Degree Planning: Seeking a Bachelor's Degree from UMPI

[JayJohnson813]

Your Location: Florida, USA

Your Age: 30s

What kind of degree do you want? Criminal Justice or Psychology (or fastest relevant Bachelor's degree)

Current Regional Accredited Credits: 66

Hillsborough Community College (AA Psychology) total credits: 66

3.00, A, ENC-1101 English Composition I
3.00, A, ENC-1102 English Composition II
3.00, B, MAT-0028 Beginning Algebra (Pre-requisite**)
3.00, C, STA-2023 Elementary Statistics
3.00, C, MGF-1106 Topics in Mathematics
3.00, D, MGF-1107 Explorations in Mathematics (Elective**)
3.00, C, BSC-1005 Biological Foundations
1.00, D, BSC-1005L, Bio Foundations Lab
3.00, B, ESC-1000, Earth Science
1.00, B, ESC-1000L Earth Science Lab
1.00, S, IDS-2891 Student Connections (Graduation pre-req.**)
3.00, A, CGS-2100 Computer Information Technology (Graduation pre-req**)
3.00, A, PSY-2012 General Psychology
3.00, A, CLP-2140 Abnormal Psychology
3.00, A, LIT-2000 Intro to Literature
3.00, A, HUM-1020 Intro to Humanities
3.00, B, SYG-2000 Intro to Sociology
3.00, A, SYG-2010 Social Problems
3.00, B, CCJ-1010 Introduction to Criminology
3.00, A, CCJ-1020 Introduction to Criminal Justice
3.00, A, CCJ-2600 Criminal Deviant Behavior
3.00, A, CJJ-1002 Juvenile Delinquency
3.00, A, LAH-2020 Latin American History
3.00, A, SPC-1608 Public Speaking

Foreign Language: I turned in my 9th grade transcript to HCC and they gave me credit for Spanish II Honors, and I graduated HCC with an AA in Psychology, Now, as far as my level of Spanish-anything nowadays?? lol. If I have to retake a course for a Bachelor's degree, I will do my best!

Current ACE, CLEP, or NCCRS Credits: 0

Any certifications or military experience? I've held previous Certifications with the Florida Certification Board for CBHT - Certified Behavioral Health Technician and CRPS_P - Certified Recovery Peer Specialist (Provisional on completing work hours). For both certifications I went through hours and hours of (documented) training and passed an exam for both. To sum it up, course work included learning about crisis intervention, medical terminology, patient rights, and so forth. I also hold certifications under Florida Department of Children & Families and Central Florida Behavioral Health Network that include Peer Recovery Training and Wellness Recovery Action Plan training. I don't know if University of Maine Presque Isle can transfer any of this to credits, but I thought that I would add it. I also have over 10 years of experience working in social services/healthcare with foster care and drug use/mental health by mentoring at-risk youth to put it simply.



Budget: I'd like to go the cheapest route possible but will consider spending more for easy and fast.  

Commitments: I currently work full time and can work on my studies part time or in the evenings/weekends.

Dedicated time to study: I estimate at least 3 hours every weeknight and, on the weekends, maybe 6 hours, total would be roughly 15+12=27 hours or slightly more.

Timeline: Finishing the courses required for the degree as fast as possible would be ideal.  I would like to finish in 2024, one or two terms.

Tuition assistance/reimbursement: I work in social services; I believe there is tuition assistance up to a certain amount.

I have looked over the Bachelor of Arts in Psychology degree at University of Maine Presque Isle, and it doesn't look too intimidating. Some of it, I have even completed already. But to meet the 120 Credits, would I need to use Sophia Learning for electives? I am going to keep looking over this forum, I appreciate everyone who's already unknowingly helped me, and anyone else who'll read this topic and offer guidance. Registration deadline is 12/12/23 so I'm prepared to take a few Sophia Learning courses if need be. 

B.A. in Psychology Online Degree Program at UMPI

Edit: Wait a minute... is a Bachelor's of Liberal Studies: Management Minor a good route? I read that I could use Political Science as my second minor and the course seems to be mostly electives.  

Online Bachelor of Liberal Studies with Management Minor at UMPI

[LevelUP]

UMPI is the most recommended college and would be the cheapest/fastest.

You could do a major in Psychology and a minor in Criminal Justice.

https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/UM...egree_Plan

http://catalog.umpi.edu/content.php?catoid=4&navoid=155

I suggest making a spreadsheet of your degree plan.

[bjcheung77]

@JayJohnson813, Welcome to the board, I see you edited your post asking about the BLS Management with Political Science minor.  That would work, you can also try taking the 4 courses listed here for exemption to the MAOL if you ever wanted to go that route.  There are so many different options for you, you can take a BLS with CJ/Psych minors plus the 4 courses towards the MAOL Link: https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...#pid400861

[ss20ts]

Just a note that currently all of the CJ Minor required courses are not offered every session. I've been discussing this today with a student currently in the program and it's holding her up.

[JayJohnson813]

Just a note that currently all of the CJ Minor required courses are not offered every session. I've been discussing this today with a student currently in the program and it's holding her up.

