UMPI BA History & Political Science - Aspiring Highschool Teacher

[ExiledToGames]

Hello world,

I am looking to start from square one, I may be able to transfer an AP US history, AP English, and an AP world history but let’s assume 0 current transfer credits.

I just learned about UMPI while researching WGU and I am most interested in UMPI due to an offering of Bachelor of Arts History and Political Science (polisi concentration). Another option UMPI has is Bachelor of Liberal Studies - Educational Studies Minor. 

Looking for those degrees so I can become a high school social studies teacher, been subbing for a few years and ready to get that stupid piece of paper that’s been holding me back all this time. 

Very interested in the fact that 90 credits can be obtained from Sophia.org and other choices to save cash but most important, time. 

• I Reside in Central FL
  
• 26 years old
  
• Min 4-5 hours a day can be dedicated to school
  
• Less time is better and not opposed to spending some coin to speed the process up.
  

What’s the best route for me to compile a class plan? I don’t see a course list on the website to know what is required.

Thank you to anyone and everyone with input.

[bjcheung77]

@ExiledToGames, Welcome to the board, you've provided most of the info on the template/addendum here, it may be beneficial to fill in the details as we know more on your budget, commitments, study habits, etc? It's also beneficial to really know if you have the AP and other college credit worthy details and if they do grant you credit or not. What I would suggest is to do a combo of what you're looking at...UMPI BA History/Political Science with the POLI Concentration and the Educational Studies Minor added to it! You should also take your time to create a spreadsheet and follow the WIKI as the plans already are on there: https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Category:UMPI

[ExiledToGames]

@ExiledToGames, Welcome to the board, you've provided most of the info on the template/addendum here, it may be beneficial to fill in the details as we know more on your budget, commitments, study habits, etc?  It's also beneficial to really know if you have the AP and other college credit worthy details and if they do grant you credit or not.  What I would suggest is to do a combo of what you're looking at...UMPI BA History/Political Science with the POLI Concentration and the Educational Studies Minor added to it!  You should also take your time to create a spreadsheet and follow the WIKI as the plans already are on there: https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Category:UMPI

Thanks for the link to the wiki, could you please give a quick breakdown of the gen ed wiki "Learning Objective Required"? 1A 3B 5A Etc.

Gen Ed Requirement wiki link


Thank you, looking to compile a spreadsheet, thanks for that idea.

Budget is kind of constrained, will do fasfa for UMPI portion and confident I qualify for pell grant, I do not mind at all going out of pocket for Sophia.org and Study.com and can easily afford. Would like to walk away with a degree under 5-7k. 

Commitments are flexible, no kids, work full time but can swing part time, I'm great at writing papers and research however math and some science I can struggle.

[dfrecore]

You can definitely get credit at UMPI for AP exams, because not only do most schools accept them, but they're also ACE-recommended for credit, and UMPI takes ACE. But, if you put the years and scores you got for each exam, then we can tell you what kind of credit you're looking at.

- English: Language & Composition (a score of 3 or higher any time between 4/1/94-12/31/17 is worth 6cr from ACE)
- U.S. History (a score of 3 or higher any time between 4/1/94-11/30/23 is worth 6cr from ACE)
- World History (a score of 3 or higher any time between 1/1/02-11/30/23 is worth 6cr from ACE)

So you just need to do the GEC from Sophia, and add Spanish II; both World History courses will go into the History concentration.

I would not spend any extra time/money getting the Educational Studies minor, since it won't make a difference for you; assuming that you'll do an alternative teacher certification program like Teachers of Tomorrow or whatever, your best bet is to get that history degree ASAP, and pass the exam you need to get the process going. And then find a job and start the alt-cert process as soon as your degree is conferred and get your certification (TofT is self-paced).

I'm guessing that if you started now, and got your Sophia courses completed, and then enrolled at UMPI for Fall II and Spring I, you could start the alt-cert process right after that and be teaching by next fall. No guarantees.

[bjcheung77]

Depends on you needs or wants, you can go the BLS Education route, or the BA History/Political Science with PS concentration, or take them both. Again, it is the individual energy, money, time involved, only you can pinpoint that balance. At the end of the day, you want to make sure you hit the check boxes off or requirements to get into your next journey (if there is one in the near future), if you're going for a Masters, then the do the quick BLS with Ed minor as it's a liberal studies degree, if not then go for the BA instead as it has a specific major...

[rachel83az]

Thanks for the link to the wiki, could you please give a quick breakdown of the gen ed wiki "Learning Objective Required"? 1A 3B 5A Etc.

Gen Ed Requirement wiki link

I'm not sure what you mean here. The wiki should be pretty self-explanatory. If you're confused, it may need updating. Does this help? https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/UM...quivalents

Commitments are flexible, no kids, work full time but can swing part time, I'm great at writing papers and research however math and some science I can struggle.

You will definitely want to complete Environmental Science, Human Biology, and Human Biology Lab from Sophia. The UMPI course that those replace is pretty terrible, even if you enjoy science.

You'll also need both Spanish I and Spanish II from Sophia for the poli sci degree.

