UMPI’s YourPace Is Changing How Working Adults Earn College Degrees

A New Approach to Obtaining a College Diploma

Returning to college as an adult can raise familiar challenges.

A typical college program requires attendance in class at particular times, weekly assignments, and completion of a course at the same pace as other students. The University of Maine at Presque Isle (UMPI) is taking a new approach to education with its YourPace program.

YourPace is a fully online, asynchronous, competency based education program specifically aimed at adult learners. Unlike in conventional education, competency based education lets students demonstrate that they have the necessary competencies and advance based on that.

UMPI created the program in 2017. According to the university, the YourPace model was created to facilitate the education process for busy adults with work and family obligations. Students have 24-hour access to the online learning environment and no classes or regular weekly deadlines.

This feature makes YourPace especially useful for working adults living in communities such as Bexar County. In such places, prospective students may be struggling to combine education with work, federal and military service, family commitments, and need for professional development.

The YourPace Model

The core concept of YourPace is quite simple.

Courses are based on competencies, which represent specific sets of knowledge and skills. In YourPace courses, students go through the learning materials and assignments and prove their knowledge by passing assessments and demonstrating competencies in the course.

In this way, someone with prior knowledge of a subject matter gained through previous college education or work experience can go through the familiar information faster. At the same time, a student can take additional time to study things that are unfamiliar to him/her.

YourPace courses function within eight week sessions, and UMPI offers six sessions in a year. Thus, students decide how many courses they can manage in a particular session, which gives them much more control over the speed of education than they would get in the traditional semester-based program.

However, "self paced" education does not imply any lowering of academic standards. On the contrary, students still have to demonstrate knowledge of the necessary competencies and pass the course assessments.

An Increasing Range of Educational Opportunities

YourPace has become a much larger program.

According to the university, UMPI currently offers a variety of YourPace undergraduate and graduate programs. Possible areas of study include business administration, accounting, management, applied science, liberal studies and others. Also, the university has added master of arts and master of science programs and graduate certificates.

The increasing range of opportunities allows YourPace to cater to the needs of students at different stages of their careers. For example, someone with previous college credits can finish his/her bachelor's degree, while a professional who has a bachelor's degree can obtain a graduate diploma.

However, prospective students should take into account that requirements of the particular program can be different regarding admissions, required courses and availability of transfer credits.

The Flat Rate Tuition

The cost of education is another unique feature of YourPace.

According to UMPI, the cost of YourPace undergraduate tuition per eight-week session is $1,800 and $2,450 for graduate tuition. Tuition and fees are subject to change.

Unlike conventional programs charging students based only on the number of courses, YourPace uses flat rate tuition for the session. This implies that a student capable of completing additional courses in the eight week period can reduce time and cost of obtaining a degree.

However, the key word here is "successfully".

Thus, students should not think that the competency based approach guarantees extremely rapid education. UMPI specifically states that the completion time depends on the previous college courses, professional experience, time available for studying and number of courses completed in a session.

For some students, flexibility may be more valuable than speed.

Reasons Why the Model Can Be Attractive to Working Adults

The model may be particularly appealing to adults who have obtained college credits but did not manage to receive a degree.

Also, this model can appeal to military members, veterans, government employees, healthcare workers, business professionals, parents, and other adults who find it difficult to attend regular classes because of unusual working hours.

Thus, an employee with a conventional daytime schedule can study in evenings or on weekends. A person with changing schedule from week to week can plan his/her studying correspondingly.

This does not necessarily mean that the education process becomes easier. It changes the way the education is organized.

Competency-based learning implies a lot of responsibility from students. Successful students have to manage their time, motivate themselves, do the academic work independently, respond to comments of the faculty and prove their knowledge to proceed with further studies.

Previous Experience Can Count

Another important aspect of competency-based education is the fact that not all adults have identical background.

Many adults have gained significant work experience, prior college coursework, certifications, military training, or other forms of knowledge and skills.

YourPace program is designed in such a way that students can build up on the previous knowledge, while concentrating more on the things they have not learned yet. Also, transfer credits can help reduce the number of courses needed to receive a degree.

Therefore, students interested in YourPace program should request an official evaluation of their credits rather than making guesses about possible credit transfers.

Education Without Relocation

Online education has significantly changed the nature of going back to college.

A resident of Bexar County does not necessarily have to move to Maine to take part in YourPace. Since the coursework is provided online, eligible students can study in Texas and elsewhere while continuing their work and family life.

For adults who thought that obtaining another degree meant having to choose between career, family and education, competency-based programs open another opportunity.

Of course, YourPace will not be suitable for everybody. Some students prefer regular lectures, traditional semesters and classroom interaction. Other people may perform better with more independence.

However, YourPace program exemplifies a larger trend in higher education: universities increasingly recognize the fact that modern college student is not always an eighteen-year-old person who just graduated from high school.

Sometimes the student is a parent.

Sometimes the student is a veteran.

Sometimes the student already has a career.

And sometimes the greatest barrier standing between him/her and receiving a degree is the lack of a flexible educational model that fits into the lifestyle he/she already leads.

For such students, the opportunity to receive a degree on their own terms can be the key factor in deciding whether to return to college and really do it.