Fall 2021 Session 1 -- What is YOURPace?

[ss20ts]

4 essays of 12 milestone essays down now. Woof.

Not looking forward to the final however...

That final is also the largest I've ever see on YourPace. 20 page essay, plus 15 page communication essay, and 20 slide powerpoint, and a video recording describing your powerpoint, and an oral argument for the communication plan.

Dude you're soooooo going to need that vacation! That's ridiculous!

Oh get this. 1/3rd of concept 1 was copied and pasted from undergrad change management same videoes and articles. concept 2 has an entire section on SMART and Risk Matrix, which I've seen 4 times now. I get to write essays on SMART for the 4th time. yay me. 

They really want us to know our SMART and Kotter model's don't they?

Very strange. Maybe that's why Jessica gave you credit for a few of the undergrad classes - they're the same class! Less work as an undergrad though.

[bjcheung77]

I've always wondered, can't you "re-use" and "expand" on your previous reports... so for example, from X pages from the undergrad, double that up to the requirements of the grad class. If that is possible, great! Unless the topics are somewhat different, then I guess you'll have to re-write more information...

[Ann7]

Good to know about the leadership class! I may do that next. I am going to look and see how many of my future classes the professor for PJC class is teaching and decide if I want to stick it out or switch gears. It’s a plus that this is my first term, so I’m not far in. As for Creative Writing, I think there are four, maybe five, milestones and they become the portfolio for final. It has been very straightforward and the professor gave wonderful feedback and made sure to note that I should keep moving along. I hope the majority of the classes are like the experience I am having with this specific class. Let’s keep in touch! How many classes do you have left at UMPI?

I am just like you... on my very first class! I have 11 or 12 to do. Feel free to PM me anytime!

[ashkir]

Another 2 broken learning activities in this class. :| It's really making it hard to accelerate or to even attempt to do what is required when it's so broken.

[sksandorff90]

I’m about to submit my third milestone for Creative Writing and the professor is super. Fun class! I’m also taking PJC180 and it is making me rethink my English major. ? Has anyone taken that class? Seems pretty impossible to get passed through milestones.

I took PCJ 180 last session. It was my second class, taken along with a science class. Personally, I find PCJ extremely difficult. I ended up withdrawing because I wouldn't be able to finish it in time and picked it back up this term. If you withdraw from a class, you pick it up where you left off when you re-enroll. Last session I got through the first two milestones, and the first of three film critiques before withdrawing. It would take multiple days and drafts for something to be approved before I could move on. I had submitted the first two milestones (aka the first 4 articles) at the same time and was told by the professor not to do that, which I think seriously slowed me down. I also question my choice of major because of this class.

[jadkins77]

I’m about to submit my third milestone for Creative Writing and the professor is super. Fun class! I’m also taking PJC180 and it is making me rethink my English major. ? Has anyone taken that class? Seems pretty impossible to get passed through milestones.

I took PCJ 180 last session. It was my second class, taken along with a science class. Personally, I find PCJ extremely difficult. I ended up withdrawing because I wouldn't be able to finish it in time and picked it back up this term. If you withdraw from a class, you pick it up where you left off when you re-enroll. Last session I got through the first two milestones, and the first of three film critiques before withdrawing. It would take multiple days and drafts for something to be approved before I could move on. I had submitted the first two milestones (aka the first 4 articles) at the same time and was told by the professor not to do that, which I think seriously slowed me down. I also question my choice of major because of this class.

I am on my fourth revised draft (some complete rewrites) for milestone 1 and 2 (as you noted, four articles) and the feedback is so vague. Know your audience, jo/joe schmo, two sources in each, you don’t need sources in each, at least two quotes, please remove quotes. I made the decision this weekend to withdraw even though I have also written two of the film critique pieces. 

I see this professor teaches six of my remaining classes. I am meeting with Jessica to talk about a program switch even though I have been in communications for more than 15 years and thought these classes would be my easy ones. If you haven’t taken Creative Writing yet, it’s been a day and night difference. I wish you the best of luck! Keep me updated if you make it through…or switch!

[sksandorff90]

I’m about to submit my third milestone for Creative Writing and the professor is super. Fun class! I’m also taking PJC180 and it is making me rethink my English major. ? Has anyone taken that class? Seems pretty impossible to get passed through milestones.

