Frequenty Asked Questions

Students are encouraged to take courses in order such that 1000-level courses are taken before 2000 level courses, which are taken before 3000 level courses, which should be taken before 4000 level courses. Students don’t have to take courses in exact order within a given level (e.g., you can take 2007 before 2002). However, students must take and successfully pass PSYC 3002 before PSYC 3003. If you are not sure what classes to take, or what order to take them, please email your Student Success Advisor.

As of winter 2021, students will take the following courses in this order. This may look different depending on what courses you transferred in.

Overloads are generally approved if your GPA is at least a 3.0 (including overloading with the Capstone). If your GPA is under 3.0, overloads are generally not approved, but special circumstances will be considered. Three courses in one term is considered to be an overload. A two-course overload (4 courses total in one term) will rarely, if ever, be considered.

Yes. Textbooks are mandatory and crucial for success in your courses. Students who start courses without a text are not eligible for extensions and will be at a significant disadvantage. If your textbook does not arrive before the first day of class, students should contact the instructor to inquire about other resources that might help them get by the first few days of class until the textbook arrives (e.g., many publishers offer free samples of the first chapter online). E-books are available from many publishers. If a student cannot get a text before the first week is over, withdrawing is the best course of action.

PSYC 3002 is an introductory course to analyzing data. Everyone needs this course because all information in psychology comes from conducting studies and analyzing data. You need to be literate in how information from research studies is analyzed. The course can be challenging, but all students have access to free tutors. It is NOT math-centric, so do not worry if you feel that you are not “good” at math. It’s more about the concepts behind the data analysis. PSYC 3003 is about how to design studies in psychology. This is also a key course because even if you go into a human service field, not research, you need to know how the techniques you use in therapy were found to be useful – and that information comes from research studies. No matter what field you go into, you need to know how studies are conducted and how the data from those studies are analyzed.

A good first step is to look at each of the concentrations and rule out ones you know you are not a food fit for you. Take a look at the courses that are offered for each concentration you are considering. How do they align with your interests and goals? That should help you narrow your list further. Are you interested in graduate school? If so, consider whether any of the concentrations on your list have an AIM program that could accelerate your progress even more if you are interested in continuing with graduate school at Walden. Your enrollment advisor is a great source of additional information as well.

Contact [email protected] and your Advisor can do a degree audit and submit a petition to the Program Director on your behalf to see if that credit could be applied as upper-level credit or elective credit to help you graduate faster.

Net Etiquette is courtesy in online communications, including interacting with your fellow classmates and instructors in the discussion forums, and in your e-mail communications. Practicing good net etiquette also includes checking spelling and grammar before sending any written form of communication.

Unfortunately the downside of e-conversations is that we can’t always infer a person’s delivery tone. For instance, sharp or terse statements either in support or in opposition of a point made might come off as offensive even if it was not the intent. It is fine to use humor, but use it carefully. The absence of face-to-face cues can cause humor to be misinterpreted as criticism.

Here are some links with guidelines for practicing proper net etiquette.

http://www.educatorstechnology.com/2014/06/15-essential-netiquette-guidelines-to.html

http://www.albion.com/netiquette/corerules.html

http://www.uticaod.com/x1177024386/Internet-Etiquette-10-Rules-of-Netiquette

All of the course instructors in the B.S. in Psychology program hold advanced degrees, either a PhD or a PsyD degree, and are experts in their respective subfields of psychology. As such, it is respectful in communications to refer to your course instructors as either “Dr.” or “Professor” (e.g., Dr. Garcia or Professor Garcia), unless the instructor indicates that he or she prefers that you address him or her differently.

ll discussion posts are to be respectful. We may disagree about an issue passionately, but disrespect will not be tolerated. The use of offensive terminology (e.g., racist, sexist, or ethnic slurs) will not be tolerated. If you believe a classmate treated you disrespectfully do not engage by responding in the same manner. Rather, immediately contact the course instructor and report the issue.

Furthermore, each student is responsible for becoming familiar with Walden’s Code of Conduct, as published in the Walden University Student Handbook. If a student is unsure about the application or interpretation of the Code of Conduct, it is her or his responsibility to seek clarification from the instructor. Here is a link to the Code of Conduct: http://catalog.waldenu.edu/index.php

Your course instructors are committed to helping you improve and that requires accurate feedback. First, review your returned assignment and look for feedback the course instructor provided. If after examining the feedback you are still unsure, reach out to the instructor via e-mail and, utilizing good net etiquette, respectfully ask for clarification. Most issues like this can be resolved via e-mail or a phone call.

Yes. The good news is that you can certainly submit most of your assignments late if you need to – that’s why we have the late policy in place. Please be aware that there is a usually a percent per day reduction on late work. In each B.S. Psychology course you will find a document that explains the Late Policy (some courses have it in the syllabus). If you can’t find the late policy, please be sure to ask your instructor where to locate the document.

Generally speaking, instructors try to avoid granting extensions. Lots of things can happen, and that’s why we have late policies. However, deaths in immediate family and other catastrophic events are special situations and instructors will be accommodating.

If you know that you have life events coming up—a new baby on the way, getting married, moving, etc.—discuss a leave of absence with your Advisor or plan to reduce your course load.

Walden’s online courses have a specific completion scheduled noted the day you start class. If students feel they have experienced an exceptionally challenging health issue that has impacted their ability to meet an assignment deadline or that has had major impact on their performance in a course, they may request that their instructor(s) consider offering them extra time.

The instructor alone determines if any delay in submission is acceptable, whether or not explained by a medical issue. Your instructors are not allowed to solicit medical documentation from students, but may ask that claims of medical or related sensitive issues impacting a student’s ability to meet deadlines are verified by the university.