Thank you for that note and thank you for all the hard work you've contributed here (I read the some of the wiki)!!

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@JayJohnson813, Welcome to the board, I see you edited your post asking about the BLS Management with Political Science minor.  That would work, you can also try taking the 4 courses listed here for exemption to the MAOL if you ever wanted to go that route.  There are so many different options for you, you can take a BLS with CJ/Psych minors plus the 4 courses towards the MAOL Link: https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...#pid400861

Thank you so much for your advice and all that you do here! I never thought of a Masters in Leadership but I think it suites me. So thank you for this guidance.

My only thought now is how do I ask UMPI which courses from my AA will transfer? Should I apply first or try to complete Sophia courses first? I know I can do Sophia afterwards to transfer but it's a slower process since the school staff are being overwhelmed with all of us newbies.

---

UMPI is the most recommended college and would be the cheapest/fastest.

You could do a major in Psychology and a minor in Criminal Justice.

https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/UM...egree_Plan

http://catalog.umpi.edu/content.php?catoid=4&navoid=155

I suggest making a spreadsheet of your degree plan.

Thank you very much for your assistance and everyone else you've helped here. I followed your links and will use them to follow your advice thoroughly. Question about the degree plan, for instance one required course is Gen Psych. I've already done that in my AA degree so most likely that will transfer to UMPI? Should I apply to UMPI now or wait until I complete some of the Sophia Learning courses to transfer beforehand? I'm so ready to get to work!

I'm leaning toward a BLS in Management now, to be honest.

[bjcheung77]

Yes, apply to UMPI, send all your transcripts over for evaluation. The main course that won't transfer would be MAT-0028 Beginning Algebra as the course is remedial. Other than that, you should expect 60 credits transferred. You can supplement this up to 90 credits entirely with Sophia.org classes, I suggest to review the UMPI plans and create a spreadsheet to track the required classes and your progress. You can then make the file viewable (not editable) and link us to your google or one drive, we can then advise any modifications if necessary.

[JayJohnson813]

Yes, apply to UMPI, send all your transcripts over for evaluation.  The main course that won't transfer would be MAT-0028 Beginning Algebra as the course is remedial.  Other than that, you should expect 60 credits transferred.  You can supplement this up to 90 credits entirely with Sophia.org classes, I suggest to review the UMPI plans and create a spreadsheet to track the required classes and your progress.  You can then make the file viewable (not editable) and link us to your google or one drive, we can then advise any modifications if necessary.

Okay, I just finished copying everything over to my own Excel sheet. I may shoot for BA Psychology with a minor in Political Science. I will apply and send over m transcripts. Thank you

[JayJohnson813]

Yes, apply to UMPI, send all your transcripts over for evaluation.  The main course that won't transfer would be MAT-0028 Beginning Algebra as the course is remedial.  Other than that, you should expect 60 credits transferred.  You can supplement this up to 90 credits entirely with Sophia.org classes, I suggest to review the UMPI plans and create a spreadsheet to track the required classes and your progress.  You can then make the file viewable (not editable) and link us to your google or one drive, we can then advise any modifications if necessary.

Using your advice, I did create a general Excel sheet.

JayJohnson813 Pysch Degree Plan

As I wait to hear back from UMPI, I haven't decided on BA Pysch or BLS Management with POS/minor. Should I start working through Sophia electives now with my free time?

Edit: I can only transfer 90 credits. And since I've sent in 60, I should probably use Sophia to focus on classes that are more difficult at UMPI, like the science courses?

[ss20ts]

Using your advice, I did create a general Excel sheet.

JayJohnson813 Pysch Degree Plan

As I wait to hear back from UMPI, I haven't decided on BA Pysch or BLS Management with POS/minor. Should I start working through Sophia electives now with my free time?

Edit: I can only transfer 90 credits. And since I've sent in 60, I should probably use Sophia to focus on classes that are more difficult at UMPI, like the science courses?

You can transfer as many credits as you have to UMPI. I transferred in 190+. Only 90 can be applied to a bachelor's degree. Just because you transfer courses doesn't mean that they're useful credits. There's a very small section of the degree in which general electives can be applied. You still have to meet the GEC and major/minor/concentration requirements.

[JayJohnson813]

Using your advice, I did create a general Excel sheet.

JayJohnson813 Pysch Degree Plan

As I wait to hear back from UMPI, I haven't decided on BA Pysch or BLS Management with POS/minor. Should I start working through Sophia electives now with my free time?

Edit: I can only transfer 90 credits. And since I've sent in 60, I should probably use Sophia to focus on classes that are more difficult at UMPI, like the science courses?

You can transfer as many credits as you have to UMPI. I transferred in 190+. Only 90 can be applied to a bachelor's degree. Just because you transfer courses doesn't mean that they're useful credits. There's a very small section of the degree in which general electives can be applied. You still have to meet the GEC and major/minor/concentration requirements.

Okay, thank you. I'm reading all of your posts and trying to understand as much as I can. I guess I'm just eager tp get started and would like to also save as much money as possible. I just came across the person with like 5 AA's and a BLS now going for the MAOL and I'm like what have I been doing with my life haha