ENG 121

[Ravenbad]

Hello everyone,

I’m currently enrolled at UMPI and am taking ENG 121. This does not feel like a freshman level class. The readings have little to do with the actual assignments. It's been a struggle. 

If I wanted to drop this and just complete at Sophia, do I have to get permission to do so? I didn't originally complete at Sophia because I was told it was easier at UMPI. Since the move to Brightspace, this is no longer the case. 

TIA

[ss20ts]

Sophia is longer! It's 6-7 papers. UMPI is 3 1000 word papers. Stick to UMPI. Sophia will take over 2 months.

[tsgreer]

If I wanted to drop this and just complete at Sophia, do I have to get permission to do so? I didn't originally complete at Sophia because I was told it was easier at UMPI. Since the move to Brightspace, this is no longer the case. 

I think a LOT of advice/comments in this forum will be a bit out of date because of the change to Brightspace. The posters here have been awesome, but the move to Brightspace seems to have changed things quite a bit

For all you guys who did your UMPI classes pre-Brightspace, your timing and challenge level was probably a different experience. 

Brightspace definitely seems to have made things tougher and longer.

I took one semester before Brightspace, and now I'm using Brightspace, and the courses seem much much longer now.

I honestly don't see how anyone could do the whole "10 classes in 10 days cuz I stayed up all night!" thing anymore.

The UMPI business class I'm in, has textbooks (.pdf format tho, and not searchable) that we have to read chapters in, videos, lectures, etc.  Not super impossible or anything, but definitely more involved than before. Just the two chapters I've had to read so far have been pretty long reads and I haven't made it to my first milestone yet. I still have a bunch more to do before I get to it.

[rachel83az]

If you want to take English Comp elsewhere, don't do it at Sophia. Do it at SDC. It costs more per month, but it should work out to be about the same cost as Sophia in the long run. And you don't have to complete every single paper at SDC, unlike at Sophia. At SDC, you can stop as soon as you have at least 210 points.

[Ravenbad]

Hello everyone,

I’m currently enrolled at UMPI and am taking ENG 121. This does not feel like a freshman level class. The readings have little to do with the actual assignments. It's been a struggle. 

If I wanted to drop this and just complete at Sophia, do I have to get permission to do so? I didn't originally complete at Sophia because I was told it was easier at UMPI. Since the move to Brightspace, this is no longer the case. 

TIA

[Jonathan Whatley]

The UMPI class I'm in has textbooks (.pdf format tho, and not searchable) that we have to read chapters in, videos, lectures, etc..

You might see if you can find a format of the textbook or a corresponding textbook that is searchable from another source – Amazon purchase, another ebook service, books.google.com or Amazon public search within their limitations, or a similar textbook from an OER repository like open.umn.edu or 2012books.lardbucket.org.

[bjcheung77]

There really isn't a need or reason to have another thread created, you should bump up your original one so you get more responses instead... I've merged the two.

[ss20ts]

If I wanted to drop this and just complete at Sophia, do I have to get permission to do so? I didn't originally complete at Sophia because I was told it was easier at UMPI. Since the move to Brightspace, this is no longer the case. 

I think a LOT of advice/comments in this forum will be a bit out of date because of the change to Brightspace. The posters here have been awesome, but the move to Brightspace seems to have changed things quite a bit

For all you guys who did your UMPI classes pre-Brightspace, your timing and challenge level was probably a different experience. 

Brightspace definitely seems to have made things tougher and longer.

I took one semester before Brightspace, and now I'm using Brightspace, and the courses seem much much longer now.

I honestly don't see how anyone could do the whole "10 classes in 10 days cuz I stayed up all night!" thing anymore.

The UMPI business class I'm in, has textbooks (.pdf format tho, and not searchable) that we have to read chapters in, videos, lectures, etc.  Not super impossible or anything, but definitely more involved than before. Just the two chapters I've had to read so far have been pretty long reads and I haven't made it to my first milestone yet. I still have a bunch more to do before I get to it.

I've been talking to several currently enrolled students. Some were enrolled prior to Brightspace. Some classes have longer Final Assessments, but they're still far less work than a B&M course.

PDF textbooks can be search in Adobe Reader. You couldn't search in Strut either. In Strut you had many screens to read that were from textbooks, videos, and websites to read. Not much different really. 

There were very few people who completed 10 courses in 10 days. UMPI has stated for years that the average is 3-4 courses per session. There will always be outliers. One shouldn't compare themselves those.

---

Hello everyone,

I’m currently enrolled at UMPI and am taking ENG 121. This does not feel like a freshman level class. The readings have little to do with the actual assignments. It's been a struggle. 

If I wanted to drop this and just complete at Sophia, do I have to get permission to do so? I didn't originally complete at Sophia because I was told it was easier at UMPI. Since the move to Brightspace, this is no longer the case. 

TIA

You will need to talk to Jessica. In the past, she has needed to approve transfer credit once enrolled. You also should check to see how dropping this course will appear on your transcripts and if it will impact your financial aid if you're receiving any. 

Sophia's Eng Comp courses aren't easy. They're longer - much longer. Far more writing.

[Ebroady23]

I just completed this course. I received exemplary. I was one of the people who initially complained due to having a certain expectation based off other's experience. Once I understood what I needed to do, it was actually a quick course. Here is a tip I have: when writing your milestone papers write closer to the 1000words than the 500. It will make putting the final assessment portfolio together quicker. I personally went ahead and wrote the 1000 words instead of the 500. It saved me for having to get a draft assessed bc my milestones were already assessed as exemplary and my word count was already met. The 4 audios assignments is pretty straightforward. Took me less than 10 mins to do. Just explain how you did your research paper.

[ss20ts]

Are you an international student? Is English your first language? Asking because if this is why you're struggling, we can help or point you in the direction of where to get help from.