(06-30-2026, 07:33 AM)WDue Wrote: I'm doing the BA in Psychology, so YMMV. I've read that some business course final assessments sometimes consist of Powerpoint presentations. Regarding writing, in a course you'll typically have 4-5 Milestones, one for each major topic and you're expected to write around 500-1000 words for each, these aren't counted in your final grade but you need to score a 3/4 or higher to progress. Your Final Assessment is the one thing that's graded and you're allowed to submit a draft before the final submission. The Final Assessment is typically a culmination of these Milestones, for example, in the SOC-100 course, I wrote typically around 400-500 words for each Milestone (there were 4 in total) and then the Final Assessment was a 16 page paper based on the Milestone assignments I'd completed before, I wrote ~4500 words for the Final Assessment.

If you've taken English Comp l and English Comp ll/Workplace Writing ll at Sophia/Study, it gives you a decent idea of what to expect of the writing at UMPI.

(06-30-2026, 12:41 PM)OkieTv Wrote: I took Comp1 and Comp2 in 2002/03... That's why I'm unsure of what the writing will be like.

Hopefully I can kick off some rust I guess.  I wasn't great at it then and 20+ years of not having done it feels daunting.

When you say powerpoints.. How does that even work? I haven't made one of those since 1995 lol.

(06-30-2026, 02:03 AM)OkieTv Wrote: As stated, new to the UMPI world.  I've been eyeballing it for almost a year and finally applied.

I worked with PlottedPath on a plan toward the BBA but life happened and I did not finish 100% of my Sophia/Study/Straighterline reqs.  

I did get a large chunk of them in though so I'm shifting gears to the BLS with BusAdmin and Project Mgmt.

I'm bringing in a brick and mortar back ground and plenty of wasted credits from wasted years.  

Anyway - here is my question.  

What in the world should i expect with writing papers?  I think I've written may 10 papers in 20 years and nothing more than 3 pages of gibberish.
I remember doing some literally 20 years ago, but I have no clue how to even begin with that anymore.

How screwed am i going to be?
===========
Current:
UMPI - BLS with Bus.Admin & Project Mgmt

Completed:
Tulsa Community College AA - Communications
Tulsa Community College AA - Liberal Arts & Sciences

Other Traditional:
Oklahoma State University (withdrawn) - (72 Credits)

Alternative credits
Coursera (25), Sophia (32), Study.com (3), Saylor (0), Onlinedegree.com (0), CLEP (0)

(06-30-2026, 06:54 PM)LevelUP Wrote: Usually, when people go through the process of taking alternative credit courses, they have to write papers. That's a little bit of practice for when you have to write them at your chosen college to finish your degree.

(06-30-2026, 11:31 PM)Mint Berry Crunch Wrote:

(06-30-2026, 02:03 AM)OkieTv Wrote: As stated, new to the UMPI world.  I've been eyeballing it for almost a year and finally applied.

I worked with PlottedPath on a plan toward the BBA but life happened and I did not finish 100% of my Sophia/Study/Straighterline reqs.  

I did get a large chunk of them in though so I'm shifting gears to the BLS with BusAdmin and Project Mgmt.

I'm bringing in a brick and mortar back ground and plenty of wasted credits from wasted years.  

Anyway - here is my question.  

What in the world should i expect with writing papers?  I think I've written may 10 papers in 20 years and nothing more than 3 pages of gibberish.
I remember doing some literally 20 years ago, but I have no clue how to even begin with that anymore.

How screwed am i going to be?
===========
Current:
UMPI - BLS with Bus.Admin & Project Mgmt

Completed:
Tulsa Community College AA - Communications
Tulsa Community College AA - Liberal Arts & Sciences

Other Traditional:
Oklahoma State University (withdrawn) - (72 Credits)

Alternative credits
Coursera (25), Sophia (32), Study.com (3), Saylor (0), Onlinedegree.com (0), CLEP (0)

Everyone here has had some great recommendation. IIRC PlottedPath goes by CCCollege on here. She seems pretty supportive for our Reddit/Discord users. I much prefer the authentic, OG experience on here and DegreeInfo as opposed to the other platforms. I've completed 5 degrees from UMPI, plus, I've also interviewed to be an academic success coach over there in which they offered me the job (Imagine what my inbox would like if I was active there and here - some double agent stuff lol), but I was in the midst of an Active Duty gig, so I had to turn it down; I feel uniquely qualified to discuss about UMPI and offer you some advice

First, I would stick with the BBA (formerly BABA) if you want a business degree. If the degree doesn't really matter, but you would like some business thrown in there, then yes, go for the BLS and those minors. The business courses in my opinion aren't necessarily difficulty with the exception of Financial Management. As for writing, I usually recommend individuals find a subtopic within a topic that they are particularly fond of or have a hatred towards, making it a bit easier to get some words down. Polishing can come later. As we discuss in our doctoral program from a psychoanalysis viewpoint: "Say everything and anything". A lot of these courses will give you a bit of freedom write about things that interest you, granted they are guided/structured by some sort of framework (rubric/subject/topic). I also recommend reading wiki articles on subjects you learning about and referring to the "see also" section as that usually has some topic that is intertwined with the topic of discussion (sometimes the "see also" section has really odd and interesting relevant things). From there, you now have more things to discuss about and work with.