[bjcheung77]

General Education Curriculum (GEC)
General Education Learning Outcomes (GLO’s 1-5)
Learning Objective (LOC A-E)

From your example, it means the course matches the requirements for Gen Ed Learning Outcome 1. Learning Objective C.
Here's the WIKI for Sophia.org to UMPI Equivalencies: https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/UM...quivalents
For reference, here's their webpage for GEC: http://catalog.umpi.edu/content.php?cato...nto=search

[ExiledToGames]

You can definitely get credit at UMPI for AP exams, because not only do most schools accept them, but they're also ACE-recommended for credit, and UMPI takes ACE.  But, if you put the years and scores you got for each exam, then we can tell you what kind of credit you're looking at.

- English: Language & Composition (a score of 3 or higher any time between 4/1/94-12/31/17 is worth 6cr from ACE)
- U.S. History (a score of 3 or higher any time between 4/1/94-11/30/23 is worth 6cr from ACE)
- World History (a score of 3 or higher any time between 1/1/02-11/30/23 is worth 6cr from ACE)

So you just need to do the GEC from Sophia, and add Spanish II; both World History courses will go into the History concentration.

I would not spend any extra time/money getting the Educational Studies minor, since it won't make a difference for you; assuming that you'll do an alternative teacher certification program like Teachers of Tomorrow or whatever, your best bet is to get that history degree ASAP, and pass the exam you need to get the process going.  And then find a job and start the alt-cert process as soon as your degree is conferred and get your certification (TofT is self-paced).

I'm guessing that if you started now, and got your Sophia courses completed, and then enrolled at UMPI for Fall II and Spring I, you could start the alt-cert process right after that and be teaching by next fall.  No guarantees.

Thank you, I definitely hit a score of at least 3, My scores are archived from 2014 so I'll need to pay to get them out however this is great info. When I get them back from the AP board I'll come back and post exactly what I have.
I won't need to do a Lateral entry program due to Florida being crazy and allowing anyone with a bachelors to teach and eventually pass a test within a 3 year period. However if I ever move back to NC I'll have to do an alt/lateral entry no matter how long I've been in a classroom in FL.

Very motivating having a theoretical timeframe if I put my head down and charge. Thanks for that.

Thanks for the link to the wiki, could you please give a quick breakdown of the gen ed wiki "Learning Objective Required"? 1A 3B 5A Etc.

Gen Ed Requirement wiki link

I'm not sure what you mean here. The wiki should be pretty self-explanatory. If you're confused, it may need updating. Does this help? https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/UM...quivalents

You will definitely want to complete Environmental Science, Human Biology, and Human Biology Lab from Sophia. The UMPI course that those replace is pretty terrible, even if you enjoy science.

You'll also need both Spanish I and Spanish II from Sophia for the poli sci degree.
[/quote]


The GEC to Sophia Page was more helpful as it gave a brief description of each objective. Now that I understand I'm looking to get a class for each learning objective and what each is, do I only need to have one class for each learning objective? For example, 2E - Knowledge of arts & literature Art lists; History I and Art History II. Do I only need to take one art history or do I need to take both to satisfy 2E objective?

I feel like this was explained in the wiki but I just want to check, if a class lists multiple objectives in the satisfies requirement box such as Eng. Comp. 1 obj. 1A and 1D, does the one class check off all the learning objectives that it fills?

Thank you for the specific class recommendations.

General Education Curriculum (GEC)
General Education Learning Outcomes (GLO’s 1-5)
Learning Objective (LOC A-E)

From your example, it means the course matches the requirements for Gen Ed Learning Outcome 1.  Learning Objective C.
Here's the WIKI for Sophia.org to UMPI Equivalencies: https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/UM...quivalents
For reference, here's their webpage for GEC: http://catalog.umpi.edu/content.php?cato...nto=search

Thank you, the GEC to Sophia gave a brief description of each objective and you just gave an even more in-depth description which I appreciate.
I asked this above earlier in this reply but copied and pasted incase it got lost in the sauce: Now that I understand I'm looking to get a class for each learning objective and what each is, do I only need to have one class for each learning objective? For example, 2E - Knowledge of arts & literature Art lists; History I and Art History II. Do I only need to take one art history or do I need to take both to satisfy 2E objective?
I feel like this was explained in the wiki but I just want to check, if a class lists multiple objectives in the satisfies requirement box such as Eng. Comp. 1 obj. 1A and 1D, does the one class check off all the learning objectives that it fills?


Thank you all, I'm excited to get to work and happy I found this community.

[bjcheung77]

@ExiledToGames, Yes, many people think of it as 'double dipping' of the learning objectives. There are more than 40 learning objectives combined, but you just take a good mix of 40 or more courses at the end of the day. In total, 40 courses/120 credits is what you want to finish, anything more would be fine just to hit the objective requirements as there are some courses that require labs and so on...

[rachel83az]

Yes, one class per objective. But each class can meet multiple learning objectives. For instance, English Comp I meets 3 or 4 different objectives. Once it fills one of these slots, you don't need a different class as well. You also need a minimum of 40 credits across all GEC requirements.