Encouraged by UMPI Enrollment Advisor to Enroll

[Claudia P]

I recently joined this forum and just started taking courses that will eventually transfer to UMPI for their BABA with Leadership and Org Management concentration. 
I would like feedback on enrolling at UMPI now versus waiting until Mar 2022 session.
 
Over several years, I have accumulated appx 30 credits from a few regionally accredited (RA) community colleges - 15 of those credits will probably meet UMPI gen-ed requirements.  I was told by the last community college I attended in 2020 that some of my credits are too specialized or too old and could only be counted as elective credits.  Examples include Accounting Principles (ACC 111) class and Computer Information Systems (CIS 105) class.
I have a plan to take appx 11 Sophia courses, 1 Instant Cert, 2 CLEPS, and the Biology with Lab from Study.com (which makes me very nervous) before I enroll at UMPI.
With the holidays approaching and other family/life commitments, I am estimating it will take me until Feb, 2022 to finish, and I'm aiming to enroll in UMPI's Mar 2022 session.

I called UMPI this week and left a message with specific questions and heard back today from an Enrollment Advisor.
She was nice, and was able to answer most of my questions.  Odd part was the longer we talked, the more she sounded like a salesperson.  I could tell she was following a checklist to qualify my eligibility (which is fine with me) but the more we talked, the more she pushed me to enroll right away for the next semester (Jan 2022).  I told her I would rather plan for the Mar 2022 session when I plan to have all of my Sophia/InstantCert/Study.com courses completed.

The one good point the advisor made was that UMPI advisors may give me more credit for my existing community college credits and I would benefit from having an advisor take a look at it all now rather than waiting until Feb/Mar 2022. 

I would appreciate advice/comments:

1. If I enroll for the Jan 2022 session but do not have all of my transfer credits (Sophia, etc) complete, will they allow me to hold off on attending until Mar, 2022?
   
2. Do you see any problem with enrolling now at UMPI for the January 2022 session?  What if I don't have all of my remaining Sophia/CLEP/InstantCert courses finished in time?
   
   

Thank you for any insight you can give me.   

[ss20ts]

Do not apply until you've completed all of the courses you want to transfer in. Once you apply, you'll be accepted quickly and you're automatically enrolled at acceptance. You will need permission from your advisor to transfer in courses after you're accepted.

The enrollment counselors do not work. at UMPI like the professors do. They outsource the enrollment counselors. Their job is to sell you on the college and enroll as many students as possible. They may get a bonus for each student. No one knows.

Stick with your plan for March. You know how busy your life is around the holidays and what you're comfortable with.

Advisors don't accept transfer credit. The Registrar approves transfer credit. The number of credits transferring in will be based on your courses. It has NOTHING to do with January or March. Don't let the enrollment counselors push you around! You also do not have to talk to them when they call or email you. I was the first one on here to complete a degree at UMPI so I know the place well. There are several others who have since graduated and many are now enrolled and taking classes. We can answer just about any question you have and we know far more than the enrollment counselors. We're also not trying to sell you anything. Seriously don't apply until you've completed the courses you want to finish at Sophia and elsewhere.

[freeloader]

Completely agree with what ss20ts said. Complete the credits you want to complete elsewhere first. When you are done with those credits, then and only then you should apply.

I am set to finish my UMPI coursework in a couple of days and am working with my sister-in-law to get her set for UMPI. You have to complete 10 courses at UMPI per their rules, but probably will end up competing a few more than that to get all of the boxes checked for your degree plan. The goal for my sister-in-law is for her to have 12-15 classes remaining and only at that point will she apply. No reason to apply before that.

FWIW, I had multiple transcripts that needed evaluating and they got them turned around fairly quickly. It is a small school with a small staff and things do take time. I would not recommend applying/sending your transcripts on the last possible day, but again, you don’t need to apply yet.

[Federicojavier]

I recently joined this forum and just started taking courses that will eventually transfer to UMPI for their BABA with Leadership and Org Management concentration. 
I would like feedback on enrolling at UMPI now versus waiting until Mar 2022 session.
 
Over several years, I have accumulated appx 30 credits from a few regionally accredited (RA) community colleges - 15 of those credits will probably meet UMPI gen-ed requirements.  I was told by the last community college I attended in 2020 that some of my credits are too specialized or too old and could only be counted as elective credits.  Examples include Accounting Principles (ACC 111) class and Computer Information Systems (CIS 105) class.
I have a plan to take appx 11 Sophia courses, 1 Instant Cert, 2 CLEPS, and the Biology with Lab from Study.com (which makes me very nervous) before I enroll at UMPI.
With the holidays approaching and other family/life commitments, I am estimating it will take me until Feb, 2022 to finish, and I'm aiming to enroll in UMPI's Mar 2022 session.

I called UMPI this week and left a message with specific questions and heard back today from an Enrollment Advisor.
She was nice, and was able to answer most of my questions.  Odd part was the longer we talked, the more she sounded like a salesperson.  I could tell she was following a checklist to qualify my eligibility (which is fine with me) but the more we talked, the more she pushed me to enroll right away for the next semester (Jan 2022).  I told her I would rather plan for the Mar 2022 session when I plan to have all of my Sophia/InstantCert/Study.com courses completed.

The one good point the advisor made was that UMPI advisors may give me more credit for my existing community college credits and I would benefit from having an advisor take a look at it all now rather than waiting until Feb/Mar 2022. 

