What’s New?

Return to: Section 1. Introduction  

This page will list policies and procedures that are either new or have had significant revisions recently. All items are effective as of August 31, 2020, unless otherwise noted. The dates listed after each item indicate when a change was entered into the handbook and took effect.

Changes remain listed on “What’s New?” from the date of the change until publication of the next handbook version. The Walden University Student Handbook is continuously updated online. The most recent version of the handbook is the default publication. See About the Student Handbook .

December 2020

• College of Social and Behavioral Sciences - Additional Academic Unit/Program Requirements  – Master of Social Work (MSW) updated 12/4/2020
• Direct Loan Maximums  – Updated 12/17/2020
• Doctor of Healthcare Administration (DHA) Residencies  – Residency 2 Learning Outcomes updated 12/7/2020
• Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) Residencies  – Residency 2 Learning Outcomes updated 12/7/2020
• Enrollment Policy for Financial Aid  – Updated Tempo Learning® Programs table 12/17/2020
• Federal Direct Loans  – Revised “Disbursement” statements 12/17/2020
• Federal Financial Aid Limits  – Revised Footnote 1 under “Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loans,” and revised Footnote 2 under “Lifetime Aggregate Loan Limits” 12/17/2020
• Financial Aid Application Process  – Updated dates 12/17/2020
• Financial Aid Disbursement Process  – Updated table under “Financial Aid Disbursement Process and Requests for Excess Funds for Tempo Learning® Programs” 12/17/2020
• Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant (IASG)  – Updated 12/17/2020
• Other Considerations for Financial Aid  – Updated “Attended Another School? Overlapping Financial Aid” 12/17/2020
• Refund Policies  – Updated information under “The following enrollment changes in Tempo Learning® Programs that may trigger an R2T4” 12/17/2020
• Satisfactory Academic Progress Standards   – Updated “Financial Aid SAP for Modality Switch from Tempo Learning® to Course-Based” and “Tempo Learning® Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Policy” 12/17/2020

Tempo Learning® Addendum

• Satisfactory Academic Progress Standards – Added “Minimum Number of Credit Equivalencies per Term” (table) for Bachelor of Science in Nursing (RN to BSN Completion program): RN-BSN AIM Track 12/15/2020; updated entirely 12/17/2020

November 2020

• College of Management and Technology - Additional Academic Unit/Program Requirements   – MS in Cybersecurity, MS in Data Science, and MS in Software Engineering updated 11/10/2020; Doctor of Information Technology (DIT) updated 11/17/2020
• College of Nursing - Additional Academic Unit/Program Requirements   – Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) updated 11/30/2020
• Quarter-Based Programs (Tuitions and Fees)  – Updated with 2021 information 11/10/2020; revised Support Courses 11/24/2020
• Semester-Based Programs (Tuitions and Fees)  – Updated with 2021 information 11/10/2020
• Transfer Maximum by Program (Chart)  – Doctor of Information Technology (DIT) updated 11/17/2020; MS in Early Childhood Studies updated 11/30/2020

Other

• College of Health Professions – College of Health Sciences renamed College of Health Professions; references to the college updated 11/30/2020

Tempo Learning® Addendum

• Engagement With Faculty Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) – Legacy and revised program lists updated 11/13/2020
• Tempo Learning® Tuition and Payment Policies – Tuition effective January 1, 2021, added 11/10/2020

October 2020

• Accelerate Into Master’s (AIM) Programs  – Digital Psychology added for MS in Psychology 10/20/2020
• College of Social and Behavioral Sciences - Additional Academic Unit/Program Requirements  – Missing requirement added under Doctor of Social Work (DSW) 10/21/2020
• Registration Policies  – “Registration Periods” revised 10/16/2020
• School of Psychology Blended Academic Year in Residence  – BAYR Requirements specification regarding completion within consecutive 12-month calendar year added 10/7/2020
• Transfer Maximum by Program (Chart)  – BS in Computer Information Systems and BS in Information Technology “Notes” updated 10/22/2020; MS in Psychology “Notes” updated 10/30/2020

September 2020

• Academic Warning and Dismissal  – “OneCampus Courses” section removed 9/30/2020
• Enrollment Requirements  – Leave of Absence clarifications added 9/1/2020
• Grade Point Average  – “Calculating GPA” updated 9/1/2020; reference to OneCampus under “Calculating GPA” removed 9/30/2020
• Leave of Absence  – “Requesting a Leave of Absence” clarifications added 9/1/2020; information to “Requesting a Military Leave of Absence,” third paragraph 9/14/2020
• Notification of FERPA Rights  – “Disclosure of Student Information Required by the Solomon Amendment” added 9/18/2020
• Quarter-Based Programs  – Calendars updated 9/14/2020; Winter Quarter 2020–2021, Spring Quarter 2021, and Summer Quarter 2021 updated to include 5-week terms (Parts of Term 43, 45, 47, 49 where applicable)
• Refund Policies  – “Examples of Title IV Calculations: Example 5 Tempo Learning®—Participation for More Than 60% of the Payment Period” corrected 9/14/2020
• Student Appeals and Grievances  – “Note to Iowa Residents” added 9/4/2020
• Transcript Requests  – Clarifications added 9/1/2020
• Transfer Maximum by Program (Chart)  – Multiple updates for programs across all College of Social and Behavioral Sciences schools 9/21/2020
• Washington State  – State authorization statement updated 9/3/2020

Tempo Learning® Addendum

• Enrollment Requirements – Added 9/4/2020
• Leave of Absence – “Requesting a Leave of Absence” and “Failure to Return From Leave of Absence” clarifications added 9/1/2020

August 2020

• Center for General Education - Additional Academic Unit/Program Requirements  – Added 8/31/2020
• Registration Policies  – “Registration Periods” updated 8/31/2020
• Transfer Maximum by Program (Chart)  – Updated 8/31/2020