University of Wisconsin has a self-paced, competency-based program

[Duneranger]

Okay, so I finished my call with the success coach earlier today. Here's what I learned.

The Call
The call went how you'd expect. From asking questions, I learned a bit more about the program. Here are some highlights:

• Most students complete 2-3 classes per subscription period. Some have even managed to get to 6.
  
• One of the hardest classes is Law for Health Care Consumers & Professionals.
  
• One of the most popular classes to start off is Human Pathophysiology I, ironically an upper-division course. It's popular because it has less assessments than other classes & has an easy-to-follow structure.
  
• Teachers return your work in about 3 - 4 days on average.
  

I am currently working on my 4 Term Plan. I have the opportunity to choose whichever classes I want to begin with (minus one of them, which has a prerequisite). You can work faster than the plan, but you do have to update it to account for any changes. The plan is not binding. I have to contact the success coach each time I add a new class.

Certificate - HEALTH CARE INFORMATICS
From the follow-up email to the call, I was encouraged to look into the Health Care Informatics certificate.

Link - https://flex.wisconsin.edu/degrees-programs/health-care-informatics/#curriculum

This certificate has 6 classes, only 2 of which are part of the degree program. I probably won't do it for that reason. Still, it seems like an interesting credential to have if anyone wants to add it to their resume.

Syllabi
I was sent each course syllabus for my major's required classes. I won't upload them all since that would clutter the post (just putting one). Here are the number of assessments for each Health Sciences course.

• Introduction to Diagnostic Medicine - 6
  
• Leading Healthcare Professionals - 6
  
• Healthcare Delivery in the United States - 7
  
• Introduction to Complementary and Alternative Medicine - 5
  
• Disability: Society and the Person - 5
  
• Inclusive and Disability Programs in the Community - 6
  
• Human Pathophysiology I - 4
  
• Ethics and Values in the Health and Fitness Professions - 6
  
• Law for Health Care Consumers and Professionals - 7
  
• Teamwork in the Health Professions - 4
  
• Professional Development in the Health Professions - 9
  
• Introduction to Client Diversity for the Health Professions - 4
  

This puts the total number of assessments at 69.

The syllabus I've uploaded is for Human Pathophysiology I. I'm open to sending the others to anyone interested.

Other Notes
Since a session is 84 days long (12 weeks), someone should be able to complete the degree in one term if they were to average 0.82 assignments per day. If you were to complete one assignment per day, you would have 15 days remaining in the term. Now we just have to see if I'm able to advance through the courses while waiting for teacher feedback (which will make a huge difference).

There is a payment plan that lets you pay the $2,250 tuition in two installments.

Well, I'm off to work on that 4 Term Plan now!

Interesting! Usually pathophysiology is deemed as very difficult and is often a cut course for nursing/PA/PT programs. It doesn't seem to line up with the rest of the classes offered. The syllabus lists a textbook I don't usually see for patho as well. I wonder if this course is tailored differently than other patho courses? Its not usually a course someone jumps into without taking an intensive Anatomy and Physiology or a Gen Bio series first

May I ask what you are doing the program for? Seems like a springboard for a MHA or MBA in Healthcare?

[RbxFunRocks]

Okay, so just some thoughts from the first several days.

I was able to sign up for 3 classes at the same time (as opposed to the usual 2 in most CBE programs).

The program is extremely disorganized. I kept refreshing Canvas to see when I'd get into my courses. You see, I thought the courses would appear in the University of Wisconsin Extension Canvas site. Instead, they appear on the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee Canvas site, which is entirely separate. Not too bad, right? Well, because I'd previous signed into Canvas for UW Extension, everything kept redirecting me there. I tried following instructions to get to UW Milwaukee Canvas, but my browser automatically sent me to UW Extension. I deleted all the cookies. Still not working. I even directly copy and pasted the link to UWM's Canvas site, but I kept getting an error message. I had to completely clear the cache for it to work. I missed the entire first day trying to solve this issue.

The coursework itself isn't that well-organized either (at least in the way I was expecting). I thought the classes would resemble UMPI, Coursera, what I've seen of WGU, or (at the very least) some of my classes at B&M schools: you know, classes divided into lessons + assignments. Instead, you just get a word document with outcomes, recommended readings, and Quizlets to study. The textbooks are listed in the syllabus as "recommended readings", but they might as well be required from the looks of it. They're "recommended" in the sense that you don't technically have to read them at all (especially if you're coming in with a lot of knowledge beforehand), yet the Resource Document for each competency just tells you to read certain chapters to understand certain concepts. I'm signed up for 3 classes and they all seem to follow this pattern.

I attached the Resources Document for one of my class (Human Pathophysiology I) to give you an idea of what I'm studying off of. The resources in the document are pretty much what I've been given to study (besides practice exams).

