Fastest & Easiest UMPI Bachelor's

[shawnette]

I'm looking to earn a bachelor's degree as quickly (and cheaply) as possible. I have an A.S. in Network Administration Programming. I'm looking at the UMPI YourPace BLS - Management, MIS or PMP.  My Associates is from a regionally accredited school, so is it likely UMPI will accept all of the credits? Which degree is the easiest to complete (it doesn't have to be one of those 3, if another is faster). 

Thanks!

Your Location: Florida
Your Age: 53
What kind of degree do you want?: Any. I have an A.S. and need a bachelor's for career progression so the fastest and easiest degree is the one I'll pursue. 

Current Regional Accredited Credits: Florida Technical College Total Credits: 90

PSYCHOLOGY, 6, A
INTRO TO ART, 6, A
COMPUTER CONCEPTS, 4.5, A
SOCIOLOGY, 6, A
COLLEGE MATH, 6, A
WINDOWS NT WORKSTATN, 4.5, A
ENGLISH COMP, 6, A
WINDOWS NT FILE SERV, 4.5, A
INTRO TO PROGRAMMING, 4.5, B
ADV. C++ PROGRAMMING, 4.5, B
WINDOWS NT SERVER, 4.5, B
Microsoft TCPIP, 4.5, B
Internet Information Server 4.0, 4.5, B 
LAN ANALYSIS &DESIGN, A, 6
PROBLEM ANALYSIS, 4.5, D
C++ Programming w Windows, 4.5, A
INTRO. TO JAVA, 4.5, A
ADVANCED JAVA, 4.5, A

Current ACE, CLEP, or NCCRS Credits: ACE Total Credits: 53 (Military)

AR-2201-0399, 4
AR-1405-0179, 3
AR-1715-0627, 21
AR-2201-0253, 4
MOS-76V-002, 3
MOS-39Y-001, 6
MOS-29J-001, 12

Any certifications or military experience? 8 yrs US Army 

Budget: I have a max of $3,500K per year available from my employer via tuition reimbursement, and I can add another $2k if needed. I'd like to go the fastest route possible.
  
Commitments: I currently work full time and can work on my studies in the evenings/weekends. No children. 

Dedicated time to study: I estimate at least 3 hours every week night and as much as needed on the weekends.

Timeline: As quickly as possible.

Tuition assistance/reimbursement: Yes, but I'll be paying out of pocket up front.

[Jonathan Whatley]

Note that Florida Technical College credits are on the quarter hour system, whereas UMPI, ACE, and most colleges use the semester hour system. The different denominations are converted during credit transfer. 5 quarter hours = 3 semester hours; 1 quarter hour = 0.67 semester hours.

So your 90 qh total from FTC equals 60 sh. The 4.5 qh courses are 3 sh each. The 6 qh courses are 4 sh each.

[bjcheung77]

@shawnette, Welcome to the board, great intro post with the addendum and template, it's going to depend on your needs vs wants. Your best option is the BLS as it will take 60 credits into the electives, you can then minor in any of those 3 you mentioned, Management, MIS, PM and also take 3-4 classes that will go towards the MAOL later. Another option is, the UMPI BABA PM & IS concentration as it already has a couple of those classes that will go towards the MAOL and is a combo of the MIS/PM minors...

[shawnette]

@shawnette, Welcome to the board, great intro post with the addendum and template, it's going to depend on your needs vs wants.  Your best option is the BLS as it will take 60 credits into the electives, you can then minor in any of those 3 you mentioned, Management, MIS, PM and also take 3-4 classes that will go towards the MAOL later.  Another option is, the UMPI BABA PM & IS concentration as it already has a couple of those classes that will go towards the MAOL and is a combo of the MIS/PM minors...

Of those, which would be the easiest/fastest to complete? I have over 30 years work experience, but I now need a bachelor's. Literally any bachelor's will suffice. My goal is to finish in a max of 2 terms. I'll be doing Sophia, as well. Thanks!

[rachel83az]

Fastest/easiest is a matter of debate. bjcheung77 often recommends a BLS as being "the fastest" but the truth is that the BABAs at UMPI are usually just as fast/easy (if not sometimes faster) as the BLS degrees. If you have a lot of work experience, I'd suggest either the BABA PM & IS degree or the BABA Management & Leadership. Whichever you choose, make sure to take at least 3 of the 4 classes that can be applied to the MAOL. https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Un...L)_at_UMPI You might not want/need it right now, but it's good to hedge your bets in case you find that a Master's degree will be useful later.

