Help Understanding UMPI Pathway

[LukeGlanton]

Your Location: Washington, DC

Your Age: 35

What kind of degree do you want?: Business Administration

Any certifications or military experience? I have a CompTIA A+ certification, Cisco Certified Entry Network Technician, ITIL V4 Foundation.
Budget: Flexible, but would like to keep it under $5k. Time is more valuable to me at the moment. 

Commitments: Work, FT. Nights and weekends can be open.

Dedicated time to study:12 hours per week

Timeline: Finishing the courses required for the degree as fast as possible would be ideal.  I would like to finish within 1 year
Tuition assistance/reimbursement: None that I am aware.

Hi Everyone,

Short time lurker, first time poster. I have been researching online degrees and stumbled upon this amazing forum and have been building my path to a bachelor’s degree ever since.  Humbly asking for help to make sure I got this right. 

It looks like UMPI’s YourPace Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration – Project Management & Information Systems is the right choice for me.

I visited the UMPI’s General Education Roadmap and BABA Project Management wiki and built this spreadsheet below:

Transfer Credits Pathway Spreadsheet

Rough draft, bear with me.

I understand that unlimited credits can be transferred to UMPI, but only 90 credits can count towards your degree.

Questions:

1. If this is the case, is there any reason to complete more than 90 in Sophia/Study/Coursera?
   
2. Does this mean I need to take more Gen Ed, Project Management, or Business Administration classes at UMPI and add in more of the General Electives to Sophia/Study/Coursera?
   
3. Ultimately, does this pathway look like it will work/best optimized or should I talk to a UMPI advisor before starting this journey? (I understand that they want you to apply right away)
   
4. What’s a realistic timeline for a working, childless adult?
   

About Me: Fed gov employee (GS-13) with 20 years of working experience and 11 years of IT experience. Current role involves a lot of project management, random tech support, and IT consulting. I have A +, CCENT, and ITIL V4 Foundations certifications. For funsies, I also have an ACE CPT certificate. Thinking about getting my degree now for financial security and to stop avoiding the question in conversation, LOL.

[jg_nuy]

Hi - Congrats on starting your journey.

Short note: You need a miminum total overall of 120 credits and you must take at least 30 credits (10 classes) at UMPI. If you transfer in more than 90 credits, excess credits may be used towards a minor.

If you have any existing credits, you want to add those details so folks here can better help you. Here is the link for the template:
https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...Area-works

[LukeGlanton]

Hi - Congrats on starting your journey.

Short note: You need a miminum total overall of 120 credits and you must take at least 30 credits (10 classes) at UMPI. If you transfer in more than 90 credits, excess credits may be used towards a minor.

If you have any existing credits, you want to add those details so folks here can better help you. Here is the link for the template:
https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...Area-works

Duh, thanks! Got so excited to post I forgot to use the template.

30 credits/10 classes: Got it, so I need to pick which 10 I'd like to take at UMPI and fill in the rest with external platform classes.

No existing credits.

[bjcheung77]

@LukeGlanton, Welcome to the board, great initial post with addendum/template, plus follow up. UMPI is a great choice for the BABA PM & IS.  Do you work for the DOD or is this another department?  Have you thought about the UMPI BAS with PM & MIS minors plus the 3-4 classes that go towards the MAOL instead?  

For the last few months, I've been recommending the balanced mix/match trifecta of certs, degree, experience.  By doing the UMPI BAS, you have more free electives to uses for ACE credits that are composed of Coursera/Google Certs, TEEX, Sophia.org classes, you have up to 60 credits, whereas BABA only allows 20.

It really depends on the student needs and wants, some may want a BABA PM & IS and call it a day.  If you do the BAS you'll have more class/certs that deal with Business, IT, PM, etc and you can customize it the way you want by using the free electives for class that interest you more.  You can follow plans on the WIKI...

Sticky Thread & WIKI links: https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...one-it-yet

[LukeGlanton]

@LukeGlanton, Welcome to the board, great initial post with addendum/template, plus follow up. UMPI is a great choice for the BABA PM & IS.  Do you work for the DOD or is this another department?  Have you thought about the UMPI BAS with PM & MIS minors plus the 3-4 classes that go towards the MAOL instead?  

For the last few months, I've been recommending the balanced mix/match trifecta of certs, degree, experience.  By doing the UMPI BAS, you have more free electives to uses for ACE credits that are composed of Coursera/Google Certs, TEEX, Sophia.org classes, you have up to 60 credits, whereas BABA only allows 20.

It really depends on the student needs and wants, some may want a BABA PM & IS and call it a day.  If you do the BAS you'll have more class/certs that deal with Business, IT, PM, etc and you can customize it the way you want by using the free electives for class that interest you more.  You can follow plans on the WIKI...

Sticky Thread & WIKI links: https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...one-it-yet

Thank for the insight! No, I do not work for the DoD it's another agency. That BAS from UMPI is intriguing because it could include a bunch of technical certs that look great on resumes and socials. 

