Transcription
Welcome everyone and thank you for taking the time to complete the UMass Global My Path virtual new student orientation. This presentation will cover many important topics. Viewing this orientation in full is a requirement. We will review what competency based education is, the roles of your academic coach and one-stop specialist, tuition and fees, important academic policies, student resources, and your next steps to getting started in your educational journey.
My path students have three main points of contact in the program: an academic coach, a one-stop specialist, and tutorial faculty for each class. We encourage you to reach out early and often with any questions we may help you with or for any type of support and guidance you may need. You will be assigned an academic coach and a one-stop specialist for the duration of your time in the program. One of your next steps, which we will discuss further on in this presentation, will be to connect with both your academic coach and your one-stop specialist before you begin your classes. A short introduction to tutorial faculty will also be provided in this video.
The My Path program is a competency based education program. This short video explains what makes competency based education unique. When the internet showed up, online schools seemed like a no-brainer. Get rid of the classrooms and rigid structure and learn at your computer. What could be better? This was a major leap forward and it works great for a lot of people. But for others, it doesn't go far enough. For those people, there's something new. It's called competency based education or CBE. Here, it's called My Path. It's self-paced online learning, and it's going to change everything.
My Path is designed for students who want something besides standard online learning, something that works better for them. It's for students who can work better on their own at their own pace, keeping themselves accountable. If that sounds like you, you're not alone.
"This program really allows you to adapt the curriculum to your life."
This is Brad. He and his team of adviserss stay with you through the entire program. They're kind of like your personal CBE gurus.
"I think the two main components for a successful student is good time management skills and motivation. If you have those two components, you're going to do well."
This is Lindsay. He did my path and love the flexibility. The beauty of it is you can do it on your own terms. You don't have to be committed to being somewhere on a certain day at a certain time.
There's no wasting time with my path either. With adaptive learning, you're not stuck going over things you already know. You advance by showing competency in each subject. That means your prior work experience can help you pass courses faster. Adaptive learning really is like skipping the chapters of the textbook that you already know. And it's self-paced, so you can go as fast as you want or as slow as you need. And that can vary from competency to competency.
"So in this program, there are no set start dates, but there also no set end dates either."
With help from an adviser, you can set the order and amount of classes you take at any one time.
"Yeah, the program is very open on both sides of the spectrum to accommodate students and their schedule so they can achieve what they want academically."
You pay based on time, not units. So, the more competencies you demonstrate each session, the more money you save and the faster you graduate. This is Matt. He used CBE to its maximum, finishing up to 39 units in a single session. So, if you have a lot of knowledge, you can work through stuff really fast. If you're able to really buckle down and focus on it, there's a lot of value to it.
Tuition is build per session or once every 24 weeks. There is no maximum number of units you can earn during this time. So, let's say you're able to complete 14 units or even 18, you're build the same as if you complete 12. However, 12 is the minimum number of units you can earn per build session. So, if you only complete eight units in the 24 weeks, until you complete a total of 12 units, you won't be build again.
Technology is really what allows My Path to work the way it does. Lessons are taught with simulations, adaptive learning, game-based learning, and social learning, all from your computer or even your tablet and smartphone. And the tuition is all inclusive. That means no paying extra for books or other course materials.
"My path is unique to a lot of different programs because we have our own learning platform where you can do everything inside of it."
Online learning isn't what it used to be and that's a very good thing for students who can work independently without deadlines and are disciplined enough to study and make progress on their own. There's now a degree program that works. My path is how you get school done.
Although the My Path program is self-paced, My Path students still must maintain active attendance in their classes. If a student exceeds 28 days of non-attendance or inactivity, the student may be withdrawn from the program. Completing a substantive activity at least once every 7 days will ensure that you remain active and make academic progress in the program.
The UMass My Path program is a self-paced program in which students can go at their own pace as they earn units and complete their degrees. However, students in the My Path program are still expected to make forward academic progress towards their degree completion. The UMass Global My Path academic Progress Policy outlined in this slide is intended to keep students on a timely path to graduation. If you have questions about your academic progress, the My Path academic coaching team will be here to support you.
