Alternatives to Proctor U for Straighterline?

[MLTtoMLS]

I apologize if this has been asked before. I am interested in taking some courses through Straighterline. On their website, the only option listed for taking final exams seems to be Proctor U. For several reasons, I'd rather not use Proctor U. I also happen to live close to a community college that offers proctoring services. Anybody knows if Straighterline allows off-site proctoring?

[rowan555]

I apologize if this has been asked before. I am interested in taking some courses through Straighterline. On their website, the only option listed for taking final exams seems to be Proctor U. For several reasons, I'd rather not use Proctor U. I also happen to live close to a community college that offers proctoring services. Anybody knows if Straighterline allows off-site proctoring?

I haven't seen anything about any other proctoring options on their site. Would you mind sharing your problems with ProctorU?

[KayV]

Saylor offers alternatives (at a testing center or library), but you have to make the arrangements.

https://sayloracademy.zendesk.com/hc/en-.../212896217

Also, these are the courses that Straighterline offers that do not require final exams (ergo, do not require proctoring):
Q: What if my course doesn't have a final exam?
A: Several composition courses, such as English Composition I and Lab Sciences, do not have final exams, so there's no need for proctoring. To ensure academic integrity, written work for such courses is subject to review via plagiarism detection software and other protocols. Proctoring is not applicable in the following courses:

Developmental Writing (ENG099)
English Composition I (ENG101)
English Composition II (ENG102)
Anatomy and Physiology I Lab (BIO201L)
Anatomy and Physiology II Lab (BIO202L)
General Chemistry I Lab (CHEM101L)
General Physics I Lab (PHY250L)
Introduction to Biology Lab (BIO101L)
Microbiology Lab (BIO250L)

[MLTtoMLS]

I haven't seen anything about any other proctoring options on their site. Would you mind sharing your problems with ProctorU?

I don't think Proctor U would work well in my situation. My concerns:
1) I don't like the idea of some stranger having potential access to my personal files on my laptop. So, I would need to purchase a second laptop to use just for Proctor U exams.
2) A clear, quiet, well-lit room is required for the exam. The room has to be scanned with the webcam prior to the exam. None of the rooms at my place are completely clear of furniture and sometimes clutter. No, I am not a hoarder, the place is just small This would require some serious rearrangement...Not sure it's worth the effort.
3) Being interrupted can invalidate the exam. That is a possibility.
I live close to a testing center. It seems way more practical to just drive there, show my ID, and take the test. No distractions or fear that the test might be invalidated because of circumstances that are beyond my control (disconnection, interruptions).

[KayV]

This is a little bit out of the box, but perhaps you could check with your testing center to see if you could access a ProctorU-monitored exam on one of the computers at the testing center? That would resolve the laptop and interruption scenarios.

[davewill]

Furniture isn't an issue, nor is clutter, really. As far as a second laptop, you can buy a really old one at the thrift store. As long as it can run Windows, has a webcam, and runs a browser, you're good. Another thought might be to take it at work on the weekend, or at a friend's house. You could also set up on a card table in your bedroom with a "Keep out or die!" sign on the door.

[Nixi]

1) I don't like the idea of some stranger having potential access to my personal files on my laptop. So, I would need to purchase a second laptop to use just for Proctor U exams.

If it makes a difference to you, ProctorU uses LogMeIn's software, and you can see exactly what they're doing--your session terminates once you close the chat. If not and you have no other options beside ProctorU, maybe you can install Linux on a separate partition on your current laptop or use a virtual machine.

[MLTtoMLS]

Thank you everybody for the helpful suggestions! I might be able to work around the issues using some creativity

[rowan555]

Thank you everybody for the helpful suggestions! I might be able to work around the issues using some creativity

Our living room is a MESS - I work from home selling on Amazon and Ebay, and we literally have crap EVERYWHERE for the past 5 or so months - my son had no issues with using his computer amidst the chaos - it's really not a big a deal as you might think. And I've read a lot about what access they are given and feel totally comfortable with it. It's so much easier than having to make arrangements to take a test at a local site.

[ndelco]

I just took 3 finals in the midst of moving, from two different houses and multiple locations in the houses. One final was the night before the moving truck came bright and early and I was sitting on a mattress on the floor in a bedroom filled with boxes and bed frames and other stuff. There was no problem. Another one I was sitting at the dining room table at the new house like 2 days after we moved and I didn't even clean off the table. I was being super lazy but honestly was tired from packing and moving 6 hours away and unpacking and just went for it. Again, no problem. As long as you don't have like papers or notebooks or chalkboards around, they are pretty lenient. I will say mine were through Study.com and not SL, but I'd imagine they are similar. Also, I make sure that I do not turn my head away from the screen at all. I keep my eyes glued to that screen so there is no chance of them saying I was looking at something else.