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.
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.
- 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.
- 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 Sophia transfer equivalents for more details.
- 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 January 2022, it is strongly advised to bring in a 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. Another possible solutions are to take Biology from TEL Learning before applying to UMPI.
- It is suggested that students take American Government from InstantCert.com.
- Spanish I from InstantCert is also advised. If you are already fluent in another language, you may be able to take an ACTFL exam instead.
- 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.