Walden University Student Loan Forgiveness: How It Works

If you attended Walden University and took out federal student loans, you may qualify for loan forgiveness through borrower defense to repayment. Walden is one of the schools listed on the Sweet v. McMahon class action settlement, and a separate $28.5 million class action settlement resolved claims that Walden misrepresented the cost and length of its doctoral program.

Related: For-Profit College Student Loan Forgiveness List

Hid the true cost and length of the doctoral program. A class action lawsuit, Carroll v. Walden University, filed in January 2022 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, alleged that Walden deliberately misrepresented how many credits its Doctor of Business Administration program would require. Walden advertised a specific number of “capstone” credits needed to finish the degree, but then required students to complete far more credits than disclosed. The extra capstone credits delayed degree completion and increased total tuition costs by tens of thousands of dollars.

Targeted Black and female students with deceptive marketing. The Carroll lawsuit also alleged that Walden engaged in “reverse redlining” — directing deceptive doctoral program marketing toward Black students and women. Between 2016 and 2020, Walden conferred more doctorates on Black recipients than any other institution in the country. Nearly 80% of its doctoral students were women. The complaint alleged Walden tailored advertising to reach these populations while knowing the program cost more than advertised.

The Carroll lawsuit settled for $28.5 million. The court granted final approval of the settlement on October 17, 2024. The settlement fund includes $21.175 million distributed to class members — Black or female DBA enrollees from August 1, 2008 through January 31, 2018 who were charged for excess capstone credits. Payments were distributed pro rata based on the number of excess capstone credits each student completed. Checks were mailed on April 10, 2025. As part of the settlement, Walden agreed to disclose the median time and cost to complete the DBA program for four years.

Earlier lawsuits established a pattern. A separate lawsuit, Wright v. Walden University, was filed in December 2016 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota. The complaint alleged Walden misrepresented its doctoral program as completing in three to four years at $55,000 to $65,000, when it took longer and cost more. The case was dismissed in April 2017, but the allegations mirror the misconduct later documented in the Carroll lawsuit. A smaller case, Thornhill v. Walden University, resulted in a settlement with approximately 55 class members receiving cash payments.

No government enforcement action against Walden. Unlike schools such as DeVry, which faced a $100 million FTC settlement and a Department of Education institutional misconduct finding, Walden has faced no federal enforcement action. The FTC has not brought a case against Walden, and the Department of Education has not issued an institutional finding of misconduct. Individual borrower defense applicants cannot point to a government finding — each claim must stand on its own.

Walden is still operating. Walden University operates primarily online and continues to enroll students. Originally owned by Laureate Education, Walden was sold to Adtalem Global Education for $1.48 billion in August 2021. Adtalem changed its name to Covista on February 5, 2026. Walden remains a subsidiary of Covista alongside Chamberlain University, Ross University, and American University of the Caribbean.

Sweet v. McMahon settlement. Walden University is on the Sweet v. McMahon class action settlement school list (Exhibit C), which covers more than 150 schools. If you filed a borrower defense application before June 22, 2022, your claim falls under the settlement’s automatic relief provisions. Approved claims receive full loan discharge, a refund of amounts previously paid on the discharged loans, and credit reporting corrections.

If you filed between June 23 and November 15, 2022, you are a “post-class” applicant. The settlement required the Department of Education to issue decisions on post-class Exhibit C applications by January 28, 2026. That deadline passed without the department adjudicating most of these claims. Post-class Walden applicants are now entitled to Full Settlement Relief — the same discharge, refund, and credit correction package. The department sent eligibility notices to post-class Exhibit C borrowers on March 30, 2026, and has until March 30, 2027 to deliver the relief.

Individual borrower defense applications. Outside the Sweet settlement framework, you can file an individual borrower defense application describing how Walden’s misrepresentations affected your decision to enroll. The Department of Education reviews these applications on a case-by-case basis. There has been no blanket group discharge for Walden.

Applications filed after November 16, 2022 are not covered by the Sweet settlement. These claims are reviewed individually under the 2019 borrower defense regulations, which were restored by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act signed in July 2025. That law blocked the Biden administration’s 2022 borrower defense rules for loans originating before July 1, 2035 and reinstated the 2019 framework.

Without an institutional finding from the Department of Education, Walden borrower defense claims depend on the strength of each individual application. The Carroll lawsuit and its documented misconduct provide evidentiary support, but the department evaluates each claim on its own merits.

Carroll v. Walden class action. The Carroll settlement is separate from borrower defense. It covered Black or female DBA enrollees from August 1, 2008 through January 31, 2018 who completed excess capstone credits. The settlement fund was $21.175 million, distributed pro rata. The claim deadline passed on January 15, 2025, and checks were mailed in April 2025. If you received a check that you did not cash, contact the settlement administrator, SSI Claims, at (833) 419-0995 or claims@ssiclaims.com to request reissuance.

