University of Maine at Presque Isle
University of Maine at Presque Isle (UMPI) is a university that offers competency-based degrees. While they used to only accept 30 ACE credits in transfer, they will now accept 90+ ACE credits towards a given degree. Their residency requirement says that you must complete at least 30 credits at UMPI. If you transfer in more than 90 credits, those excess credits may be used towards a minor. Students have reported being able to complete 30 credits in 2 sessions (16 weeks total). When used with the extremely affordable Sophia.org courses, this can be an extremely inexpensive way to obtain a degree. The list of Sophia.org equivalencies show that they are known to accept most of the courses offered by this provider.
Caution
While the YourPace section of UMPI's site has a contact form and a phone number listed, students should be advised that these lead to a call center and not to the university itself. While the call center may be able to help students who have a straightforward transfer, they cannot answer most of the questions posed by DegreeForum students who are wishing to optimize their transfers. As a result, it is recommended that DegreeForum students contact UMPI directly if they have any questions about things like credit acceptance or whether a specific course will work for a specific requirement.
About Enrollment Specialists: More and more students have confirmed that the "enrollment specialists" retained by UMPI are no help with anything except pressuring you to send in your transcripts immediately and applying right away. Unfortunately, this does not help with "obscure" situations such as questions posed by international students, students who have a history of poor grades, students with old credits, students with complex financial needs, etc. Please contact UMPI directly if this applies to you.
Before applying
Also check out this thread to be sure that everything is in order before applying.
Contact email
Students with questions regarding YourPace specifics should, instead of using the phone number/contact form on the UMPI site, email umpi-yourpace@maine.edu. This email address connects with the university and they will be able to answer your questions.
International Students
UMPI does accept international students. The process is relatively straightforward and is similar to other universities. Some things to keep in mind:
- UMPI will reportedly only accept international transfer credits that have been evaluated by WES and not by other evaluation services. If you have already paid for another NACES member to evaluate your foreign transcripts, it may be worth it to send the information to UMPI anyway. However, you should be prepared to be told that you must have everything reevaluated by WES. (This doesn't seem to be the case anymore. The admission requirement section states, "All international transcripts will only be accepted if the student provides them through an evaluation service. The evaluation agency must be a member of NACES or AICE. We will not accept unofficial copies (e.g., from the student)")
- Canadians have a different process than other international students. Contact the university (through the regular UMPI website, not through the YourPace website) for more information/assistance. (See email address above.)
- As it is part of the University of Maine System, UMPI may accept the Duolingo English Test instead of the TOEFL or IELTS exams. See this page for details.
Completing a Degree
Unlike the big 3 where it is usually both cheaper and faster to accumulate credits from a number of sources, the path to a UMPI degree is generally much smoother than elsewhere. The following guidelines broadly apply to students who will be seeking a degree from UMPI:
- Complete everything transferrable at Sophia.org except both English Composition courses. UMPI's courses are reportedly both faster and easier. Check out the transfer equivalents if you want more specific information on what transfers and what does not.
- Students who are seeking a degree in Project Management should also skip Project Management at Sophia. UMPI's lower-level Project Management course project will be required for upper-level credit.
- As of April 2022, it is strongly advised to bring in a lab science class in order to avoid having to do BIO 105. Study.com's "Biology 101L: Intro to Biology with Lab" is reportedly a quick and easy way to complete this requirement. Take at least one more course at Study.com since you get two exams per month. Study.com also offers "Chemistry 111L: Chemistry I with Lab". For students who don't want to take Biology or Chemistry, ASU offers an Environmental Science course. Another possible solution is to take a lab science from TEL Learning before applying to UMPI. Students who go through TEL must make sure that they take both the course and the lab in order to meet the lab science requirement.
- Spanish I from Sophia.org is also advised. If you are already fluent in another language, you may be able to take an ACTFL exam instead. UMPI accepts any transferable language as a foreign language, even though the only languages offered by YourPace are French and Spanish. **NOTE InstantCert Spanish is no longer ACE approved for credit - so contact UMPI prior to taking.
- It is suggested that students take American Government from InstantCert.com, but this is not strictly necessary. American Government is a relatively quick and easy course at UMPI. **NOTE: This course is no longer available through InstantCert, but is now available through Sophia.
- Unfortunately, UMPI does not take NCCRS sources at this time. This means that they will not accept credits from Davar, Coopersmith, or OnlineDegree.com. The speed and low cost of UMPI's degree paths means that this is not a big deal.
"Hidden" degree option
Although it is not listed on the YourPace website, students who begin at UMPI after having completed an AAS (Associate of Applied Science) degree may be eligible to obtain a BAS (Bachelor of Applied Science) degree from UMPI. The BAS is not available to students who have an AA, an AS, or no degree at all. The BAS is very similar to their Liberal Studies degree, but some students may find the BAS designation to be more appealing than a more generic-sounding Liberal Studies degree. Students who do not already have an AAS may obtain one for free from Pierpont. Students who wish to do this may follow the Pierpont to UMPI degree plan.