Walden University

Date: Jan 20 2014
Major: Public Policy (This Major's Salary over time)
I have recently completed my Ph.D. in Public Policy and Administration at Walden University after 6.5 years studying part-time. I had previously earned my Bachelor and Master degrees in a traditional state university. I can attest that the course work at Walden University is just as demanding, if not more demanding, than a traditional and reputable university. The fact that it is an online institution requires the student to be more self-motivated because there are no professors and other classmates to remind you on a daily basis in a face-to-face setting to complete your assignments. Further, in an online environment, you cannot hide in the back of the class and not participate in class discussions and debates because every word is posted online in the classroom forum and you simply cannot hide or only pretend to participate. The course work and requirements at Walden are quite rigorous, and demanded substantial self-motivation and hard work to complete, although support from the professors and others from the university is always available. Online universities are still somewhat of a new phenomenon to many students and at times scare them because of the uncertainty of how an online learning environment compares with a traditional classroom setting. I have seen some of the negative comments posted about Walden, and I speculate that these negative comments are from students who had expected an easy ride from an online university, but only to find out that they had to work hard to earn a degree from Walden. In the end, these students are either expelled, dropped out, or given low grades for not being able to keep up with the rest of the class, and they turned to writing negative comments about Walden to vent. I must say that it is sad to see students who do not want to invest the time and hard work into earning a degree at Walden, but who can only invest time into badmouthing a school that refused to give them an easy ride in earning a college degree or higher GPA. Overall, I am very happy that I had attended Walden, which provided me with the knowledge and skills to continue my academic and professional endeavors. I suggest that if anyone is looking to enroll in an accredited online university, he/she must be prepared to work hard to earn the degree, and not expect an easy ride. Otherwise, he/she will be badly disappointed and frustrated.