This article is about the Minnesota-based university. For the defunct university in Tennessee, see Walden University (Tennessee). For the fictional Walden College, see Doonesbury.
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]
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.[citation needed]
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]
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]
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]
According to the College Navigator, in 2023 Walden's faculty consisted of 235 full-time instructors, 2,723 part-time instructors, and 39 graduate assistants.[26]
The BS in Business Administration, BS in accounting, Master of Business Administration (MBA), MS in accounting, Doctor of Business Administration (DBA), and PhD in Management programs are accredited by the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP).
The MS in Project Management program is accredited by the PMI Global Accreditation Center (GAC) for Project Management Education Programs.
The Bachelor of Social Work and Master of Social Work is Council of Social Workers Education (CSWE) accredited, an accreditation needed to get licensed as a social worker in most states.[32]
The BS in Information Technology is accredited by ABET, the internationally recognized accreditor for college and university programs in applied science, computing, engineering, and engineering technology.[33]
Walden University is designated as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense Education by the National Security Agency and the Department of Homeland Security.[35]
Walden University's PhD specializations in Clinical Psychology and Counseling Psychology are not accredited by the American Psychological Association (APA) and have not received designation by the Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards/National Register (ASPPB/NR), which are requirements for licensure in some states. The MS and six other PhD in psychology specializations offered by Walden are not governed by APA.[36]
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]
