Missed NJDOE GPA for CE by .15! NEED ADVISE ASAP! PLEASE HELP!

[sanantone]

Are you saying that one B was transferred in? It's normal for schools not to include transfer credits in your GPA.

[dfrecore]

Thanks everyone!!! I truly appreciate all of the info and advice!
I have the job offer and would be doing alternate route to certification while working as an art teacher EXCEPT for the fact that the NJDOE denied my application for the CE due to my 2.6 GPA. You need a 2.75 to qualify, which is why I'm in this present situation... I would have a 2.79 if the horrible, ice-water-in-the-veins people who are presently in charge of the school I graduated from with a BFA degree would simply give me the quality points for three B's that I earned (and are notated on my transcript- 2 B's for 2 incompletes for which I completed the courses, received a B for both, was given the course credits for both, BUT was not given the quality points towards my GPA for either B + one B earned from another school in an endorsed exchange program- Same story). They are telling me they can't help me, and that my transcript is correct. DOES THIS SEEM RIGHT TO ANYONE HERE? Or am I mistaken? I feel that I'm not being unreasonable with my request to have those grades factored into my GPA. They won't return my emails or calls. I'm thinking about taking a quick trip into NYC to try to speak with someone in person.

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My suggestion remains to get the UMPI BLS Education Minor, that degree will provide you a bump in GPA, as long as you put in the effort and time you're mentioning in your PM's to me.  If you get a raise within the year or next , then go ladder that knowledge up to a Masters a WGU... but that's for "further" down the road.

I'm presently in progress with the UMPI option. With transfer and real life credit, I'm hoping to be able to complete whatever coursework I need to get the BLS Education Minor in one period. I just have to see what they'll give me credit for first, and pray that they offer whatever I have to take to get the degree in the 1st Fall II period. Fingers crossed!

First, you should check the school's policy to see what it is for Incomplete grades, and re-computing GPA's.  It will be your catalog.
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Second, this is kind of confusing.  I'm going to try to guess at what happened, you can tell me if I'm wrong.

In general, when you take courses at a school, those courses are computed for the GPA AT THAT SCHOOL (school #1).  So if you get an Incomplete, and then you go back and retake the course AT THAT SCHOOL, they should re-compute the GPA. (again, check the catalog for the policy - maybe there's a time period you had to complete it and you didn't do it within the timeframe, maybe something else is going on). 

But, if you go and take the courses somewhere else (School #2), and then transfer in the course to the original school (School #1), School #1 would not re-compute your GPA; instead, your GPA at School #1 will stay the same, but now you will now have a second GPA at School #2.  School #1 is correct in that there is nothing they can do to your GPA because you did not take the course with them.

So it sounds like the NJDOE is not computing your GPA correctly.  They should show multiple schools, and multiple GPA's, and compute it themselves.
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I'm also going to ask the school that's offering you a job if someone there can help.  They MUST have someone who deals with this sort of thing, or knows who to call, or whatever.  Seriously, if anyone knows how to work within a bureaucracy, it's someone who works at a school!

[mel_y_mel]

UUUGGGHHHH!!!
Cooper Union factored in the grades for what they consider to be "transfer credits", but not officially. Only in a letter... Not helpful at all. Soooo... I am going with the YourPace degree program at UMPI! (Thanks BJ!) I have been accepted, and they are taking 116 transfer credits. However, I was told today that I still have to complete 30 credits with UMPI in order to get my degree. I think I can still pull it off in time though, because you can test out of courses to show mastery. I just have to get someone from UMPI to guide me from this point to choose my classes, etc.... Wish me luck! Classes start on Oct. 25th! I CAN DO THIS!!! I'll let you know how it goes. Thanks again so much to everyone who responded! You guys are the best!

[NoStudentNoCry]

I think I can still pull it off in time though, because you can test out of courses to show mastery. 

There are only that many classes that allow you to test-out... The majority of UMPI finals are either papers or projects, only some are tests. Email your academic adviser and ask what courses are available the next term. They have spreadsheets that list all classes and what the finals are.

I did 3 classes that could be tested-out: MAT 140: Mathematics for Business; BUS 330: Marketing Management; BUS 440: Business Analytics

What degree are you working on? You must cover specific requirements for your degree plan before you could do electives. If you have your transcript already evaluated, do post it here, so we can help you to plan your degree.

[bjcheung77]

That's awesome! UMPI is a great option, I would suggest testing out whatever courses they have the next term and try to get half or more of the remaining courses completed that term. If you need the second term to finish, you want to "make sure" you finish that second term otherwise you'll be charged for a third term. Time management is key. Good luck and have fun!

[NoStudentNoCry]

So I re-read the thread and it seems that the initial discussion was about education minor. Several things to keep in mind:

1. it requires 21 credits (7 classes) to take - while other minors require 18 credits (6 classes);
   
2. I am not aware of any cheap/fast alt-credit options for required classes, so it is likely that you'll need to take them all at UMPI, unless you've already taken them somewhere else;
   
3. as of August 2021, none of edu classes were available for "testing-out"; all required classes were projects like presentations, lesson plans, etc. (things might change, so ask your academic adviser to be sure);
   
4. a good thing: as of August 2021, all edu classes were available every session (again, things do change, talk to your academic adviser).