Walden University : PhD Public Health Reviews
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Rkara
(In Progress) on May 17, 2012
(email verified)
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Misguided comments
Most of these comments are misguided. Graduate education, especially at a PHD level is about independent thought. If you were hoping for hand holding, then Walden is not for you. I am in the process of completing my PHD in PUBH and I can attest to the quality of education I received. The same experience extends to many other graduates and current students. As always, people who make comments online tend to be the outliers for many reasons. I just felt obliged to provide another side to the story, which by the way I believe represents the MAJORITY of graduate students at Walden. I challenge you to try going through a brick and mortar program and then come back a few years later and comment on your experience, particularly in regards to availability of faculty and support for your studies. I can almost guarantee you that it will be worse, unless ofcourse you are willing pursue your advisors research. Eitherway, good luck to you folks and just remember, what you put in is what you get out!!! Don't forget that most students at Walden, already have successful careers, hence, they are past the facination with the superficial factors such as brand name of the school etc. They are mostly driven by a specific academic goal, which is mostly postive social change. NOT ALL WHO ENROLL ACTUALLY COMPLETE THE PHD..there is a reason for that...and you are prime example!
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Musamansa11
(In Progress) on April 30, 2011
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Rip Off Big Time
I am currently attending Walden's purported PhD Public Health program and I have to tell you, it's a major joke on the students.
The professor, who also earned his doctoral degree from Walden, does not disseminate any useful information, and forget about lectures as there are none, not even PowerPoint presentations. He makes very casual comments in response to the students' posts and never offers anything substantial. He grades the assignments but it is clear that he does not read them as he offers no feedback. His only focus is that we use APA formatting. There is absolutely no way that anyone will learn anything about public health in this type of setting. And while Walden boasts about having instructors who are experienced, what's the point if the intructors are not sharing that experience or expertise in the classroom. I am a 12 year public health veteran and could definitely teach or should I say manage the activity in the classroom as there is absolutely no teaching. It claims that it is a student centered environment wherein students teach each other. The problem with that argument is students are not qualified and nor should they be expected to teach their fellow doctoral classmates. Many of them are simply paraphrasing information for the sake of answering a question. A significant number do not have a background in public health.
Anyone claiming to learn from this setup is actually lying or is too ignorant to realize that she/he is being exploited. You will learn more from reading books and scientific articles than this university.
They also exploit their students by requiring them to attend 4 so-called residences out of state and usually in large metropolitan cities like Atlanta. The students have to pay an additional registration fee, plus housing and transportation all for the sake of hanging out with their faculty and fellow students. In addition, the guest speaker is never someone in the public health field. This year Eric Michael Dyson will speak. While I have his books, he has no experience in my area, hence, why would I pay money to hear him speak, and how is this experience considered a residency. During a residency, the student usually works at an external organization in h/his area of study; these are not residences, rather social gatherings that fill Walden's pockets.
Therefore, if you merely want a worthless degree, and expensive one, this is the place for you. If you want to truly learn about public health, I strongly advise you to attend a traditional public health program at a state university. I realize that sitting in a classroom is so yesterday and an inconvenience but you will learn a lot more and establish real relationships with your faculty and public health community. This will be my first and last course at Walden.
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Anonymous
(In Progress) on January 17, 2011
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PhD in public health
Overall, my experience at Walden has been good. The only thing I don't like is that not every staff is knowlegeable and consistent in answering our questions. For example, I have asked different enrollment and academic advisors regarding the PhD in Public Health accreditation and when we can start our dessertation. My enrollment advisor told me she didn't know about public health program accreditation, and my academic advisor told me it is not accredited. So then I emailed the program coordinator, who told me that the PhD program in Public Health is not accredited by CEPH because the lack of CEPH accreditation on this program will not adversly affect students in the long run, since a PhD degree is an academic degree and not a professional degree. MPH degree, on the other hand, is important to be accredited. Other than some staff not knowing answers to our questions, I liking my courses thus far; things are flexible at Walden and enables me to complete my assignment whenever I want throughout the week. There is a lot of reading and writing in the PhD in public health program so I take note on this; at least one assignment a week per course. At the end of the day, I am learning a lot from my courses at Walden so I am satisfied.