I took PCJ 180 last session. It was my second class, taken along with a science class. Personally, I find PCJ extremely difficult. I ended up withdrawing because I wouldn't be able to finish it in time and picked it back up this term. If you withdraw from a class, you pick it up where you left off when you re-enroll. Last session I got through the first two milestones, and the first of three film critiques before withdrawing. It would take multiple days and drafts for something to be approved before I could move on. I had submitted the first two milestones (aka the first 4 articles) at the same time and was told by the professor not to do that, which I think seriously slowed me down. I also question my choice of major because of this class.

I am on my fourth revised draft (some complete rewrites) for milestone 1 and 2 (as you noted, four articles) and the feedback is so vague. Know your audience, jo/joe schmo, two sources in each, you don’t need sources in each, at least two quotes, please remove quotes. I made the decision this weekend to withdraw even though I have also written two of the film critique pieces. 

I see this professor teaches six of my remaining classes. I am meeting with Jessica to talk about a program switch even though I have been in communications for more than 15 years and thought these classes would be my easy ones. If you haven’t taken Creative Writing yet, it’s been a day and night difference. I wish you the best of luck! Keep me updated if you make it through…or switch!

It's actually comforting to know that I'm not alone in my frustrations with the class. The reading level is the most difficult part for me. A fourth to sixth-grade reading level is what I was told to aim for, but quotes and the subject matter raise the level. Whenever I ask for clarification on feedback, it feels like the same regurgitated comments that I'm getting on everything, and after my fourth or fifth drafts, she goes ahead and edits the whole thing anyway. It can also take her a few days to read my submissions, so I feel I have a lot of idle time waiting to submit things. It makes me worry that I won't pass regardless of what I do.

I'd love to know how your meeting with Jessica goes because I am seriously considering having one as well. I'm enrolled in Creative Writing next session, but I'm about to complete French 101 this week. If I can get a little further in PCJ, I'm going to try to go ahead and take it.

[ashkir]

This is the first time I've ever had a professor download the milestone essays and give feedback on all of them in depth. The feedback is really awesome. Professor Jenkins points out what you did well and what she wants further clarification on. Get this... She also PASSED the milestones versus having you rework it and basically said "keep in mind the feedback for the final" basically.

I really like her attitude and her approach. She's so nice. Her comments are really nice too.

[carebear_007]

That’s what I thought. But what if she insists on having me do it differently as her email states? I’d feel so uncomfortable challenging it.

You're not challenging her. You're asking for clarification. We are given our Final Assessments and the professors are supposed to stick to the instructions we're given. If she comes back and wants it altered, this is when you go to Cody and explain the situation.

I'm noticing that all of the professors are no longer from UMPI. I have a few from the University of Maine at Kent which is the U of M campus to the north of UMPI. They have several programs in cohorts for on campus students. There are professors from this school now as well. This appears to be the first semester for them so they aren't familiar with the program.

Thank you for this. It was really encouraging. I was afraid as coming off as defiant which is not the tone that I want to set with my first course. I sent her an email to clarify if she was planning on changing the assessment and she said she wasn't. That's enough for me. I finally feel comfortable composing my draft.

[ashkir]

That’s what I thought. But what if she insists on having me do it differently as her email states? I’d feel so uncomfortable challenging it.

You're not challenging her. You're asking for clarification. We are given our Final Assessments and the professors are supposed to stick to the instructions we're given. If she comes back and wants it altered, this is when you go to Cody and explain the situation.

I'm noticing that all of the professors are no longer from UMPI. I have a few from the University of Maine at Kent which is the U of M campus to the north of UMPI. They have several programs in cohorts for on campus students. There are professors from this school now as well. This appears to be the first semester for them so they aren't familiar with the program.

Thank you for this. It was really encouraging. I was afraid as coming off as defiant which is not the tone that I want to set with my first course. I sent her an email to clarify if she was planning on changing the assessment and she said she wasn't. That's enough for me. I finally feel comfortable composing my draft.

I bitch a lot and UMPI has always sought to make it right with me. I and a few others lodge a lot of complaints. They're very adamant about trying to fix and clear up things to make the next cohort's experience smoother. Their own President and Chancellor's sees the reports as they get filed. They take the CBE growth very seriously and they do want to know your feedback.

In fact in the last week you can log into a Bluera software and elave honest reviews about professors, classes, and more too.