UMPI BLS MIS/Project Management (BABA preferred)

[chrisv]

Your Location: Utah, USA
Your Age: 36
What kind of degree do you want?: Project Management/Info Tec
Current Regional Accredited Credits: 0
Current ACE, CLEP, or NCCRS Credits: 0
Any certifications or military experience?: 0
Budget: $5000
Commitments: Work
Dedicated time to study: 15 hours a weeks
Timeline: 4 Years


I have a weird living situation however, I live in Section 42 housing and cannot be a full time student for more than 5 months out of the year. My hope is to do as much of my degree as possible with Sophia/Study.com and then do UMPI within the constraints of having to maintain part-time, less than full time for that 5 months. The only degree path that I think I could pull this off is UMPI's BLS with a Minor in Project Management and/or MIS.

I have a Pell Grant available for the 2026 school year that I would like to use up. I figure I could do two 8 week terms and come under the 5 months full time student limit. If I can pull off 15 credits during those terms I could use Sophia/Study/Saylor to get an Associates degree. What UMPI courses would be the fasteset to knock out to reach that 15 credit residency requirement?

If at all possible, a BABA in MIS/Project Management would be preferred, but it seems like this option is limited.

I'm thinking of doing the IBM Coursera Software Engineering/Devops + IBM Product Manager for electives, but if I can get as many UL from Coursera courses that would be ideal.

As posted in the other thread, once my tutition reimbursement kicks in I'm considering a Construction Technology/Management degree from an NA as I work in the construction software industry, but after some introspection it may be better to focus my efforts strictly towards the BLS. My career goals are Product Manager/Owner and they generally favor degrees.

[bjcheung77]

As I mentioned in your previous thread, you may want to get up to 90+ credits with the Sophia.org and Study.com combo. Since you're going to do Coursera and probably other providers as well, you want to max your credits using these providers and transfer the credits to UMPI for evaluation.

My suggestion is to contact UMPI in regards to full/part time status, 15 credits in a session should be full time, even if it's just 8 weeks. If you do two sessions, that's 16 weeks or 4 months. If you want to max the grants, you need to speak with them to see what options best for you (residency credits).

For reference, your previous thread: https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...-NA-school

[chrisv]

As I mentioned in your previous thread, you may want to get up to 90+ credits with the Sophia.org and Study.com combo.  Since you're going to do Coursera and probably other providers as well, you want to max your credits using these providers and transfer the credits to UMPI for evaluation.

My suggestion is to contact UMPI in regards to full/part time status, 15 credits in a session should be full time, even if it's just 8 weeks.  If you do two sessions, that's 16 weeks or 4 months.  If you want to max the grants, you need to speak with them to see what options best for you (residency credits).

For reference, your previous thread: https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...-NA-school

Thanks for the quick response! I'll reach out to them for sure. Once I enroll in UMPI, can I no longer transfer in Sophia/Study.com credits?

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As I mentioned in your previous thread, you may want to get up to 90+ credits with the Sophia.org and Study.com combo.  Since you're going to do Coursera and probably other providers as well, you want to max your credits using these providers and transfer the credits to UMPI for evaluation.

My suggestion is to contact UMPI in regards to full/part time status, 15 credits in a session should be full time, even if it's just 8 weeks.  If you do two sessions, that's 16 weeks or 4 months.  If you want to max the grants, you need to speak with them to see what options best for you (residency credits).

For reference, your previous thread: https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...-NA-school

Thanks for the quick response! I'll reach out to them for sure. Once I enroll in UMPI, can I no longer transfer in Sophia/Study.com credits? Does the brain trust here on the forum know what courses at UMPI are the easiest as far as time goes?

[bjcheung77]

1) Go for the BBA PM & IS since it's your preferred choice, the BLS PM & MIS minors should be your backup option.
2) Yes, You can transfer in credits anytime you want as long as you have permission from your academic advisor.
3) What brain trust?! Only take classes that can't be transferred in, get an evaluation and if needed, delay enrollment.

[chrisv]

1) Go for the BBA PM & IS since it's your preferred choice, the BLS PM & MIS minors should be your backup option.
2) Yes, You can transfer in credits anytime you want as long as you have permission from your academic advisor.
3) What brain trust?!  Only take classes that can't be transferred in, get an evaluation and if needed, delay enrollment.

Thanks for the advice. Apologies for the confusion on the term "brain trust". I mean you all here, the experts on this forum  The motivation for enrolling now is to use up the pell grant is I'll only get it for the 2026 school year and it's use it or lose it.

[ss20ts]

Sophia and Study won't be counted in your time limit on how long you can be a student. UMPI's terms are 8 weeks long and there's 6 of them over the course of a year. It shouldn't take you anywhere near that long to complete a degree from UMPI so you should be totally fine. Good luck on your studies!