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Anonymous
(In Progress) on April 9, 2009
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Walden University Doctoral Program
I am a student in the Education Specialist program at Walden University. I thought I was making progress and doing well. But when I began my final class, problems begin to plague me. I have no idea if or when I will finish. They added a new clause which lets future students know you could be in the program indefinetly:
Neither the provisions of this guide, nor the acceptance of students to the University through the admission, enrollment, and registration processes, constitutes a contract or an offer of a contract. The College of Education reserves the right to change any provision, offering, requirement, or fee at any time within the student’s enrollment period. Regular updates are made to this guide; students are encouraged to routinely check the Ed.D. Web page for new or supplemental information. Students should contact their academic advisors, faculty advisors/mentors, or instructors for clarification of specific academic program requirements.
The instructors and faculty have been known to be unethical and rude if you point out their mistakes. Their tone can be unprofessional as they urge you to stop complaining and get back to the process. However, you will come to many stops because what is satisfactory for one member of your committee may have to be changed to satisfy another. You are caught is a cycle and won't finish until they say so despite the quality of your work. I think Walden is trying to improve their reputation as a "paper mill" but the work is not rigorous or hard, it is getting someone to agree that you have met the requirements of the rubric that is difficult. If you are considering an online university and Walden is your choice right now, I would not recommend it for the above reasons. I am an anonymous reviewer because Walden has punished some students by making them redo completed requirements that they already passed as a punishment for what they see as complaining and being resistent to the process. It is the worst educational experience I have ever had. Say no to Walden.
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Anonymous
(In Progress) on December 27, 2008
(email verified)
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Don't believe poor reviews
I am quite surprised that people call Walden a "diploma mill" and must argue that Walden has provided a challenging program, among very competitive students and professionals. It is absolutely false that Walden professors hand-out A's and allow students to plagiarize. I am in my 2nd year of the PhD Public Health program, and maintain a 3.8 GPA. This has been earned by spending ~20 hours a week in each class, on challenging assignments that interface with current professional, research, and scholarly issues. Walden upholds very high standards, and students will never be allowed to plagiarize. The professors all use software to detect plagiarism, and will reprimand, reduce grades, and even place students on academic suspension for this behavior. It makes me wonder if the people who posted such poor reviews about Walden, were scathed by trying to get a diploma-mill degree, while plagiarizing, and not dedicating themselves to an intense, comprehensive program. I guess I would write a poor review too, if I had these expectations, but was unable to simply be handed a college degree.
The Walden support has been very good. I have attended brick-and-mortar institutions for 14 years, and find that Walden even surpasses the support experiences I have had from other colleges. I have used Walden's technical writing, financial aid, residency, academic advising support, and have been pleased by it all. My professors have all had 15-20 years experience in our field, have been highly interactive, and have provided good instruction. I criticised on-line degree programs for years, and still believe that an on-line program is what you make of it, and you must be a self-motivated, dedicated, and astute scholar-practitioner to interface with superiors, colleagues, and peers in this academic setting. With that said, I have always used great discretion while evaluating other's personal comments and reviews of on-line institutions-consider the source!
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Anonymous
(In Progress) on April 21, 2008
(email verified)
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PhD Public Health Walden University Beware!
I am presently attending Walden University, PhD Public Health, and I have to say that I am deeply disappointed. I am presently working on my dissertation and this has been a horrible experience and huge mistake (financially) on my part. First, for PhD Public Health students the lack of faculty available to fill the mandatory dissertation committee (3 faculty) is a problem that must be changed ASAP if Walden wishes to continue with this program. It appears to me that Walden has set public health PhD student's up for failure because most students find themselves without a full committee and cannot finish the dissertation process. The enrollment advisor and the academic advisors never say at the start that the student is responsible for finding their dissertation committee and if the student cannot then oh well, too bad you are without a PhD and without several thousands of dollars, but hey thanks for the money while you were here. In the PhD Public Health program there are not enough "approved" faculty to take on the number of students who must have dissertation committees in order to complete the PhD requirements. I have never heard of a "real" University not providing the appropriate faculty in order for the students to meet dissertation criteria so that one might complete the requirements to graduate. If I had known from the start what the final stage (dissertation) was in details, I would not have wasted my time and money at Walden. Walden University is private and corporate owned, thus a business. However, I am going to write a letter to the Better Business Bureau and The Higher Learning Commission, North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCA), www.ncahlc.org. regarding poor business practice and lack of providing students with the BASIC necessities (like faculty) in order to complete the degree. To me I feel I have been lied to, set up for failure, and about 60 thousand dollars stolen from me because the university knew they did not have enough faculty for the PhD Public Health students to complete the dissertation according to their own policies and mandatory dissertation committee. I received my bachelors and masters from a traditional university and I am in the process of transfering back to the traditional university setting in hopes that I finish my PhD. I have maintained a 3.7 GPA during my doctoral studies at Walden and I am really angry to see all that money and time count for absolutely nothing.
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