Credibility of Walden University

[angie16451]

I am looking into FNP programs and have heard good things about Waldens program, but I am just interested in the credibility this University has when employers look at at your resume? I am tossing up Concordia University WI (which is completly online except a 2 week assessment course and you find all of your own clinicals. The cost is 570-620/credit.) and Walden Univerisity, which I am aware is entirely online and you find your own clinics. I am unaware of the cost of Walden, if anyone knows that would be great information too!

[elkpark]

As far as credibility is concerned, those who think that accredited for profit schools should not exist need to take their grievances up with the national accreditation boards themselves!

Most of the proprietary (private-for-profit) schools are accredited by their own agencies, that only accredit proprietary schools, and are founded and run by the proprietary schools. Good luck with complaining to them. This is precisely because the organizations that accredit "regular" colleges and universities won't accredit most of those schools, because they can't or won't meet the accreditation requirements the "regular" schools do.

[elkpark]

Are you talking well known private universities such as the Ivy League, Stanford, Johns Hopkins, Duke, Vanderbilt? even those places, I doubt department chairs make millions. Academia is not typically a money-making career with the exception of highly talented professors with patents to their inventions.

I attended grad school at one of the well-known universities you list, and all the faculty there griped all the time about how little the university paid faculty, deans, etc. -- you were supposed to teach there for the glory and prestige of being at that university. :)

[Mark Hill BSN]

All of your major universities have department chairs who make completely unreasonable salaries. This is not something that is advertised though.

[dansamy]

Rollll Tiiide!

http://www.businessinsider.com/nick-saban-is-now-college-footballs-highest-paid-coach-2012-3

Hunting & football & nascar are near religions in the Deep South.

[Mark Hill BSN]

The average salary for a professor at some of your better public universities is around $140,000, not to mention professors at your better private schools. Some of the head of medicals schools are pulling in over 3 million, not to mention head coaches, university presidents, deans, CFOs....etc. The majority of the money universities pull in goes strait to salaries....which is certainly a "for profit" enterprise. This does not take into account that many of the professors are also adjunct professors at some of these so called "illegitimate" for profit schools, to make extra income. I had two professors last quarter that were adjunct professors at my school, and full time tenured professors at highly reputable brick and mortar schools. I asked one of them what she thought the difference was between the cubiculum at our school and LSU (Louisiana State University). She stated "The curriculum at my school was as good and in most cases better than any she had been associated with". this professor was also an associate professor at Loyola university, which is a well respected.

[Corey Narry, MSN, RN, NP]

Mark Hill BSN, do you have sources for your claim that the average professor at some of your better public universities is around 140K? There is wide variability in professor salaries depending on which part of the country the university is located in. Also, while I am not disputing your adjunct professor's comment about how your school's curriculum is in most cases better than any she's been associated with, did she tell you which particular areas the school shines at? It's one thing to make that claim but in the interest of objectivity, is it because they have more credit hours in Pharmacology? is it because the curriculum goes in deeper in terms of making sure students are exposed to wide differential diagnoses when faced with the typical family practice presenting complaints? are students monitored in the clinical setting regarding their progress?

[elkpark]

All of your major universities have department chairs who make completely unreasonable salaries. This is not something that is advertised though.

Define "completely unreasonable." Also, as Juan noted, it would be interesting to see some actual documentation of your claims.

[SlyFoxRN, BSN, RN]

There's a huge difference in paying top professors a lot of money vs shareholders. Yes, some professors make a ton of money in private, top colleges - these people are at the top of their field and the administration has decided their contribution to the knowledge base and their expertise in their subject is worth the premium. Again, this directly and positively influences students by providing top professors.

For profits don't waste money on hiring and retaining top faculty. Their high salaries are reserved for shareholder who do nothing to enrich the student experience. These are two different business models and quite frankly this attempt to prove for profit schools are comparable to not for profit elite private schools is absolutely ridiculous.

