Recognition of UMPI YourPace in Egypt and Other Countries

[worldly face]

Hello everyone,

I’m an international student from Egypt considering the UMPI YourPace online program. I’ve researched the program and accreditation process in Egypt and wanted to hear from other international students about their experiences.

My main concerns are:

1. The program is fully online. Could this raise questions about its legitimacy with degree equivalency committees?
   
2. A significant portion of credits comes from alternative sources (e.g., Sophia, Study.com). Does this appear on the transcript, and should I proactively address it with the committee?
   
   

I’ve read on the Egyptian Supreme Council of Universities' website that degree recognition is determined case by case after completion, as long as the granting institution is accredited. However, my mother, a college professor, believes that fully online degrees may not be taken seriously by the equivalency committee. I don’t want to invest time and effort into earning a degree only to find out it isn’t accredited in my country, as I don’t plan on relocating.

If you’ve gone through this process in Egypt or elsewhere, I’d appreciate your insights on how your degree was evaluated 
Thank you!

[Jonathan Whatley]

I changed the thread title to specify "in Egypt and Other Countries," because "International" recognition is such a broad concept. The more specific title is more likely to reach a reader who knows about Egypt or a similarly-minded country.

[ss20ts]

UMPI is a state university and is RA. Neither your transcripts nor your diploma will say anything about online. UMPI has a large international student body both on campus and in YourPace. We've had many international students complete their degree on this forum.

[worldly face]

I changed the thread title to specify "in Egypt and Other Countries," because "International" recognition is such a broad concept. The more specific title is more likely to reach a reader who knows about Egypt or a similarly-minded country.

Thank you for updating the thread title—I really appreciate it! Your point about specificity makes sense.

Do you happen to know if alternative credits (e.g., Sophia, Study.com) appear on the final degree or transcripts? That’s one of my main concerns, and I’d value any insight you might have.

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UMPI is a state university and is RA. Neither your transcripts nor your diploma will say anything about online. UMPI has a large international student body both on campus and in YourPace. We've had many international students complete their degree on this forum.

Thank you for the information! Just to clarify, are you saying that neither the diploma nor the transcripts will mention that the degree was earned online, that it’s part of the YourPace program, or that alternative credits (e.g., Sophia, Study.com) were used?

Also, does the timeframe for completing the degree appear on either document? For example, if the degree is completed in less than a year, could that raise questions?

[Jonathan Whatley]

Do you happen to know if alternative credits (e.g., Sophia, Study.com) appear on the final degree or transcripts? That’s one of my main concerns, and I’d value any insight you might have.

They appear on the transcripts – universally, every US transcript will identify which credits are transferred in. The degree does not mention them, nor does the degree mention online learning. UMPI is of course a bricks-and-mortar institution with a traditional campus.

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Also, does the timeframe for completing the degree appear on either document? For example, if the degree is completed in less than a year, could that raise questions?

Universally, every US transcript will identify the academic year and often academic term in which courses from that school itself were completed. Schools vary as to whether and how they list when transfer credit was completed.

[Pikachu]

You'll have to do your own research. Every country is different. I know for a fact that in India online foreign degrees are not officially recognized - it doesn't matter if they're from UMPI or UPenn. However, that only affects you if you want to go for a government job or further studies in India (master's, PhD etc). Corporations don't care as long as it's not one of those online-only colleges.

[bjcheung77]

My main concerns are:

1. The program is fully online. Could this raise questions about its legitimacy with degree equivalency committees?
   
2. A significant portion of credits comes from alternative sources (e.g., Sophia, Study.com). Does this appear on the transcript, and should I proactively address it with the committee?
   
3. Do you happen to know if alternative credits (e.g., Sophia, Study.com) appear on the final degree or transcripts?
   
4. Also, does the timeframe for completing the degree appear on either document? For example, if the degree is completed in less than a year, could that raise questions?
   

@worldly face, 1) Many highly ranked or recognized institutions have online programs now, they're the same in content, the medium is now online...
2) You're getting an accredited degree, US Regionally Accredited - the same accreditation from all the top ranked institutions in the US...
3) Having transfer credit means you've transferred it from a different source, you're still completing all the requirements of the degree to finish.
4) Not everyone completes a degree in 4 years, an average is now 5-6 years. Think of it this way, you completed all the requirements, you're doing the last leg online and finished that portion in a few sessions, it's the finish that counts, not the time it took to complete the degree.

[freeloader]

A few thoughts:

The degree plans that are available here are a guide for how you can finish the UMPI the most quickly and at the lowest cost.  This is not the only way to earn a UMPI YourPace degree.

You don't have to transfer in any courses to UMPI, if you do not want to.  You certainly do not have to bring in courses from alternative credit providers like Sophia.

The UMPI transcript transcript lists courses by the semester, not by the term.  Each semester contains 2 terms.  You are allowed to take 1 term off without having to re-apply; if you take 2 terms off, you have to re-apply.  You can take as many courses as you want and are able to complete during a term.  There certainly isn't a requirement that you complete a crazy number of courses if you don't want to.

So, if you are concerned about pacing, you could do something like this:

-Enter with 0 credits.
-Attend classes during the 1st term of each semester (or the second term, just pick one and be consistent)
-Take 6 or 7 courses per term (assuming you are able to complete that many)

If you average 6.5 courses per term, you would finish 19.5 courses per year/39 courses in 2 years.  You need ~40 to graduate.   Your transcript is going to show that you took 6 or 7 courses per semester.  The typically full-time course load in the US for an undergrad is 5 to 6 courses, so that definitely is not a crazy number of classes that is going to immediately raise suspicions.  

Assuming you did this, the degree would cost $10,200 at current prices ($1,700 x 6 terms).  Not the cheapest, to be sure, and not as cheap as the degree would cost if you accelerated at a faster pace or transferred in alternate credits.

If you wanted your transcript to look even more conventional, ask you advisor about taking off the summer semester.  Doing 1 term in the fall semester with ~6.5 courses and 1 in the spring semester with ~6.5 course, it would take you 3 years at the same price (assuming no forthcoming price increases).

You certainly don't have to do any of what I have mentioned, but just understand that you have options in how you structure your studies and can take some actions to influence what your transcript looks like.  FWIW, I did some of this to make my UMPI transcript look more "normal".  Even something as simple as alternating terms on/terms off makes your transcript look a lot more "normal".