Receiving a Carroll settlement payment does not affect your ability to file a borrower defense application. The two are independent pathways — you can pursue both.

Thornhill v. Walden settlement. An earlier class action, Thornhill v. Walden University, settled in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio. Approximately 55 class members received cash payments. This settlement is closed. Carroll settlement payments were reduced for borrowers who also received Thornhill cash.

There is no FTC settlement for Walden University. The Federal Trade Commission has not brought an enforcement action against Walden. If you have seen references to an FTC action involving Walden, that information is incorrect. The confusion likely comes from the FTC’s settlement with DeVry, which shared a parent company with Walden (Adtalem Global Education). The only pathways for Walden loan forgiveness are borrower defense to repayment and the Carroll class action settlement.

Program type. The Carroll settlement covered only Doctor of Business Administration students. Borrower defense applications, however, are open to students from any Walden program. That said, the strongest borrower defense claims involve Walden’s doctoral programs, where the evidence of cost and time misrepresentation is most documented. If you attended a master’s or bachelor’s program and experienced similar misrepresentations about how long the program would take or how much it would cost, you can still file.

Online students. Walden operates primarily online. There is no requirement that you attended a physical campus to file a borrower defense claim.

Enrollment dates. There is no specific enrollment window that limits borrower defense eligibility. Unlike schools such as DeVry, where the Department of Education’s misconduct finding covers a defined period (2008-2015), Walden has no institutional finding with set dates. Any former Walden student who experienced misrepresentations about program length, cost, or career outcomes can file.

If your borrower defense application was filed between June 23 and November 15, 2022, you fall under the Sweet v. McMahon post-class provisions and are entitled to Full Settlement Relief.

Loan type. Federal Direct Loans qualify for borrower defense discharge. If you have older FFEL loans from Walden, you need to consolidate them into a Direct Consolidation Loan before filing your application. Private student loans are not eligible for borrower defense.

What if you already paid off your loans? You can still file a borrower defense application even if you already paid off your Walden loans. If approved, the Department of Education can refund amounts you previously paid on the discharged loans. However, without an outstanding balance, there is no loan to place in forbearance during the review.

You file an individual borrower defense application through StudentAid.gov. Walden forgiveness is not automatic — each borrower must submit their own application.

When completing the application, focus on what Walden told you before and during enrollment, compared to what actually happened. The strongest applications describe how Walden’s representations of program length or total cost influenced your decision to enroll.

If Walden told you the program would take a certain number of years or cost a certain amount, and the reality was significantly different, describe that gap specifically — how many years Walden quoted versus how long it actually took, the cost Walden projected versus what you ultimately paid.

Because there is no Department of Education institutional finding for Walden, your application needs to carry its own weight. Describe the specific misrepresentations you experienced and how they affected your enrollment decision. If you chose Walden over other schools based on what it told you about program length or cost, include that comparison.

If you have enrollment agreements, marketing emails, program brochures, financial aid documents, or communications from Walden recruiters or advisors, include them as supporting evidence. Screenshots of program length or cost estimates from the school’s website are especially useful if you still have them.

After you file, the Department of Education places your federal loans in forbearance while it reviews your claim. You do not have to make payments during the review, but interest continues to accrue. Processing times for individual applications outside the Sweet settlement have been long; many borrowers have waited years for decisions.

Related: Borrower Defense to Repayment

March 2026. The Department of Education sent Full Settlement Relief eligibility notices to post-class Exhibit C borrowers, including former Walden students who filed borrower defense applications between June 23 and November 15, 2022. The Ninth Circuit unanimously denied the department’s emergency request to pause the post-class relief deadlines on March 25, 2026. The department has until March 30, 2027 to deliver loan discharges, refunds of prior payments, and credit reporting corrections for these borrowers.

April 2026. The department filed its opening brief in the ongoing Ninth Circuit appeal, arguing that settlement deadlines should be extended. A response brief from the Project on Predatory Student Lending is expected in May 2026.

April 2025. The Carroll v. Walden settlement administrator mailed checks to class members on April 10, 2025. Digital disbursements followed on April 16, 2025.

October 2024. The court granted final approval of the Carroll v. Walden settlement. Judge Julie R. Rubin approved the $28.5 million settlement fund covering Black or female DBA enrollees from August 2008 through January 2018.

January 2022. The Carroll v. Walden lawsuit was filed by Relman Colfax and the National Student Legal Defense Network on behalf of former DBA students, alleging Walden hid the true cost of its doctoral program and targeted Black and female students with deceptive marketing.

Related:

• Borrower Defense to Repayment

• For-Profit College Student Loan Forgiveness List

• Sweet v. McMahon Settlement Update