Walden Tempo Criminal Justice/grad school

[redheadguy03]

I have been looking into options for grad school and came across the Tempo program for my Masters in Criminal Justice. Has anyone done this program? From searching I saw someone finished a psychology masters using tempo in two terms, but I can't seem to find too much more. 

I want to finish as quickly as possible and am just curious if anyone has any experience with this school or program or if they know of any other options that are similar. 

Thanks!


AAS EGCC Criminal Justice-2020
BS Central State University Criminal Justice-2022

[SweetSecret]

Different degree program within the school, but yes. If you are a strong writer and would rather work independently, the Tempo format is great. Everything is included in it which is really nice. I just wish they had more videos and audio recordings. It's heavy on reading research papers, which are generally not as easy to covert into audio via Speechify or such, so if you struggle with reading on the screen from eye strain... be prepare for that in advance. At one point the school was asking how they could change their programs to be better for students and I made these two suggestions. I'm not sure if they've been implemented though because I put things on hold for a while with the pandemic and I haven't gone back to the program yet.

[redheadguy03]

Different degree program within the school, but yes. If you are a strong writer and would rather work independently, the Tempo format is great. Everything is included in it which is really nice. I just wish they had more videos and audio recordings. It's heavy on reading research papers, which are generally not as easy to covert into audio via Speechify or such, so if you struggle with reading on the screen from eye strain... be prepare for that in advance. At one point the school was asking how they could change their programs to be better for students and I made these two suggestions. I'm not sure if they've been implemented though because I put things on hold for a while with the pandemic and I haven't gone back to the program yet.

Thanks for the response. How long have you been in the program? I was curious how long people usually take to finish it.

[Sparklette]

I tried the Tempo MHA for 2 terms but didn't complete.
I felt quite a bit of the material was outdated, although they were supposedly in the process of updating the modules. It was one of the earlier Tempo masters, so that makes sense. (Things like the data for charts were from 2007, linked articles had moved, and millennials were supposedly in their early to mid 20s when referenced)

Also didn't find the weekly phone calls helpful and was happier when I got approved to move to every other week (if you're not getting federal loans, I think you can opt for every other week from the get go if you'd prefer)

The other frustrating point was getting the profs or content expert to unlock the assessment could vary from course to course. Some did it automatically when you finished everything required, others needed a bit of prodding and/or wouldn't do it if you completed everything in a day but skipped the 'optional' enrichment activities. Some only replied to emails on pre-scheduled days/times as they are allotted a turn around time for response or grading. Others were available and responding within an hour.

One thing that I didn't figure out until I already decided to abandon it: after submitting the assessment, you don't have to wait for it to be graded to move on. You just need your phone advisor person to put that course on hold and activate another. If it comes back good, you don't need to do anything else. If it needs revised, you can reactivate when ready. If I'd known that from the start, I likely could have finished in the 2 terms.

Overall, it wasn't bad; I just decided to go a different direction when I realized none of the minor frustrations would have deterred me IF I actually wanted to continue my career in healthcare administration.

[redheadguy03]

I tried the Tempo MHA for 2 terms but didn't complete.
I felt quite a bit of the material was outdated, although they were supposedly in the process of updating the modules. It was one of the earlier Tempo masters, so that makes sense. (Things like the data for charts were from 2007, linked articles had moved, and millennials were supposedly in their early to mid 20s when referenced)

Also didn't find the weekly phone calls helpful and was happier when I got approved to move to every other week (if you're not getting federal loans, I think you can opt for every other week from the get go if you'd prefer)

The other frustrating point was getting the profs or content expert to unlock the assessment could vary from course to course. Some did it automatically when you finished everything required, others needed a bit of prodding and/or wouldn't do it if you completed everything in a day but skipped the 'optional' enrichment activities. Some only replied to emails on pre-scheduled days/times as they are allotted a turn around time for response or grading. Others were available and responding within an hour.

One thing that I didn't figure out until I already decided to abandon it: after submitting the assessment, you don't  have to wait for it to be graded to move on. You just need your phone advisor person to put that course on hold and activate another. If it comes back good, you don't need to do anything else. If it needs revised, you can reactivate when ready.  If I'd known that from the start, I likely could have finished in the 2 terms.

Overall, it wasn't bad; I just decided to go a different direction when I realized none of the minor frustrations would have deterred me IF I actually wanted to continue my career in healthcare administration.

Thanks, when I talked to them they said everything is supposed to be unlocked. I am not supposed to have to wait for anyone to unlock anything. So, if I want to just work on everything I can, but sounds like that is not the case. Which is what I heard from others too. A few people I know have dropped the program, due to a bait and switch type of thing.

[Sparklette]

I tried the Tempo MHA for 2 terms but didn't complete.
I felt quite a bit of the material was outdated, although they were supposedly in the process of updating the modules. It was one of the earlier Tempo masters, so that makes sense. (Things like the data for charts were from 2007, linked articles had moved, and millennials were supposedly in their early to mid 20s when referenced)

Also didn't find the weekly phone calls helpful and was happier when I got approved to move to every other week (if you're not getting federal loans, I think you can opt for every other week from the get go if you'd prefer)

The other frustrating point was getting the profs or content expert to unlock the assessment could vary from course to course. Some did it automatically when you finished everything required, others needed a bit of prodding and/or wouldn't do it if you completed everything in a day but skipped the 'optional' enrichment activities. Some only replied to emails on pre-scheduled days/times as they are allotted a turn around time for response or grading. Others were available and responding within an hour.

One thing that I didn't figure out until I already decided to abandon it: after submitting the assessment, you don't  have to wait for it to be graded to move on. You just need your phone advisor person to put that course on hold and activate another. If it comes back good, you don't need to do anything else. If it needs revised, you can reactivate when ready.  If I'd known that from the start, I likely could have finished in the 2 terms.

Overall, it wasn't bad; I just decided to go a different direction when I realized none of the minor frustrations would have deterred me IF I actually wanted to continue my career in healthcare administration.

Thanks, when I talked to them they said everything is supposed to be unlocked. I am not supposed to have to wait for anyone to unlock anything. So, if I want to just work on everything I can, but sounds like that is not the case. Which is what I heard from others too. A few people I know have dropped the program, due to a bait and switch type of thing.

It's possible that they have changed how it works as it's been a couple years since I was enrolled. Or different rule for the specific program? But I think it may just be a misinterpretation as I recall thinking the same going in, but what was meant is that I could select any modules I wanted to work on in whatever order (except the capstone style one) but was limited to 3 open at a time....so you don't need someone to open a new one, but you do need someone to complete or pause one of the active modules before you can open a new one.

[SweetSecret]

Different degree program within the school, but yes. If you are a strong writer and would rather work independently, the Tempo format is great. Everything is included in it which is really nice. I just wish they had more videos and audio recordings. It's heavy on reading research papers, which are generally not as easy to covert into audio via Speechify or such, so if you struggle with reading on the screen from eye strain... be prepare for that in advance. At one point the school was asking how they could change their programs to be better for students and I made these two suggestions. I'm not sure if they've been implemented though because I put things on hold for a while with the pandemic and I haven't gone back to the program yet.

Thanks for the response. How long have you been in the program? I was curious how long people usually take to finish it.

I did a term, then did some transfer courses at other schools but plan to go back to Walden. I had a bunch of surgeries my first time so that slowed me down. I think for a normal person it would probably be good to do six credits at a time. If you know what the material well enough that you don't feel the need to read anything then maybe it would be possible to do 9 -12 credits. I think there was another member on here who knocked out 12 credits in one term. So I guess take the number of credits you want and decide how quickly you feel like you can get through things.