When you connect with your academic coach, they will provide you with an education plan which will include any degree applicable transfer credit. The credits which transferred into the university upon admission may differ from the transfer credits that are applicable to your My Path degree. Only transfer credits with a grade of B or above may transfer into the My Path program.
The My Path program does not have traditional semester or trimester based academic years. One my path undergraduate academic year is comprised of two sessions, each lasting 6 months or 24 weeks. Each session requires completion of a minimum of 12 credits, but there is no maximum. At the end of each academic year, you will have completed a minimum of 24 credits and 48 weeks of instruction.
Tuition in the My Path program is charged as a per session flat rate amount. Your tuition and technology fee will be applied to your student account at the beginning of each new session or payment period. Please note that tuition rates for active duty military students differ and will be covered in further detail. Tuition rates may be subject to change and should always be referenced in the university catalog at catalog.youassglobal.edu. Your assigned one-stop specialist will be able to assist with any questions you have concerning your tuition and student account.
Listed here are some common methods of funding your tuition in the My Path program. We will review some of these funding methods in this presentation and you will have the opportunity to discuss tuition funding and payments in more detail when you meet with your one-stop specialist. If you will be using financial aid in the My Path program, please complete the FAFSA prior to meeting with us. This may help expedite the process of getting you started. You may use the school code in the slide to ensure that we receive your FAFSA. Completing the FAFSA is how you will apply for need-based grants and federal student loans. The start date of your academic year will determine which financial aid year you will receive aid from. The FAFSA, along with many other federal aid resources, may be accessed at studentaid.gov. You should check your financial aid portal often to submit required financial aid materials and track your financial aid award. You may find the link to the financial aid portal in the welcome email you received.
To access this orientation, you will have the opportunity to discuss any financial aid questions you may have when you meet one-on-one with your assigned one-stop specialist.
The My Path student homepage is your primary landing page for accessing the learning platform and your classes, viewing important announcements, finding My Path team contact information, and accessing internal and external links for resources such as your student financial aid portal, student email account, student handbook, policy information, the UMass Global Library, and much more. You may access the student homepage at mypath.youglobal.edu.
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This link was also provided in the welcome email you received. Please take time to review and bookmark the student homepage.
Hi, my name is Dr. Margaret Moodian and I am a tutorial faculty member in the competencybased my path program. There are several ways in which tutorial faculty members are different from traditional faculty that teach in a classroom. Instead of meeting with several students at once, we interact with them one-on-one in our learning management system. Students can reach out to us anytime with questions and we meet with them through video chat as well. This provides a personalized experience for our students and the faculty can help them with whatever they might need assistance with. We act as mentors and have the privilege of seeing our students develop into leaders that give back to the community. One of my students is now a senior vice president at a local chamber of commerce. And that is just one example. Since our assistance is personalized and provides our students with the tools they need at the time, there is more growth opportunity. Seeing them go on to do great things is very fulfilling.
Hi, welcome to UMass Global's online writing and math center. The OWMC is of no cost to students and we offer a variety of synchronous and asynchronous support for all courses. Some of our popular services allow students to meet with tutors online by scheduling one-on-one appointments or by joining the tutor's office hours. Students can submit assignments for tutor feedback. And we also offer a variety of live writing and math workshops that cover a wide range of topics you can register for on our website. Let the resources at the OWMC help you navigate your courses at UMass Global. If you have any questions, you can email OWMcasslobal.edu. edu.
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The Office of Accessible Education works with qualifying students to develop accommodations if needed. You may find contact information for the Office of Accessible Education on the My Path student homepage. Otherwise, your academic coach and one-stop specialist will be happy to provide it to you.
Before you attended this orientation, you should have received an email with resources, a checklist, and common requirements. Before you have your meeting with us, you can use those resources and checklist to become better acquainted with the My Path program and complete some of your requirements to expedite registration. You will be hearing from us soon. Once you have completed and submitted this orientation form, your assigned academic coach will be reaching out to you via email within five business days. They will provide you with their information, your personalized education plan, important resources, and next steps to getting started, including how to schedule a required meeting with your one-stop specialist.
Welcome to my path. We look forward to meeting you and getting you started on your academic journey. Thank you for completing new student orientation. Please remember to complete and submit the remainder of this Google form.