I guess it's enough to work with. Just was hoping for it to be more streamlined.

tl;dr No lessons, just readings & quizlets

Interesting! Usually pathophysiology is deemed as very difficult and is often a cut course for nursing/PA/PT programs. It doesn't seem to line up with the rest of the classes offered. The syllabus lists a textbook I don't usually see for patho as well. I wonder if this course is tailored differently than other patho courses? Its not usually a course someone jumps into without taking an intensive Anatomy and Physiology or a Gen Bio series first

May I ask what you are doing the program for? Seems like a springboard for a MHA or MBA in Healthcare?

Hmm, that's odd then. Not a good sign.

I see what you mean by A&P and Gen Bio being prerequisites for patho courses at other courses. If I was completely unfamiliar with them, I can see myself struggling to keep up with the material I've scanned through. Still, not feeling confident about how UW's program seems to stack up against other schools in terms of rigor from what you're telling me (at least at a glance). 

As for the reason I'm doing the program, I do have some personal goals. One is a bit of an odd passion project that involves going through the degree program itself. I do want to try using the degree to land a job and/or get into a healthcare-related graduate program. The bachelor's degree isn't exactly necessary for the stuff on my radar, but there's a personal interest in earning it anyway. I am a bit strained w/ money atm, so I'm going for the cheapest Health Sciences-related degree from a reputable, RA school I could find. Figured it'd be worth if I can get the degree done in 1 or 2 terms. Would be cheaper/faster than the other degree options I'm aware of. The passion project just mentioned is how I plan to get back some of the money I spend. Even if the project only earns me back 50 cents, I should have more luck applying to healthcare-related jobs going forward.

(I've tried applying to jobs with my economics degree, if you're curious about my signature. Haven't had much luck. I used to have much more of a solid plan, but Covid + other personal circumstances messed with that big time. The other degrees are just subjects I'm passionate about)

[RbxFunRocks]

Degree going okay, despite my trying to get used to things. Just wanted to briefly add some notes about what I've experienced so far.

Outdated/Broken Links
In the resource documents, students are given links to various resources to use to study (as opposed to traditional lessons). I suppose this is similar to the UMPI history classes I've taken, except you go to the actual page rather than a copy-paste of the text.

Unfortunately, many of the links are outdated. I've had to use Wayback a considerable number of times just to access study resources that no longer exist. In my Intro to Diagnostic Medicine course, I've even had to add a Flash emulator Chrome extension just to be able to read certain vital resources.

So far, nothing has made studying impossible. I can still read everything I'm intended to, it's just that there's a lot more work to do in order to study the intended way. Courses need some updating big time.

Other Notes
On the bright side, because of the way courses are structured, you don't have to wait for teacher grading in order to proceed. Not that there'd be much to wait on anyway, considering there aren't actual lessons.

Also, the assignments themselves don't appear to be too demanding (at least yet).

[vmarsa03]

Got accepted for the September term! I've been looking around the website to learn more about the specifics of the Health Sciences program.

Coursework
Beyond general education requirements, there are 14 required classes for the major:

Lower Division Coursework

• HS 102X: Healthcare Delivery in the US
  
• BMS 205X: Introduction to Diagnostic Medicine
  
• BMS 245X: Client Diversity in the Health Professions
  
• CGS MAT 215X: Statistics (or equivalent)
  
• ENGLISH 206X: Technical Writing, OR ENGLISH 207X: Health Science Writing
  
• HCA 220X: Leading Healthcare Professional
  
• BMS 260X: Introduction to Complementary and Alternative Medicine
  
• TherRec 202X: Disability, Society, and the Person
  

Even though the degree requirements can be met with either Technical Writing or Health Science Writing, only Technical Writing seems to be available.

Upper Division Coursework

• BMS 314X: Human Pathophysiology I
  
• KIN 400X: Ethics and Values in the Health and Fitness Profession
  
• HS 311X: Law for Healthcare Professionals
  
• BMS 434X: Professional Development in the Health Professions
  
• BMS 433X: Teamwork in the Health Professions
  
• THERREC 303X: Inclusive Disability
  

In my situation, I transferred in Statistics. This leaves me with 13 classes left, personally.

Besides the one exception mentioned just now, all classes are available. This means that at least in theory, it should be possible to complete the entire program in a single term (whether or not this is actually feasible, I'm still unsure of).

Other Notes
Unlike UMPI, you can actually scroll through all of the available classes through the class search. It looks like you manually sign up for the classes you want (also unlike UMPI).

Almost all of my classes from previous universities were accepted as transfer credits. The one exception is the graduate-level class I look at TAMUC during the Winter Mini term (doesn't show up anywhere in the website or my transcript). The transfer credits are capped at 90.

After getting accepted, I received an email with an activation code. Every time I tried entering the code into the activation website I was sent, I kept getting an error message telling me that my session had timed out. I was able to fix this by opening the page in Microsoft Edge (I was originally trying in Chrome).

