems, Inc., purchased 41 percent of Walden University in 2001,[7] gaining a controlling interest in 2002.[8] In 2004, Sylvan Learning Systems became Laureate Education, Inc.

Jonathan Kaplan served as CEO from 2007 to 2018. Kaplan previously served three years as economic policy adviser to President Bill Clinton.[9] Clinton was named an Honorary Chancellor of Laureate International Universities from 2010 to 2015 for which he made more than $17 million.[10] [11] Clinton was the keynote speaker at Walden University's commencement on July 30, 2011.

In 2016, Adam Looney and Constantine Yannelis estimated that that Walden University student loan debt was the second highest in the US, with 120,275 students owing an estimated $9.8 billion. While the 5-year student default rate was low (7 percent), the percentage of balance repaid on the loans was 0 percent.[12]

On April 8, 2016, the Minnesota Office of Higher Education (MOHE) notified Walden University that its renewal application to participate in the State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (SARA) was rejected because Walden University did not have an institutional federal financial composite score computed by the US Department of Education (DOE). In the absence of an institution-level financial composite score calculated by DOE, MOHE viewed Walden's parent company Laureate's financial composite score, calculated based on its global operations, which did not exceed 1.5.[13]

In October 2016, NBC News reported that the Minnesota Office of Higher Education was investigating a spike in student complaints.[14] NBC News further reported that former students had filed a class action suit against the school for prolonging their enrollments for years, "until they were left hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt and still short of a degree."[15]

In September 2020, Adtalem Global Education began the process of purchasing Walden University.[16] According to Higher Education Dive "Two investment firms, Engine Capital and Hawk Ridge Partners, wrote in an open letter...that they were "severely disappointed" with the board's decision to purchase Walden, calling the college a 'substantially inferior asset.'"[17]

Announced in a press release by Walden in 2020, Walden University’s College of Management and Technology (CMT) and School of Management earned a Silver Achievement Award from the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP). [18]

In August 2021, Adtalem Global Education Inc bought Walden University.

In May 2022, Michael Betz was appointed as the president of Walden University. Betz previously served as a partner at McKinsey & Co. and was a leader in McKinsey's higher education and growth transformation practices.[19]

African American student population

Walden University graduates a high number of Black/African American students. According to the NCSES's 2020 Survey of Earned Doctorates, Walden University granted doctorates to 1,383 Black or African American students between 2016 and 2020.[20] This was the highest number of Black doctoral recipients granted by a U.S. university during that period and represented about 37% of the 3,726[21] total doctoral students that graduated from Walden during that same period.

In January, 2022, the civil rights law firm Relman Colfax and the National Student Legal Defense Network filed a class-action lawsuit against Walden University that alleges that Walden engages in “reverse redlining” by targeting its advertisements to Black and female students while misrepresenting the costs and credit hours required for its doctoral degrees.[22] [23]

Institutional finances

Walden University is a certified Benefit Corporation.

As of 2016, it received more than 75% of its income from the US government, including more than $750 million a year for graduate student loans, the largest amount for any US college.[24] Walden University has been under "heightened cash monitoring" from the US Department of Education since 2016.[25]

Faculty

In 2023, Walden's faculty consisted of 235 full-time instructors, 2,723 part-time instructors, and 39 graduate assistants.[26]

Academics

Walden University consists of seven colleges and one school:[27]

Accreditation

Walden University is institutionally accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.[28] * The Richard W. Riley School of Education and Leadership is accredited by the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP).[29]

Professionally accredited programs include:

Unaccredited professional programs

Student outcomes

According to the US Department of Education's College Scorecard, Walden University has a 29 percent graduation rate and a median earnings range of $26,200 (lowest) and $75,700 (highest) in the first year after graduation.[37]

Publications

Walden University sponsors several peer-reviewed and refereed academic journals.

Alumni and faculty

According to College Navigator, in 2023 Walden University had 235 full-time instructors and 2,723 part-time instructors for 42,312 students.[45]

Notable alumni and faculty include:

