Liberal Arts BA degree plan help. test heavy. big 3

[tecumseh13]

Thanks!
I really hate business and management courses so they really seem like work whereas studying arts, history, philosophy, etc etc is a true joy to me so that's why I lean towards that.
As far as an associates and laddering up -is there any benefit to that? Again I'm not really doing this for career advancement or anything so the most economical path suits me best- especially where I can apply the independent studies I'll already be doing.
Be well and thanks in advance

I see, I see, if that's the case, I would select one of the YourPace BA with major.  They do have a few, I'm not sure if a BLS with a minor would work for you as all of them are "business/management" related except for the "Education Minor".  Furthermore, a BLS is a terminal degree at UMPI, meaning at this time, they will not allow you to take a second Bachelors from them if you ever wanted a second bachelors in the future.  Here are the list of options on their webpage: https://online.umpi.edu/programs/

If you're a test taker and good with taking tests, then take more of the CLEP/Modern States courses as long as your area within the state has good test centers, I wouldn't recommend their online @home testing as the software/system platform may have issues.  If you like self study and non-proctored testing, then Sophia.org has the best option as they use biometric enhanced proctoring, no webcams required, only $79/month all you can cram, two course at a time...  I would take a mix of both as each provider will have duplicating courses for credit.

Very helpful. I do prefer CLEP but as I'm also thrifty I've been going through Modern States just to get the vouchers. I have been reluctant to use their online proctoring system and have a good testing center 5 minutes from my home so all good there. So far I do enjoy Sophia courses and plan to avail myself to whatever they offer which CLEP does not. 
Looking at UMPI BLS Project Management it seems to me I could fulfill Gen Ed and elective requirements through a combo of CLEP and Sophia (roughly 100 credits) then complete 6 courses through UMPI. Is this correct? If so that does seem the most logical course of action.
Thanks so much for all the help sorting through here!

[bjcheung77]

As logical as something may seem, that's really close to it... except, it won't be 6 courses. UMPI requires a minimum of 25% or 10 courses, and this is for the BLS, for other BA/BABA degrees offered on YourPace, it may require "extra courses". But at a minimum, you need 10 courses or 25% of the course load. The reason the BA/BABA may require extra is because their major has more courses than the minors in the BLS.

[rachel83az]

It seems like most students wind up taking 12-15 classes at UMPI, though I haven't actually sat and gathered statistics.

[tecumseh13]

As logical as something may seem, that's really close to it... except, it won't be 6 courses.  UMPI requires a minimum of 25% or 10 courses, and this is for the BLS, for other BA/BABA degrees offered on YourPace, it may require "extra courses".  But at a minimum, you need 10 courses or 25% of the course load.  The reason the BA/BABA may require extra is because their major has more courses than the minors in the BLS.

Ok
So would a reasonable approach be to stack up around 90 credits via CLEP and Sophia and then reach out to UMPI for specifics on completing through them?
Also does it make sense to take Sophia's PM and MGMT courses or will those likely be duplicates with what UMPI will require to take with them?

[allvia]

As logical as something may seem, that's really close to it... except, it won't be 6 courses.  UMPI requires a minimum of 25% or 10 courses, and this is for the BLS, for other BA/BABA degrees offered on YourPace, it may require "extra courses".  But at a minimum, you need 10 courses or 25% of the course load.  The reason the BA/BABA may require extra is because their major has more courses than the minors in the BLS.

Ok
So would a reasonable approach be to stack up around 90 credits via CLEP and Sophia and then reach out to UMPI for specifics on completing through them?
Also does it make sense to take Sophia's PM and MGMT courses or will those likely be duplicates with what UMPI will require to take with them?

I remember a post, by ss20ts I'm almost certain, that said you should NOT take Sophia PM if you're plan is to do a PM degree concentration at UPMI because the later courses build off the their own PM Intro.

[dfrecore]

As logical as something may seem, that's really close to it... except, it won't be 6 courses.  UMPI requires a minimum of 25% or 10 courses, and this is for the BLS, for other BA/BABA degrees offered on YourPace, it may require "extra courses".  But at a minimum, you need 10 courses or 25% of the course load.  The reason the BA/BABA may require extra is because their major has more courses than the minors in the BLS.

Ok
So would a reasonable approach be to stack up around 90 credits via CLEP and Sophia and then reach out to UMPI for specifics on completing through them?
Also does it make sense to take Sophia's PM and MGMT courses or will those likely be duplicates with what UMPI will require to take with them?

So first you need to decide on the degree, and then you can make the plan of what to do.

If you're doing the BLS w/PM degree, then you'd do everything through CLEP and Sophia after that, then take Bio w/Lab and 1 additional course through Study.com, then do the major + 4 courses through UMPI.  I would not take PM at Sophia, because you have to do the 1st PM course at UMPI and then take the results of the project there on through subsequent courses.  You can do anything else you'd like though.

Make sure you take English Comp w/Essay, American Government, Macroecon, Microecon, College Algebra, Chemistry (if possible), Sociology, US History I and/or II, and Spanish/French/German if possible via CLEP.  You should also take A&I Lit, as it's an easy win for most people; College Math, Am Lit, English Lit & Humanities.