I would appreciate advice/comments:

1. If I enroll for the Jan 2022 session but do not have all of my transfer credits (Sophia, etc) complete, will they allow me to hold off on attending until Mar, 2022?
   
2. Do you see any problem with enrolling now at UMPI for the January 2022 session?  What if I don't have all of my remaining Sophia/CLEP/InstantCert courses finished in time?
   
   

Thank you for any insight you can give me.   

Welcome to the forum. I agree with ss20ts.It looks like you have done some research and you have a very good plan of action. Stick to it . Allow me to suggest you to apply for Fafsa now. You might qualify for financial help. I did the biology with lab at study.com and it was no fun. I can pm you some tips of what I did if you want.

[bjcheung77]

Your plan is sound! I would follow exactly this: I have a plan to take appx 11 Sophia courses, 1 Instant Cert, 2 CLEPS, and the Biology with Lab from Study.com (which makes me very nervous) before I enroll at UMPI. Only suggestion I have is, don't rush yourself, if you have those commitments, put some "buffer" time in there, so don't force yourself and stress over finishing everything by March. You can have that as a goal post, but things happen in life and those posts move... So, do all you can before you start any of the required courses at UMPI.

[Claudia P]

Completely agree with what ss20ts said. Complete the credits you want to complete elsewhere first. When you are done with those credits, then and only then you should apply.  

I am set to finish my UMPI coursework in a couple of days and am working with my sister-in-law to get her set for UMPI. You have to complete 10 courses at UMPI per their rules, but probably will end up competing a few more than that to get all of the boxes checked for your degree plan. The goal for my sister-in-law is for her to have 12-15 classes remaining and only at that point will she apply. No reason to apply before that.

FWIW, I had multiple transcripts that needed evaluating and they got them turned around fairly quickly. It is a small school with a small staff and things do take time. I would not recommend applying/sending your transcripts on the last possible day, but again, you don’t need to apply yet.

Thank you for the advice and congratulations on almost finishing your degree.  You're finishing the degree that I'm planning for.  
I welcome any advice/feedback on the classes that you are willing to share.  
Thank you.

---

Welcome to the forum. I agree with ss20ts.It looks like you have done some research and you have a very good plan of action. Stick to it . Allow me to suggest you to apply for Fafsa now. You might qualify for financial help. I did the biology with lab at study.com and it was no fun. I can pm you some tips of what I did if you want.

Yes!   I would welcome any tips on the study.com Biology class.  Thank you FedericoJavier.

---

Do not apply until you've completed all of the courses you want to transfer in. Once you apply, you'll be accepted quickly and you're automatically enrolled at acceptance. You will need permission from your advisor to transfer in courses after you're accepted.

The enrollment counselors do not work. at UMPI like the professors do. They outsource the enrollment counselors. Their job is to sell you on the college and enroll as many students as possible. They may get a bonus for each student. No one knows.

Stick with your plan for March. You know how busy your life is around the holidays and what you're comfortable with.

Advisors don't accept transfer credit. The Registrar approves transfer credit. The number of credits transferring in will be based on your courses. It has NOTHING to do with January or March. Don't let the enrollment counselors push you around! You also do not have to talk to them when they call or email you. I was the first one on here to complete a degree at UMPI so I know the place well. There are several others who have since graduated and many are now enrolled and taking classes. We can answer just about any question you have and we know far more than the enrollment counselors. We're also not trying to sell you anything. Seriously don't apply until you've completed the courses you want to finish at Sophia and elsewhere.

This info is so terrific.  Thank you very much.

It makes sense that the question the enrollment advisor couldn't answer was whether or not I could go ahead and send my CLEP results to UMPI as I take each test - even if I am not yet enrolled.  If the enrollment advisors work for an outsourced vendor, and aren't actually affiliated with the school, they won't know.

My understanding is that CLEP asks for the school that you're enrolled in so they can send your exam results directly to the school (for free).  If this info is not provided at the time of enrollment for each exam, I will have to pay a fee after-the-fact to have my exam results sent to the school of my choice.   

Please feel free to let me know if you can offer any answer or additional advice.  Appreciate your help.  

[rachel83az]

You don't need to be enrolled at or apply to a school to send your CLEP results to them, AFAIK.

[ashkir]

Yep. Please wait. The enrollment counselors, minus Courtney, are being paid to enroll students. UMPI outsources this. The only real downside I have of them.

They're one of the easiest acceptance colleges in America. Don't be afraid to wait.

[Claudia P]

You don't need to be enrolled at or apply to a school to send your CLEP results to them, AFAIK.

Rachel:
Thank you. 
I'm sure I can send my CLEP results anywhere.  The real info I was trying to obtain is "what does the school do with the results once they receive them and cannot match them with a currently enrolled student?"
Will they hold on to the exam results for a while in anticipation of my enrollment, or do they discard them when they can't match them to a currently-enrolled student?
My former community college had a policy to hold all CLEP results for two semesters, and if there was no match to a student within that time the results were discarded.  
It then became the responsibility of the student to ask The College Board to resend the test results (for a fee) if they enrolled later.
I was trying to find out if UMPI has a similar policy.
I'm going to go ahead and write UMPI's CLEP code on the exams and see if they have my results when I enroll in March 2022.
Thanks again.   

[TMcClary]

I agree with waiting until you completed all of the outside credits you want to transfer in. I will add, don't be too concerned with the age of your community college credits. I transferred in CC credits from 1990 and they still covered most of my general ed. None of them were treated as outdated.