If so, submit medical documentation to [email protected] with a request for an e-mail verifying receipt of the documentation. Students are to include their name, student ID, course name and full course number, and name of the instructor. Faculty receiving unsolicited medical documentation from students are asked to avoid reading it and refer students to the above policy. E-mail attachments with medical documentation should be forwarded to [email protected] with originals retained to avoid mishandling of medical documentation. See more at: http://catalog.waldenu.edu/content.php?catoid=147&navoid=47417

We do not typically offer extensions for planned events involving work and family. The best approach is to work ahead and communicate with your instructor about your plans.

Course Instructors are not able to offer you extra time to complete assignments without losing points unless they have authorization from Disability Services. If you have a condition that interferes with your ability to complete coursework by the due dates, we suggest that you contact Walden’s Disabilities Services and request accommodations for extra time. Even if your challenges are temporary and/or you don’t have documentation of a disability, it is our understanding that the Disabilities Services office still may be able to authorize extra time on assignments for your courses. [email protected] or 1-800-925-3368

This decision is not left entirely up to the instructor. There are University guidelines that need to be met before an incomplete can be granted. An incomplete will only be considered if the student has completed 80% of the course work at a passing level (current grade at least 60%) and encounters an unusual, unpredictable situation that prevents completion.

Yes. Walden also has a Student Assistance Program – a 24/7 phone service where students can talk to personal counselors about challenges they are experiencing. That number is 866-465-8942.

If you have encountered unusual circumstances during a course, it is possible to submit a petition for a Retroactive Withdrawal so that the course grade does not affect your GPA. Contact [email protected] and your Advisor can walk you through the process.

There are many ways to seek help:

• Click on the “Help” button in your Blackboard classroom.
• Contact the Student Support Team from your myWalden portal by clicking on the “Support” tab and clicking on “Click to Chat.”
• E-mail [email protected]. Include your name, student ID number, and degree program.
• Call 1-800-WALDENU (1-800-925-3368).

E-mail your instructor right away. If, for example, you were not able to submit a writing assignment, be sure to attach to your e-mail a document containing the assignment as verification that the assignment is complete.

Should it be the case that you believe that you were unable to complete a test or submit an assignment by the due date because of problems with your Student Portal or in Blackboard, contact the Student Support Team at 1-800-WALDENU (1-800-925-3368) or [email protected].

The Student Support Team contact information can be located in the “Student Support” link on the Course Homepage. They are available 24-hours a day – 7 days a week. If it is the case that the problem was due to Blackboard not working correctly, the course instructor will be notified.

Students are responsible for a technology backup plan should circumstances dictate its use. Except in very unusual situations, grade changes, late assignments, tuition refund requests, and the like that are based on technology failure or on occurrences resulting in technology failure are not able to be considered.

• Students should develop in advance and then follow a backup plan for their computer and classroom information or data. Computer and disk failures do happen and can result in a failed class, lost tuition, or simply a late assignment. Students are expected to ensure that they can continue to participate in class and also to complete assignments with minimal disruption to themselves or others.

• Computers: In the event of a computer failure or Internet outage, students should have a plan to use another computer, such as at a public library, or Wi-Fi at a local coffee shop, library, or a work location; with a friend or family member; or on a second or even third computer at home. Students should use an extra external hard drive or portable drive and take their backed-up data to use on the other computer.

• Emergencies: Students should have a plan for finding another computer in the event of an emergency such as a power failure, natural disaster, fire, burglary, or loss of access to one’s home. As in the example above, students should use an extra external hard drive or portable drive and take their backed-up data to use on the other computer. However, if the natural disaster persists for more than a day or so, students will be given extra time to get assignments in with no loss of points. The University usually sends out an announcement in such cases. If the disaster ends up affecting your course grade such that you fail the course, you can also petition after the class ends for a retroactive withdrawal. If so, be prepared to provide documentation.

1. Never use Wikipedia or the dictionary as a source.
2. Opinions and personal experiences are not a strong basis for assignments. Unless personal experiences or reflections are specifically requested, your responses to assignments should not mention you or anyone you know. Psychology emphasizes critical thinking, logic, facts, and research, so be sure that anything personal is connected with research and/or course material.
3. Copying and pasting material from websites is a violation of our academic integrity guidelines even if it’s cited. See: http://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/modules/plagiarism#s-lg-box-12217773 – the “Avoiding Passive Plagiarism” tutorial should be particularly helpful.
4. Good writing refers to text material and other sources, but it is your words and thoughts. Heavy use of quotes is not a strong writing approach.
5. All written work will be run through a plagiarism detector. If students have repeated plagiarism incidents, they could be dismissed from the University, and at the very least, be required to take an academic integrity course.Here is a link to Walden’s Academic Integrity and Code of Conduct policy http://catalog.waldenu.edu/content.php?catoid=107&navoid=27912
6. Taking tests: It is not a good idea to try to look up the answers in your textbook while you are taking the test. If you are inactive for a period of time during the test, you may be prompted to exit the test. As such, please be mindful about staying active inside the test (i.e., how much time you spend between items) so the test does not time you out.If you are prompted to exit the test before you are finished taking it, be sure to carefully read the prompts provided. For example, click “Cancel” (as in cancel the exit) to stay inside the test.If you click “OK” or “back,” you are accepting to exit the test.The Student Support Team also recommends that students use Chrome as their internet browser when taking the tests as there seems to have been some reported issues when using Internet Explorer. Also, it could be helpful to clear your internet browsing history before taking tests.

We have a “Dear Wally” column in each of our old BS Psychology Newsletters (2020 and older). Wally is an expert on all things Walden. If you have questions about anything related to your journey as a Walden student, Wally will be able to point you in the right direction. Check out the “Newsletter” tab for access to our past newsletters.