Understanding Walden's New Policy for Formatting the Running Head
As you may have
seen in last week’s announcement from the Chief Academic Officer, Walden University recently changed its
official policy on running head requirements. Here’s the rundown of what’s
going on with this APA formatting requirement, how it will impact you, and the reasoning behind this change.
What’s Happening?
You know that fun (and sometimes irksome) running
head? It’s an abbreviated version of the title of your paper that appears along
the top header of all pages of your work. Walden has decided to officially no
longer require this detail for Walden coursework. You will still need something
in the header section of your document, but now it’s only a page number in the
upper right corner of your paper. Our templates have been fully
updated to reflect this change, so you can see a visual of what the new format
looks like.
How does it impact me?
Essentially, you do not have to include a
running head on any of your papers for your Walden writing. You will not be
penalized for including a running head if you so choose, but use of a running
head is now optional. However, page numbers are still a requirement. If you
need help with adding page numbers, you can find out more here on the Academic Skills Center pages for MS Word help, or use our templates.
Why the change?
Based on data from Walden’s support
services, students, and faculty, it became clear that students were spending a
great deal of time and effort formatting running heads. The running head
functions to help differentiate stacks of physical papers that could get lost
or mixed up on a physical desk, so for Walden’s purposes, the running head is
much less important than other formatting details. Because Walden is an online
university, once an instructor has a file, the title of the document is always
at the top of the screen while reading, eliminating the necessity of a running
head.
Also, Walden has never required a running
head for doctoral capstones or KAMs, so doing away with this element helps with
continuity throughout programs.
Still have questions? Need help? The
Writing Center is here for you! Visit our Quick Answers, chat, or review
services, or email us at writingsupport@waldenu.edu
for additional assistance.
The Walden University Writing Center constantly reviews and revises its practices and materials to best meet the myriad needs of its writers. The WUWC promotes writing as a rhetorical act, which embraces a changing negotiation between writer, audience, and technology. Walden writers can expect evolving writing instruction that helps them become effective scholarly writers in the 21st century.
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THANK YOU WALDEN!!!!!!!
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