[Mark Hill BSN]

Mark Hill BSN, do you have sources for your claim that the average professor at some of your better public universities is around 140K? There is wide variability in professor salaries depending on which part of the country the university is located in. Also, while I am not disputing your adjunct professor's comment about how your school's curriculum is in most cases better than any she's been associated with, did she tell you which particular areas the school shines at? It's one thing to make that claim but in the interest of objectivity, is it because they have more credit hours in Pharmacology? is it because the curriculum goes in deeper in terms of making sure students are exposed to wide differential diagnoses when faced with the typical family practice presenting complaints? are students monitored in the clinical setting regarding their progress?

Check out www.collegiatetimes.com/database/salaries, you will be amazed at how much some educators are paid. To the second part of your question, I did not get into great detail with any of the professors I talked to. I can tell you that one of the professors I spoke with has her DNP from the Louisiana State University, She is a tenured professor at Tulane University, an adjunct professor at Loyola of New Orleans, and an adjunct professor and Walden University. Or was this a rhetorical question that you were try to stump me on, or make me appear foolish? I didn't think to ask any of them what they felt like the curriculum strong points were. My question to all was, "in your experience, how do you feel that Walden University's curriculum compares to other schools". The for mentioned professor told me that if she didn't think that the curriculum was up to par she would not at all, be associated with the university. I guess the question now begs to be asked, did any of your professors have any of those topics of discussion with you when you inquired about the quality of your education?

[Mark Hill BSN]

Most of the proprietary (private-for-profit) schools are accredited by their own agencies, that only accredit proprietary schools, and are founded and run by the proprietary schools. Good luck with complaining to them. This is precisely because the organizations that accredit "regular" colleges and universities won't accredit most of those schools, because they can't or won't meet the accreditation requirements the "regular" schools do.

I don't know about "most" for profit university's. What I do know is that Walden is accredited with the CCNE, which is a regional accreditation that is one of major accreditation boards recognized and affiliated with the AACN. If you have your masters degree, and you permitted to take a state board exam, there is a good chance that your school is also accredited through the CCNE, or you would not have been able to do so. If you don't believe me Check out the CCNE web site and search under the state of Minnesota and you will see for yourself that they are fully accredited with CCNE. I did this very thing before I started school, and I also contacted my state BON to see exactly what criteria needed to be met to sit for the state board. These are basic things that all prospective students should do to assure that they are attending a "credible" university. To make a blanket statement about most "for profit" schools being accredited by their own accreditation board (speaking in terms of masters level instruction for online university's) is at best misleading and at worst just untrue.

[elkpark]

I don't know about "most" for profit university's. What I do know is that Walden is accredited with the CCNE, which is a regional accreditation that is one of major accreditation boards recognized and affiliated with the AACN. If you have your masters degree, and you permitted to take a state board exam, there is a good chance that your school is also accredited through the CCNE, or you would not have been able to do so. If you don't believe me Check out the CCNE web site and search under the state of Minnesota and you will see for yourself that they are fully accredited with CCNE. I did this very thing before I started school, and I also contacted my state BON to see exactly what criteria needed to be met to sit for the state board. These are basic things that all prospective students should do to assure that they are attending a "credible" university. To make a blanket statement about most "for profit" schools being accredited by their own accreditation board (speaking in terms of masters level instruction for online university's) is at best misleading and at worst just untrue.

There is no state board that requires CCNE (or NLNAC) accreditation for licensure, as far as I'm aware. If I'm wrong about that, I'm happy to be corrected, because I do try to keep up with these things. However, CCNE accreditation is national nursing accreditation. My reference was to general academic accreditation. I believe that most of the proprietary universities that grant baccalaureate and graduate degrees have somehow managed to get general academic accreditation from the regional agencies that provide academic accreditation to "regular" colleges and universities. However, the majority of the proprietary schools are the tech/voc schools, which are typically accredited by their own national organization that only accredits proprietary tech/voc schools, which is why the credits from those "schools" typically don't transfer to other schools.

Nursing-specific accreditation and general academic accreditation are two entirely separate issues.

[prairienp]

I tried to check out the salary website, the link does not work. I found the website and used nursing to refine search, did not find the same results. The work load of the prof you refer to with a DNP appears heavy? A tenured prof at Tulane (unusual for a DNP education), and adjunct at two additional universities ( I am thinking as an adjunct she is teaching at least one course at each?)