Completing classes

[umpistudent]

I must know how people finish classes so quickly…. Do you just skip through the readings and tackle the milestones & final assignment? Are people having the ability to tackle their classes full time? I’m starting to feel down on myself seeing so many people that started on 8/29 say they’ve already finished a class..

[rachel83az]

If you're a slow reader, you might want to try something like Speechify to read things to you so that you're able to tackle the assignments more quickly.

[KSoul]

I must know how people finish classes so quickly…. Do you just skip through the readings and tackle the milestones & final assignment? Are people having the ability to tackle their classes full time? I’m starting to feel down on myself seeing so many people that started on 8/29 say they’ve already finished a class..

First, I would encourage you not to compare yourself to others on the degree journey. Use others' success as inspiration and confirmation that it can be done. Remember, those moving at a much slower pace are less likely to post their updates, causing a false narrative that everyone is going so fast. You're just getting into the semester, so finding a style that best suits you might take a bit. I remember just starting and thinking I might have bitten off too much when considering my work schedule. However, I am two classes away from completion after knocking out two courses into my second semester.

I won't list all the factors that may aid speed, like prior knowledge or available time to work on courses, but I would suggest diving into the site to explore all of the great tips from previous and current students.

One suggestion I will give is to front-load the courses to your strengths. There is a lot of power gained from completing those first few courses,  and once the momentum is established, you will be off and running.

Best of luck.

[bjcheung77]

@umpistudent, exactly what KSOUL said. You're trying to compare your pace with someone else... it's going to be radically different for each and every student. For example, some people have years of experience in the field and have taken similar courses not for credit, it'll be easier and a review for them. You then have others that are just HS graduates and started working, but have no real experience or knowledge in that area.

If you also compare them, some have plenty of time as they don't have commitments, others have plenty of commitments and not much time... There are so many variables at play, you just need to use your time wisely and also commit to working smarter, such as investing in a second monitor to multi-task more effectively and efficiently do what you need. Good luck, have fun, keep plugging away at it, Your Pace - not by rushing...

[wildebeest]

This is the very beginning of the term and you're just finding your rhythm. Also, some classes are content heavy and others less so. There were classes that took me two weeks and classes that took me two days. As the term progresses you'll find the rhythm and pace that works for you. Maybe that will result in finishing six or seven classes. Maybe five. Maybe two or three. There's no wrong way to go about working toward your degree. Only you know how much work you're able to take on, how much time you have to dedicate to classes, how you best process information. If you're making progress toward your degree, you should be proud of what you're doing.

I'm hesitant to write about my own experience as I don't think it's that useful to compare your progress with anybody else's, but I will note that it took me about three weeks to finish my first two classes, as they were fairly long and I hadn't got into my groove, but I still managed to finish seven classes in my first term (stressed out, pulling out my hair, working until midnight even though I had to be up at six the next morning). The next term, my classes were shorter on average, and I ended up completing degree requirements four weeks in and took some bonus fun classes to fill out the term. 

How long it takes you to complete one class isn't an indication of how long it will take you to complete a class on average.

Everybody's path is different. You're on yours, and as long as you're moving forward, at any pace, you're headed in the direction.

[harrypotter]

Try supplementing your coursework with free video resources from organizations like CrashCourse or Khan Academy. Also, if you have a hyperactive brain or anxiety & need help focusing I would recommend concentration music like those below. Playing them in the background at low - low/medium volume might be best.


https://open.spotify.com/track/6VhJUTjd8...6784ae4bb3

https://youtu.be/WPni755-Krg

[LevelUP]

If you are going to compare yourself to someone, compare yourself to the average butt-in-seat student. They spend around 100 hours per course.

Considering you are doing school part-time at around 25 hours per week, doing 2 courses per month is twice as fast as the butt-in-seat student.

[KSoul]

If you are going to compare yourself to someone, compare yourself to the average butt-in-seat student. They spend around 100 hours per course.

Considering you are doing school part-time at around 25 hours per week, doing 2 courses per month is twice as fast as the butt-in-seat student.

This reminds me of a Linkedin profile I saw last month from a UMPI student who was celebrating his BABA Project Management degree coming to an end after 4-years. They wrote a lovely post, and it provided the perspective of making sure to celebrate your journey because the result is a win, no matter the timeline.

[ss20ts]

Certain courses - like American Government - have very little course content and a VERY short Final Assessment. This was the easiest and fastest course for me at UMPI. I also had courses that had 5 times the content and a 15+ page Final Assessment. Those courses took over a week to complete just the content. I also worked on a my courses 6+ hours a day 5 days a week. That right there is the key for many people - the amount of time they spend a day on a course. Some courses I had a great deal of knowledge about the topic so I could just skim the content. Others I had no knowledge and had to read every single word....some sections twice to understand the concepts.

CBE is different for everyone. We all have different knowledge and skills. Some of us are awesome at writing papers and stress over exams and vice versa. Some spend more time than others on coursework. I wouldn't compare myself to other students because you don't really know how much time they're spending on a course, what they already know, or what kind of grades they're getting.

A few weeks ago I saw someone on social media bragging that they were finishing Sophia courses in a day. Then they started posting their grades. They were getting low grades - 71-74. Depending on the school those courses may not transfer. Some schools want 80 or higher to transfer. They were not aware of this and thought that getting done as fast as possible was what was important. There were a lot of comments made about how that person wasn't learning anything. I didn't see many comments encouraging others to follow in those footsteps. A week or so later the poster was shocked to hear that people cared about grades at all. They have since stopped posting so I wonder if they're still in that sprint or finally have slowed down.

Remember, UMPI is a marathon not a sprint. Do what works for you!

[arrakis]

In areas where you have knowledge, skim through the course content. Take, retake the quizzes. Gauge where you are. Then do the milestones and final paper. Start with easy courses so you get a feel for the platform. KSoul and others have stressed this in previous posts. Once you understand how course content, quizzes, milestones and finals connect, I feel it becomes easier.

I would recommend blocking big chunks of time during your day. For me, it takes 15 minutes just to clear my mind and start focusing fully.