[ss20ts]

I mean they're all the same classes so none are really faster or easier than others. It all depends on your available time and interests. I mean if you think history is as exciting as watching paint dry, then it's likely that those classes will take you a lot of effort and a long time to complete. If you find accounting fascinating, then you'll most likely fly through those courses. Personal interest has a lot to do with how much effort one puts into the coursework.

[bjcheung77]

@shawnette, Welcome to the board, great intro post with the addendum and template, it's going to depend on your needs vs wants.  Your best option is the BLS as it will take 60 credits into the electives, you can then minor in any of those 3 you mentioned, Management, MIS, PM and also take 3-4 classes that will go towards the MAOL later.  Another option is, the UMPI BABA PM & IS concentration as it already has a couple of those classes that will go towards the MAOL and is a combo of the MIS/PM minors...

Of those, which would be the easiest/fastest to complete? I have over 30 years work experience, but I now need a bachelor's. Literally any bachelor's will suffice. My goal is to finish in a max of 2 terms. I'll be doing Sophia, as well. Thanks!

I mentioned it can be either way, but I would lean closer to the BLS to max the current transfer credit as I mentioned earlier, it's 60 electives for the BLS vs 20 for the BABA PM & IS.  3 hours/weekday and say 5/weekend = 25 hours/week, you should be able to complete the BLS or BABA in 2 sessions with proper study habits and time management.  

My suggestion is to plan for both degrees by creating a spreadsheet after you've got your evaluations back, work on classes that go into both and decide when you're starting at UMPI, you'll be at 30 credits remaining and very near the finish line.

Here's just two of a few threads showing people can get things done at an amazing pace, you want to pace yourself comfy, not rush things as everyone does stuff differently, #1 also has the 3-4 MAOL classes that can transfer into the MAOL that I mentioned, in case you want to go the MAOL route afterwards, you can get this done in 2 sessions.

1) https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...in-10-days
2) https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...-in-8-days

[shawnette]

Fastest/easiest is a matter of debate. bjcheung77 often recommends a BLS as being "the fastest" but the truth is that the BABAs at UMPI are usually just as fast/easy (if not sometimes faster) as the BLS degrees. If you have a lot of work experience, I'd suggest either the BABA PM & IS degree or the BABA Management & Leadership. Whichever you choose, make sure to take at least 3 of the 4 classes that can be applied to the MAOL. https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Un...L)_at_UMPI You might not want/need it right now, but it's good to hedge your bets in case you find that a Master's degree will be useful later.

I was leaning towards the BLS rue to the higher number of allowable credits to transfer in. In my eyes, that means less work which translates into faster and easier to complete. I'll definitely make sure to take those courses that can be applied to the MAOL because I'll probably be doing that one within a couple of months, if not back to back. Depends on how burned out I am. I'll have to check out the BABA. I haven't been looking at them at all. Thanks!

[ss20ts]

Those courses which are waived in the MAOL are part of the BABA programs.

[shawnette]

I just got my credit evaluation back and these are the classes that I still need for the BLS-M:

Eng 121 =College Composition II
Pos 101= American Government
ENG 211 Creative Writing or ART 108 Graphic Design
Env 110 Intro to Environmental Science
Bio 105 Biology for Everyday Life
Phi 152= Introduction to Ethics
Hty 116= World Civilization II
Spa 101=Elementary Spanish
Bus 141 Intro to Project Management w/ Microsoft Projects
Bus 260 Leadership
Bus 321 Human Resource Management
Bus 415 Operations Management 
Pcj 215 Business Communication 

One of these:
Bus 240 Change Management
Bus 350 Business Law I
Bus 352 Business Law II
Bus 353 Legal & Ethical Environment of Business

And 8 upper level electives

My English Comp CLEP is expired, so I'm going to retake that. In the interest of time (and $$. CLEPs are free), what other CLEPs can/should I take and which 10 courses should I do at UMPI? (I will also be doing Sophia and I have a Coursera membership).