At the risk of sounding like a lazy student, I'd really like to get a BA or BS under my belt in the shortest amount of time. The BABA PM & IS had the bonus of being applicable to my career. After that, I'd like to contine getting relevant certs like ITIL SL and PMP to help me in the next step.

If there is an even shorter road map (like Askhir's 6 month BABA for $3,200) I can take to get a BA or BS I'd love to hear it.

Thank you for the help.

[indigoshuffle]

You're after speed. If thats the case don't forget about WGU, just less bullsh!t to deal with than UMPI. UMPI is flooded with applicants and have high staff turnover. Keep UMPI in mind, but don't forget about WGU.

Maximize your credit transfer. Use sophia, SL and SDC. To answer your question; Yes, it is helpful to have a few more credits than you need because it gives you cushion in case you want to make changes or in case the program you're applying to makes changes.

You're after speed. Frankly, business degrees are easy. But that's not a knock or an insult. I think they are very practical degrees because we all work in businesses, whether our own, the government, or private, or healthcare. Do the business degree then you can double back and do the fancy stuff for your master's. WGU has certifications baked into almost every degree they offer. Certifications are good.

Btw, with WGU, you'll need to bring in everything you need from the beginning. No going back to take credit to transfer in. They have many small scholarships available, apply to the ones for which you will qualify. Every little bit helps, even if its only $100. If you call WGU they will email you a list of scholarships unlike with UMPI you'll get a series of back and forth emails and lot of disorganization that might frustrate you since I'm assuming you're a busy person. (Keep UMPI on the table, I'm simply saying I find them to be disorganized and understaffed).
Complete as much as you can with sophia, then fill the holes with SDC; I see that's how you have it set up on your spreadsheet. Thumbs up for that.
https://partners.wgu.edu/general-transfer-guidelines
https://partners.wgu.edu/home

[ss20ts]

You're after speed. If thats the case don't forget about WGU, just less bullsh!t to deal with than UMPI. UMPI is flooded with applicants and have high staff turnover. Keep UMPI in mind, but don't forget about WGU.

Where are you getting that UMPI has a high staff turnover? They don't actually. There are several staff members that have been with YourPace for years. One has been there since the beginning. It was only 2 people when it began 5+ years ago. They went on a hiring spree over the last 6 months and every single person is still there. 

WGU isn't always faster for people. I see many people who take 2+ terms at WGU and some never graduate because they get fed up with it. They want speed and don't have the patience to get through the work. WGU isn't necessarily easier to transfer credit too either. Some programs are easier than others. It's very rare to transfer in 90 credits at WGU. On the other hand, it's rare for someone from here not to transfer in 90 usable credits at UMPI.

[bjcheung77]

Thank for the insight! No, I do not work for the DoD it's another agency. That BAS from UMPI is intriguing because it could include a bunch of technical certs that look great on resumes and socials. 

At the risk of sounding like a lazy student, I'd really like to get a BA or BS under my belt in the shortest amount of time. The BABA PM & IS had the bonus of being applicable to my career. After that, I'd like to contine getting relevant certs like ITIL SL and PMP to help me in the next step.

If there is an even shorter road map (like Askhir's 6 month BABA for $3,200) I can take to get a BA or BS I'd love to hear it.

Thank you for the help.

Another thing you want to look at is, max transfer of credit and provider you want to get credits from.  If you go the UMPI BAS option, even though some think it may be an obstacle due to going for the Pierpont BOG AAS first and getting 40+ technical credits, you'll have an option for non-proctored from Sophia.org to UMPI.  With the BABA, you need Study.com - thus, it'll be slightly slower and more expensive as you have another subscription.  Here's a read from yesterday comparing UMPI and WGU: https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...#pid414945

Basically, if you're more self paced and like to do things individually without too much interaction except for drafts and revisions, etc, UMPI is better. Having said that, if you don't mind weekly or so follow up/meetings etc with a mentor, have exams that are proctored, and a more rigid experience where you need or have more interaction, WGU isn't a bad choice either. You need to look at all variables, if cost, ease, speed is a concern, UMPI is $1500/session about 2 months, WGU is roughly $4K/term of 6 months, you need to 'gauge' how well you work and estimate completion time.

[indigoshuffle]

You're after speed. If thats the case don't forget about WGU, just less bullsh!t to deal with than UMPI. UMPI is flooded with applicants and have high staff turnover. Keep UMPI in mind, but don't forget about WGU.

Where are you getting that UMPI has a high staff turnover? They don't actually. There are several staff members that have been with YourPace for years. One has been there since the beginning. It was only 2 people when it began 5+ years ago. They went on a hiring spree over the last 6 months and every single person is still there. 

WGU isn't always faster for people. I see many people who take 2+ terms at WGU and some never graduate because they get fed up with it. They want speed and don't have the patience to get through the work. WGU isn't necessarily easier to transfer credit too either. Some programs are easier than others. It's very rare to transfer in 90 credits at WGU. On the other hand, it's rare for someone from here not to transfer in 90 usable credits at UMPI.

