Walden University, Laureate Education Inc. Hit with Fraud Suit [DISMISSED]
Last Updated on April 12, 2022
Wright et al v. Walden University, LLC et al
Filed: December 1, 2016 ◆§ 0:16-cv-04037
A class action filed in Minnesota claims Walden University and Laureate Education Inc. lied to students by marketing their doctoral programs as cheaper.
Case Updates
April 12, 2022 – Walden University Doctoral Program Class Actions Dismissed
The proposed class action detailed on this page and a related suit have been dismissed.
In a nine-page order, U.S. District Judge David S. Doty granted Walden University’s motion to toss the case detailed on this page “in order to promote judicial efficiency and avoid the risk of inconsistent judgments” as another substantially similar case was also in progress. Filed nearly two months prior in Ohio, Thornhill v. Walden University, LLC et al. was voluntarily dismissed in August 2019, court records show.
Want to stay in the loop on class actions that matter to you? Sign up for ClassAction.org’s free weekly newsletter here.
A class action filed in Minnesota claims Walden University and Laureate Education Inc. lied to students by marketing their doctoral programs as cheaper and requiring less time to complete than alternative options when, in reality, the entities’ dissertation process was “intended to ensure that it would be difficult, if not impossible, for students to timely complete, or complete at all, their doctoral programs.” The 145-page lawsuit argues the defendants’ allegedly false representations and omissions were set with the goal of ensuring Walden University and Laureate would continue to rake in tuition payments from doctoral students well beyond the completion dates that were promised in marketing materials.
“Instead of the promised 13- or 18-month dissertation period, the Walden Dissertation Process created an endless routine of hurdles and tuition payments,” the lawsuit claims. “Students who believe they were getting ever closer to obtaining their doctoral degree were in fact stuck with decreasing resources, high faculty turnover, disorganization, a lack of oversight, poorly trained instructors, and little to no constructive feedback … all of which increased the length of the doctoral students’ enrollments at Walden.”
Before commenting, please review our comment policy.