I happen to like writing and I have helped lead creative writing groups before and I write short stories/poetry for fun. I have had a couple of my pieces published in UMPI's UpCountry a couple of years ago which I am very proud of at the suggestion and recommendation of Professor Matthews in my English course (which many people on here have a mixed-bag review of).

If UMPI feels a bit overwhelming or your unsure, look into Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU). Our wiki discusses about it in depth and some experiences that students have had over there. Generally, the rubric for students at SNHU is highly in their favor and it may be the perfect thing platform for you if you're a bit unsure about how you may due at UMPI. Give a course at SNHU a try if you want to just try out the college experience again which should be less than a term at UMPI. If you like the way Sophia Learning feels, UMPI would be a great option for you. WGU is mixed and can be a PINTA with their PAs and OAs (especially their writing assignments).

(07-01-2026, 08:16 PM)OkieTv Wrote:

(06-30-2026, 06:54 PM)LevelUP Wrote: Usually, when people go through the process of taking alternative credit courses, they have to write papers. That's a little bit of practice for when you have to write them at your chosen college to finish your degree.

This is true, but those papers did not feel overly challenging or particularly long.   I'm more concerned about what modern full-bore college research papers are like these days.

---

(06-30-2026, 11:31 PM)Mint Berry Crunch Wrote:

(06-30-2026, 02:03 AM)OkieTv Wrote: As stated, new to the UMPI world.  I've been eyeballing it for almost a year and finally applied.

I worked with PlottedPath on a plan toward the BBA but life happened and I did not finish 100% of my Sophia/Study/Straighterline reqs.  

I did get a large chunk of them in though so I'm shifting gears to the BLS with BusAdmin and Project Mgmt.

I'm bringing in a brick and mortar back ground and plenty of wasted credits from wasted years.  

Anyway - here is my question.  

What in the world should i expect with writing papers?  I think I've written may 10 papers in 20 years and nothing more than 3 pages of gibberish.
I remember doing some literally 20 years ago, but I have no clue how to even begin with that anymore.

How screwed am i going to be?
===========
Current:
UMPI - BLS with Bus.Admin & Project Mgmt

Completed:
Tulsa Community College AA - Communications
Tulsa Community College AA - Liberal Arts & Sciences

Other Traditional:
Oklahoma State University (withdrawn) - (72 Credits)

Alternative credits
Coursera (25), Sophia (32), Study.com (3), Saylor (0), Onlinedegree.com (0), CLEP (0)

Everyone here has had some great recommendation. IIRC PlottedPath goes by CCCollege on here. She seems pretty supportive for our Reddit/Discord users. I much prefer the authentic, OG experience on here and DegreeInfo as opposed to the other platforms. I've completed 5 degrees from UMPI, plus, I've also interviewed to be an academic success coach over there in which they offered me the job (Imagine what my inbox would like if I was active there and here - some double agent stuff lol), but I was in the midst of an Active Duty gig, so I had to turn it down; I feel uniquely qualified to discuss about UMPI and offer you some advice

First, I would stick with the BBA (formerly BABA) if you want a business degree. If the degree doesn't really matter, but you would like some business thrown in there, then yes, go for the BLS and those minors. The business courses in my opinion aren't necessarily difficulty with the exception of Financial Management. As for writing, I usually recommend individuals find a subtopic within a topic that they are particularly fond of or have a hatred towards, making it a bit easier to get some words down. Polishing can come later. As we discuss in our doctoral program from a psychoanalysis viewpoint: "Say everything and anything". A lot of these courses will give you a bit of freedom write about things that interest you, granted they are guided/structured by some sort of framework (rubric/subject/topic). I also recommend reading wiki articles on subjects you learning about and referring to the "see also" section as that usually has some topic that is intertwined with the topic of discussion (sometimes the "see also" section has really odd and interesting relevant things). From there, you now have more things to discuss about and work with.

I happen to like writing and I have helped lead creative writing groups before and I write short stories/poetry for fun. I have had a couple of my pieces published in UMPI's UpCountry a couple of years ago which I am very proud of at the suggestion and recommendation of Professor Matthews in my English course (which many people on here have a mixed-bag review of).

If UMPI feels a bit overwhelming or your unsure, look into Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU). Our wiki discusses about it in depth and some experiences that students have had over there. Generally, the rubric for students at SNHU is highly in their favor and it may be the perfect thing platform for you if you're a bit unsure about how you may due at UMPI. Give a course at SNHU a try if you want to just try out the college experience again which should be less than a term at UMPI. If you like the way Sophia Learning feels, UMPI would be a great option for you. WGU is mixed and can be a PINTA with their PAs and OAs (especially their writing assignments).

This was a fantastic reply.  I do quite enjoy how Sophia was structured so to hear this will be in the same vein is nerve calming.