From Sophia, after finishing CLEP, you'll want Intro to Ethics, Art History, and Environmental Science (if you didn't CLEP Chemistry).

Study.com - Bio w/Lab

This will get all of your GEC and much of your Electives.

Obviously you can take more.  But you will have to take 10 courses through UMPI, so the PM courses plus 4 humanities ones should work.

[tecumseh13]

Ok-How does this sound as an approach to completing the Bachelor of Liberal Studies - Project management minor;

Current credits;
Humanities - CLEP
Social Sciences and History - CLEP
English Literature - CLEP
American Literature - CLEP
Analyzing and Interpreting Literature - CLEP
Introduction to Sociology - CLEP
Western Civilization II - CLEP
Principles of Management - CLEP
Art History I - Sophia
Art History II - Sophia
    total 30 credits so far
 
Foundations of English Composition - Sophia
Visual Communications - Sophia
Western Civilization I - CLEP
Ancient Greek Philosophers - Sophia
Approaches to Studying Religion - Sophia
Intro. Psych. - Sophia
Intro. Ethics - Sophia
Public Speaking - Sophia
U.S. History I - CLEP / Sophia
U.S. History II- CLEP / Sophia
    at this point I'll have 60 credits banked
English Comp. I - Sophia / CLEP
English Comp II - Sophia / CLEP
Intro to Applied Math - Sophia (1 credit)
College Math - CLEP
Natural Sciences - CLEP
Intro. Stats - Sophia
Enviro. Sci. - Sophia
Found. Algebra - Sophia
Human Bio. - Sophia
Philosophy 101 - Study.com
Poli Sci 101 - Study.com
     60-61 credits at this point
UMPI - 6 project management courses + 4 electives to complete degree.

a few notes- if anyone knows if clep or Sophia is a better option where duplicates exist please share.
Also, Spanish would be helpful in my day to day (I work construction in Texas) where is a good source for this and what courses above should I swap for Spanish Language?

Thanks in advance - Y'all have already been sooooooooo helpful and I can't thank you enough! I actually dropped out of high school in 1996 to take my GED and go to college early but ended up dropping out of college at age 17, and now at 41 am excited to finally be putting a plan together to complete a degree!!

[ss20ts]

Forget Foundations of anything. They don't transfer to UMPI. Neither will that 1 credit math course. I wouldn't waste my time on Sophia's Eng Comp courses. The courses are FAR shorter and faster at UMPI. It's 1 paper at UMPI versus 5 and 7.

Skip philosophy on Study.com That's the same class as the one from Sophia. You don't want Poli Sci 101 on Study. You need Poli Sci 102. Skip the College Math CLEP. You're repeating too many classes. Each class can only transfer in 1 time. Skip CLEP Natural Sciences and take Introductory Biology with Lab on Study.com. You MUST have a lab science for the GEC.

You can't just randomly transfer in 90 credits. You need to fulfill the GEC with 40+ credits which is the general education requirements. You need to fill the general electives. You need some UL courses as well. You also need a foreign language. You can take Spanish on InstantCert and transfer it in.

Chances are you'll be taking more than 10 classes at UMPI. You'll need the PM courses and you'll need to complete a specific number of UL courses in the major and out of the major at UMPI.

Are you completing the BLS or the BA in Business Administration? If you're career goal is pm, then I'd look at the BABA over the BLS. If you're goal is to just get a degree as a check box then the BLS is fine.

[tecumseh13]

Forget Foundations of anything. They don't transfer to UMPI. Neither will that 1 credit math course. I wouldn't waste my time on Sophia's Eng Comp courses. The courses are FAR shorter and faster at UMPI. It's 1 paper at UMPI versus 5 and 7.  

Skip philosophy on Study.com That's the same class as the one from Sophia. You don't want Poli Sci 101 on Study. You need Poli Sci 102. Skip the College Math CLEP. You're repeating too many classes. Each class can only transfer in 1 time. Skip CLEP Natural Sciences and take Introductory Biology with Lab on Study.com. You MUST have a lab science for the GEC.

You can't just randomly transfer in 90 credits. You need to fulfill the GEC with 40+ credits which is the general education requirements. You need to fill the general electives. You need some UL courses as well. You also need a foreign language. You can take Spanish on InstantCert and transfer it in.

Chances are you'll be taking more than 10 classes at UMPI. You'll need the PM courses and you'll need to complete a specific number of UL courses in the major and out of the major at UMPI.

Are you completing the BLS or the BA in Business Administration? If you're career goal is pm, then I'd look at the BABA over the BLS. If you're goal is to just get a degree as a check box then the BLS is fine.

Ok - I will look into what the GEC requirements are at UMPI. 
I'm going BLS as I'm actually already working as a Project Manager- actually as a Director overseeing Project Managers. This is just for a degree- not for career goals at all.
Thanks for the info!

[rachel83az]

You're also going to need a science with a lab. Possibly the easiest way to meet this requirement is to take Biology 101L at SDC.