University of Missouri Distance Learning?

[JenneinCA]

Has anyone had experience with the University of Missouri distance learning program?

 

They have classes ranging from third grade to AP high school level. I am looking into using them for my daughter (dd9). She needs accountability from someone other than Mom. And I can't find anything local that looks good. She would need the High School level classes.

 

Thanks for any information.

 

http://www.cdis.missouri.edu

[NancyL]

I've been a customer of U. of Missouri Distance ed for my two daughters. I could be more helpful if I knew specifically what you would like to know. As far as I can tell, all the course exams and homework seem to be multiple choice, graded by the computer. The turn around is very quick- and you will not be waiting for the mail. We did some of the middle school courses, (they don't count for HS credit and there aren't any proctored exams at that point) Tip- if you sign up for the diploma program for $25 you save $20 for every class. They don't seem to raise the prices that often, and I am grateful for that. I have no idea how the tests are, I believe some of the questions can be picky. The main thing is to double check all homework, so you get every point you can. Then when you go in for the exams you have a cushion for your grade. (exam questions count as three points each) If you are in a real hurry you can knock off these courses quickly. One disadvantage is the challenge to make the student do all the practice work to prepare for the exams, not just the part sent in for grades. I like the math books so far--using Dolciani. The PreAlgebra was very good, also, as a little algebra warm up. They have a nice collection of courses. Does this answer your questions? You can buy the books ahead of time to see how you might like the course, as they follow the books. I would stay away from the chemistry, its too hard. If you do poorly on the first test, just drop the class and redo it. Once you have a bad grade you won't be able to erase it. (we found out with chemistry)

[Bells]

Does U of Missouri have distance learning AP Latin classes? I'm wondering how to handle AP classes down the road.

Thanks.

Bells

[JenneinCA]

They don't have AP Latin. They do have Latin 1 (two semesters) and Latin 2 (2 semesters).

 

They don't have any other AP foreign language classes either.

[JenneinCA]

Questions:

 

Do you know if you take classes without the diploma option and then decide to get the diploma if they would transfer? I know it would be more expensive this way, but I could preserve my daughter's status as a 10 year old fifth grader for a little longer. Sometimes it is easier to have her be a fifth grader taking advanced courses than a ninth grader that is ten.

 

When I looked at the assignments for algebra, it didn't look like the homework was graded. Only the progress evaluations and midterm and final. Is that your experience? Did you have experience using a proctor? We are likely going to use the local community college.

 

Thank you for you help.

[Bells]

They don't have AP Latin. They do have Latin 1 (two semesters) and Latin 2 (2 semesters).

 

They don't have any other AP foreign language classes either.

 

Thank you for this. I'll see what they've come up w/ on the highschool board.

 

Bells

[NancyL]

Answers- yes you can transfer in as a diploma student (and transfer out) You can take any class you want. I enrolled her in the diploma program to get the discount, but she is taking a lot of her courses at Indiana University. (at the same time) (they have raised their prices, but the courses generally are "better quality" in that the students have to write complete sentences, and take essay tests. )For the AP- you can simply transfer over to the University side and take French (or Latin I think) U. of Miss. has a 1/2 price deal if you have enough credits, which seems pretty nice. (only certain classes though, check the website. The college classes seem to change more quickly than the HS) I would say these distance ed Latin courses are Plenty Hard. My older one did Latin through Indiana and 1 semester was 1/2 of the Jenny book. (I guess its hard) I had to find a tutor since the course was harder than we thought. The other one is through N. Dakota (Latin for Americans) but they throw in all these random "Latin words"(polka dot) so the vocabulary is pretty large, also you are tested on the history. Honestly, I would just test the waters either with N. Dakota, Missouri, or Indiana. Latin seems harder than the other courses. They also have some college distance ed courses which does use the Wheelocks. (that would give you a solid background, plus college credit.)

As far as getting started early-there is absolutely no problem with starting early, however--the grades won't go away, because your transcript will be a list, with the computer figuring the GPA. My daughter started French in 6th, and also the pre Algebra for credit. We have done the easier English classes. Be wary-the tests are very tricky so you must study. As far as the math goes, the Pre Algebra has the answers in the study guide (back) as the book doesn't have many answers. The Algebra is a book with lots of problems so the odds are assigned and the answers are in the back of the book, so you don't use the study guide. (you know you really don't even need the same edition--you just generate lots of practice and then use the problems for the Progress Ev. and for the tests which are supplied, not in the book) The previous book that Indiana used was an old Prentice Hall ('93) similar to Dolciani. The evens were assigned in longhand which you mailed in. (couldn't check them unless you had a teachers book, which I eventually found, later) But as the tests were seriously hard and counted for 30% each for your grade--you needed to do a lot more practice than what's assigned. The assigned problems in my mind, were just a "warm up" because few people could do OK on the test with ONLY the assigned problems. (that's when parents must insist on enough practice) The tests are 2 hours, so cover a wide variety of material. Indiana has now gone to a different algebra book (UCSMP) and I like Doliciani, that's why we're doing U. of Missouri. All of these programs seem to be fine with mixing and matching- so you have a wide variety of topics and you can use credits from many institutions for your transcript. (even a few courses from your local HS can be applied to this transcript)

[NancyL]

About the proctoring- For hs classes they are pretty easy going about using any school testing or counselor or a library. (they just need the address to mail the test) For the languages you will need to bring a cassette or CD player for the exam. (its good experience for the kids, I think) So if your library has little tutoring rooms you are good to go. (free service) Indiana is good natured about letting you use the Regional Library for college tests, but other ones are usually not, and you have to go to a college testing center. Ours nearby costs $30 per test, but I found one in the city for $15. (I'm doing a course through LSU and they are sticklers for this) However the courses are very reasonable so 2 tests at $15 each is OK. For high school I would try to get a free service, as there are many tests. We are enrolled in the alt. ed program through our school homeschool program, and mainly what we used was the address for proctoring. (except when they didn't have a quiet room, then we went back to the library) A portable building is good as you don't get as much noise. (Indiana requires 40 credits, that is 80 tests to put it in perspective) (is this information helpful?) I do feel my daughter has done well in college because of this preparation as she has 4 hour essay tests, there!!!