UMPI 90 Credit Applied Bachelor's Degrees Coming Soon

[Ares]

University of Maine System to lead state in accelerating adult degree completion with new applied 90-credit bachelor’s programs (UMPI)

[bluebooger]

B.A. in Applied Computer Studies (90-credit) PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE

[Ares]

B.A. in Applied Computer Studies (90-credit)  PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE

That would be a gold mine.

[bjcheung77]

Hmm, I wonder... Am I the only one who is saying... "No!" Anyways, they're just getting rid of the electives and focusing on general education and major.

[origamishuttle]

So I guess BAALS will be the new check-the-box degree if they offer it through YourPace?

[ss20ts]

No mention of these programs being YourPace.

The U of M System applied for approval through their accreditation body - NECHE - in November. The info was posted by U of M System in July after the board approved the programs. There has been discussion about them on here previously. Not much info is available yet as the programs aren't even approved yet. They hope to have them running in Summer 2026.

Some details about the programs:

All of the new programs were approved as pilots and both “applied” and “90-credit” will be in the degree name. System Trustees also limited enrollment to adult degree completers — defined by the Board (External Site) as students with prior college credit who will join the program after being away from postsecondary education for at least two years. While participants can receive credit for prior learning and work experience, they must earn at least 30 credits through the UMS university that will confer their degree.


There's this interesting bit of info in the article:

The Board approved the elimination of seven degree programs and the suspension of two others due to low or no enrollment and comparable offerings elsewhere in the System.


I wonder what programs were ended. The article doesn't list them out.

[Jonathan Whatley]

No mention of these programs being YourPace. 

The two UMPI 90-credit degrees are YourPace. UMPI Provost Alana Margeson says at 1:09:23 in the July 23 UMS Academic and Student Affairs Committee meeting:

“This proposal is specifically for YourPace […] with the Bachelor of [Arts in Applied] Liberal Studies [90-credit degree and…] for the Applied Psychology 90-credit degree as well.”

There's this interesting bit of info in the article:

The Board approved the elimination of seven degree programs and the suspension of two others due to low or no enrollment and comparable offerings elsewhere in the System.

I wonder what programs were ended. The article doesn't list them out.

The article was about the July 14 UMS Board of Trustees meeting. That meeting’s minutes shows these were the seven programs eliminated:

From the University of Maine at Fort Kent:

Bachelor of Science in Cybersecurity (online)
Bachelor of Science in Cybersecurity (on campus)
Bachelor of Arts in English
Associate of Arts in General Studies - Accounting
Associate of Science in Information Security

From the University of Southern Maine:

Bachelor of Arts in Natural and Applied Sciences
Bachelor of Science in Applied Technical Leadership

All seven programs “have experienced low [fewer than 10 students enrolled] or zero enrollments for the last several years.”

The two programs suspended were the UMFK BA in French because it has also experienced low or zero enrollments, and the University of Maine at Augusta BA in Liberal Studies because curriculum changes have effectively replaced it with the same school’s BA in Interdisciplinary Studies.

[ss20ts]

None of the campuses are large so I can see them struggling to have enough students for the number of degrees offered. Add in online programs and that reduces the number of students on campus as well. A lot of people aren't going to college these days either due to the cost. Many colleges are struggling with enrollment unfortunately.

[bjcheung77]

The educational landscape is changing, butt-in-seat programs are going to be affected due to the availability of online programs, the appeal of acceleration is so great that the benefits offered outweigh any detrimental or potential drawbacks. Univ of Maine family of umbrella institutions are most likely going to be adding extra desirable YourPace CBE programs.