Curious to see how this program goes. I'll be sure to document my experiences here!

hey Rbx, im considering doing something similar, getting a BA with UMPI and another through university of wisconsin. when you got your degree from UMPI, did you go the sophia/straighterline route or did you take all your classes at UMPI. Did your sophia credits transfer to UofW? Thanks!

[bjcheung77]

I believe the credits all came through with RA as the one you quoted completed a couple or three bachelor's degrees before starting this particular one... Just to be on the safe side, I would wait for a reply, you may want to review post #4 as I believe they accept 64 credits into the program but they must be RA: https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...#pid392792

[vmarsa03]

I believe the credits all came through with RA as the one you quoted completed a couple or three bachelor's degrees before starting this particular one... Just to be on the safe side, I would wait for a reply, you may want to review post #4 as I believe they accept 64 credits into the program but they must be RA: https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...#pid392792

im remaining optimistic! i saw post #4 but i was hoping that when they said that UofW took all their credits that they would take any prior bachelors as a completion of all gen eds. which would save me quite a bit of time. thanks for your reply

[TeeJay]

Okay, so I finished my call with the success coach earlier today. Here's what I learned.

The Call
The call went how you'd expect. From asking questions, I learned a bit more about the program. Here are some highlights:

• Most students complete 2-3 classes per subscription period. Some have even managed to get to 6.
  
• One of the hardest classes is Law for Health Care Consumers & Professionals.
  
• One of the most popular classes to start off is Human Pathophysiology I, ironically an upper-division course. It's popular because it has less assessments than other classes & has an easy-to-follow structure.
  
• Teachers return your work in about 3 - 4 days on average.
  

I am currently working on my 4 Term Plan. I have the opportunity to choose whichever classes I want to begin with (minus one of them, which has a prerequisite). You can work faster than the plan, but you do have to update it to account for any changes. The plan is not binding. I have to contact the success coach each time I add a new class.

Certificate - HEALTH CARE INFORMATICS
From the follow-up email to the call, I was encouraged to look into the Health Care Informatics certificate.

Link - https://flex.wisconsin.edu/degrees-programs/health-care-informatics/#curriculum

This certificate has 6 classes, only 2 of which are part of the degree program. I probably won't do it for that reason. Still, it seems like an interesting credential to have if anyone wants to add it to their resume.

Syllabi
I was sent each course syllabus for my major's required classes. I won't upload them all since that would clutter the post (just putting one). Here are the number of assessments for each Health Sciences course.

• Introduction to Diagnostic Medicine - 6
  
• Leading Healthcare Professionals - 6
  
• Healthcare Delivery in the United States - 7
  
• Introduction to Complementary and Alternative Medicine - 5
  
• Disability: Society and the Person - 5
  
• Inclusive and Disability Programs in the Community - 6
  
• Human Pathophysiology I - 4
  
• Ethics and Values in the Health and Fitness Professions - 6
  
• Law for Health Care Consumers and Professionals - 7
  
• Teamwork in the Health Professions - 4
  
• Professional Development in the Health Professions - 9
  
• Introduction to Client Diversity for the Health Professions - 4
  

This puts the total number of assessments at 69.

The syllabus I've uploaded is for Human Pathophysiology I. I'm open to sending the others to anyone interested.

Other Notes
Since a session is 84 days long (12 weeks), someone should be able to complete the degree in one term if they were to average 0.82 assignments per day. If you were to complete one assignment per day, you would have 15 days remaining in the term. Now we just have to see if I'm able to advance through the courses while waiting for teacher feedback (which will make a huge difference).

There is a payment plan that lets you pay the $2,250 tuition in two installments.

Well, I'm off to work on that 4 Term Plan now!

How is the program going for you so far?  Have you been able to keep up the pace you were planning on?

I'm currently awaiting my admission decision for the Information Systems & Tech program.  I meet with my advisor on Friday and I'm hoping she can give me information on the curriculum similar to what you received.

[RbxFunRocks]

I do apologize for a lack of updates. I'm taking a break from the degree program. It's just that the way it's structured makes it really difficult to stay motivated to work efficiently.

It feels like this degree program (health sciences) was really only made with current professionals in the health industry in mind (which makes sense, just that it's hard to catch up). The resources students get to study, as noted before, are extremely minimal. With UMPI, you can read lessons and complete assignments based on what you've learned. With UW Flex, figuring out what you need to study before you can begin the actual studying for an assignment is a process in itself. I guess it's really only simple information gathering at the end of the day, but it still makes it really difficult to find the motivation to work on stuff.

At least I got some of the costs reimbursed from my job.

The program sounds extremely interesting in concept, but in execution it's almost the most bare-bones you can possibly get with CBE. I don't recommend it.

[ItsNeverTheLionsYear]

A shame that the programs aren't good, especially since they offer an IST degree. WGU and TESU need some competition in the nonprofit, accredited, sub $10k CS degree market, and a UWM school of information degree would be a good addition to the list, despite lackluster class selection. Ah well.