Its up to OP ultimately, my opinion is just that, an opinion.

[LukeGlanton]

You're after speed. If thats the case don't forget about WGU, just less bullsh!t to deal with than UMPI. UMPI is flooded with applicants and have high staff turnover. Keep UMPI in mind, but don't forget about WGU.

Maximize your credit transfer. Use sophia, SL and SDC. To answer your question; Yes, it is helpful to have a few more credits than you need because it gives you cushion in case you want to make changes or in case the program you're applying to makes changes.

You're after speed. Frankly, business degrees are easy. But that's not a knock or an insult. I think they are very practical degrees because we all work in businesses, whether our own, the government, or private, or healthcare. Do the business degree then you can double back and do the fancy stuff for your master's. WGU has certifications baked into almost every degree they offer. Certifications are good.

Btw, with WGU, you'll need to bring in everything you need from the beginning. No going back to take credit to transfer in. They have many small scholarships available, apply to the ones for which you will qualify. Every little bit helps, even if its only $100. If you call WGU they will email you a list of scholarships unlike with UMPI you'll get a series of back and forth emails and lot of disorganization that might frustrate you since I'm assuming you're a busy person. (Keep UMPI on the table, I'm simply saying I find them to be disorganized and understaffed).
Complete as much as you can with sophia, then fill the holes with SDC; I see that's how you have it set up on your spreadsheet. Thumbs up for that.
https://partners.wgu.edu/general-transfer-guidelines
https://partners.wgu.edu/home

Hi Indigo, thank you for the alternative view! I checked out the degree plans on the wiki for WGU and didn't see any that really suited me. I see from your "transfers guideline" website that there are more degrees out there, so I may not have the full picture. I do like the idea of dealing with less bullsh!t, but I am hoping there is not much back and forth, to be honest.

Thank you for the reassurance that business degrees are easy and useful. I agree. I really just want a degree so I can be marketable if I want to move up at my agency. Certifications have been great to me! Honestly, I attribute certs and networking (socially, not packets ) to where I am today.

Re: Waiting for degree; Not that big of a deal for me if that's true. I want the course work, time spent studying, and administrative bs to be quick. Like everyone, I am busy, so I appreciate you taking the time to reply. I can dedicate an avg of 2 hours a day to this, if there is a good chance i can get it down within the year.

You're after speed. If thats the case don't forget about WGU, just less bullsh!t to deal with than UMPI. UMPI is flooded with applicants and have high staff turnover. Keep UMPI in mind, but don't forget about WGU.

Where are you getting that UMPI has a high staff turnover? They don't actually. There are several staff members that have been with YourPace for years. One has been there since the beginning. It was only 2 people when it began 5+ years ago. They went on a hiring spree over the last 6 months and every single person is still there. 

WGU isn't always faster for people. I see many people who take 2+ terms at WGU and some never graduate because they get fed up with it. They want speed and don't have the patience to get through the work. WGU isn't necessarily easier to transfer credit too either. Some programs are easier than others. It's very rare to transfer in 90 credits at WGU. On the other hand, it's rare for someone from here not to transfer in 90 usable credits at UMPI.

The rarity that someone cannot transfer in 90 usable credits to UMPI is reassuring. I've started my free trial of Sophia today to check out the structure.

Thank for the insight! No, I do not work for the DoD it's another agency. That BAS from UMPI is intriguing because it could include a bunch of technical certs that look great on resumes and socials. 

At the risk of sounding like a lazy student, I'd really like to get a BA or BS under my belt in the shortest amount of time. The BABA PM & IS had the bonus of being applicable to my career. After that, I'd like to contine getting relevant certs like ITIL SL and PMP to help me in the next step.

If there is an even shorter road map (like Askhir's 6 month BABA for $3,200) I can take to get a BA or BS I'd love to hear it.

Thank you for the help.

Another thing you want to look at is, max transfer of credit and provider you want to get credits from.  If you go the UMPI BAS option, even though some think it may be an obstacle due to going for the Pierpont BOG AAS first and getting 40+ technical credits, you'll have an option for non-proctored from Sophia.org to UMPI.  With the BABA, you need Study.com - thus, it'll be slightly slower and more expensive as you have another subscription.  Here's a read from yesterday comparing UMPI and WGU: https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...#pid414945

Basically, if you're more self paced and like to do things individually without too much interaction except for drafts and revisions, etc, UMPI is better. Having said that, if you don't mind weekly or so follow up/meetings etc with a mentor, have exams that are proctored, and a more rigid experience where you need or have more interaction, WGU isn't a bad choice either. You need to look at all variables, if cost, ease, speed is a concern, UMPI is $1500/session about 2 months, WGU is roughly $4K/term of 6 months, you need to 'gauge' how well you work and estimate completion time.

UMPI is now sounding better due to limited interactions and self paced. The less interactions the better, I think. I do see the value in having a mentor, proctored exams, and s more rigid experience but it doesn't seem like what I need at the moment. Time will tell with this transferable credit phase. I believe this will gauge how good I am at self pacing.