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: About Our Accredited Online University . Walden University . WaldenU.edu . 2015-02-26.
  2. Web site: Testimony of Jonathan A. Kaplan, President of Walden University . https://web.archive.org/web/20121110165800/http://edworkforce.house.gov/uploadedfiles/5.4.10_kaplan.pdf. dead. November 10, 2012. House.gov. Education and Labor Committee, US House of Representatives. Jonathan A. . Kaplan. May 4, 2010. November 7, 2017.
  3. Web site: College Navigator - Walden University .
  4. 235 2,723
  5. Web site: Walden University . 2024-03-22 . CARNEGIE CLASSIFICATION OF INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION . en-US.
  6. Web site: IPEDS Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System . 15 September 2020 . National Center for Education Statistics.
  7. Web site: Sylvan Ventures invest $32.8 million in school. February 5, 2001 . bizjournals.com .
  8. Web site: Sylvan Gains Controlling Interest in Walden . https://web.archive.org/web/20170811010416/https://business.highbeam.com/434953/article-1G1-146964887/sylvan-gains-controlling-interest-walden. dead. 2017-08-11. Highbeam.com. 2017-08-10.
  9. Web site: Jonathan Kaplan, J.D. . Walden University. WaldenU.edu . 18 November 2016.
  10. News: Helderman . Rosalind . Ye Hee Lee . Michelle . Inside Bill Clinton's nearly $18 million job as 'honorary chancellor' of a for-profit college . Washington Post . 23 December 2023.
  11. President Bill Clinton Accepts Role As Honorary Chancellor Of World's Largest University Network . thestreet.com. PRWeb. 2010-04-26. 2014-03-26.
  12. Web site: Looney . Adam . Yannelis . Constantine . A Crisis in Student Loans? How Changes in the Characteristics of Borrowers and the Institutions they Attended Contributed to Rising Loan Defaults . 30 June 2019 . brookings.edu . Brookings Institution.
  13. Web site: FORM S-1 Registration Statement for Laureate Education, Inc.. sec.gov. US Security and Exchange Commission . May 20, 2016 . September 15, 2020.
  14. News: Minnesota puts for-profit college once tied to Bill Clinton under review. NBC News. 18 November 2016.
  15. News: Schecter . Anna . Student Sues Walden University: 'I Wasted Six Years of My Life' . 30 June 2019 . . December 2, 2016.
  16. Web site: September 11, 2020. Adtalem to Acquire Walden University From Laureate Education, Creating a National Leader in Healthcare Education. 2020-09-11. Business Wire. en.
  17. Web site: Schwartz . Natalie . Activist investors urge Adtalem to pull plug on Walden U purchase . www.highereddive.com . Higher Ed Dive . 18 February 2024.
  18. Web site: Walden University Earns ACBSP's Silver Achievement Award Walden University . 2024-03-15 . www.waldenu.edu . en.
  19. Web site: Faculty Walden University . www.waldenu.edu . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20190325115914/https://www.waldenu.edu/about/faculty/meet-our-faculty/member-profile/ward-ulmer . 2019-03-25.
  20. Web site: Doctorate Recipients from U.S. Universities: 2020 NSF - National Science Foundation . 2022-11-15 . ncses.nsf.gov.
  21. Web site: NCSES NSF . 2022-11-15 . ncsesdata.nsf.gov.
  22. Web site: Carroll et al. v. Walden University, LLC et al. . 2022-11-15 . www.relmanlaw.com . en-US.
  23. News: Green . Erica L. . 2022-04-08 . Lawsuit Charges For-Profit University Preyed on Black and Female Students . en-US . The New York Times . 2022-11-15 . 0362-4331.
  24. Web site: As Graduate-Student Debt Booms, Just a Few Colleges Are Largely Responsible. Elizabeth. Baylor. 8 July 2015. 18 November 2016. The Chronicle of Higher Education.
  25. News: The surprising list of colleges whose financial management has the government worried. The Washington Post. March 18, 2016. 18 November 2016.
  26. Web site: Walden University . nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator . US Department of Education . 12 February 2024.
  27. Web site: Walden University - Acalog ACMS™ . 2022-07-07 . catalog.waldenu.edu.
  28. Web site: About Our Accredited Online University . Walden University . WaldenU.edu . 2015-02-26.
  29. Web site: Accredited Provider Details Walden University . Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation . 15 September 2020.
  30. Web site: CACREP Accreditation – M.S. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling . Walden University. WaldenU.edu . 20 January 2015.
  31. Web site: Directory . The Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs . CACREP.org . 2015-02-26.
  32. Web site: Directory of Accredited Programs . Council on Social Work Education . 15 September 2020.
  33. Web site: Accreditation . Walden University. WaldenU.edu . 2014-03-26.
  34. Web site: List of Accredited Schools and Programs . Council on Education for Public Health . 15 September 2020.
  35. Web site: National Centers of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense. nsa.gov. National Security Agency, US Dept. of Defense. 18 November 2016.
  36. Web site: PhD In Psychology . Walden University. WaldenU.edu . 2014-03-26.
  37. Web site: School | College Scorecard.
  38. Web site: International Journal of Applied Management and Technology . Walden University. WaldenU.edu . 2015-02-26.
  39. Web site: Publications and Journals. Walden University. WaldenU.edu . 20 January 2015.
  40. Web site: Journal of Social Change . Walden University. WaldenU.edu . 2020-09-15.
  41. Web site: Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences . Walden University. WaldenU.edu . 2020-09-15.
  42. Web site: Journal of Educational Research and Practice . Walden University. WaldenU.edu . 2020-09-15.
  43. Web site: Journal of Social Work in the Global Community . Walden University. WaldenU.edu . 2020-09-15.
  44. Web site: Journal of Excellence in Nursing and Healthcare Practice . Walden University. WaldenU.edu . 2020-09-15.
  45. Web site: Walden University . College Navigator . 23 December 2023.

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