ProctorU

[TwinMom]

Mine are preparing for a Coopersmith final and I've read here about issues with ProctorU. I talked with a friend recently that has taken 5 tests with PU in the past few months.  He has had terrible issues every single time.  Multiple disconnections and phone transfers which made him have to start over again every time. Once it took 2 hours to get it all set up.  If that happens to us we will all be in tears. We have used RPNow multiple times on my personal laptop with no real issues.

I contacted Coopersmith and they said it's ProctorU only as an option.

So my questions are:

1) for those of you that had problems, was there any conclusion as to what the problem was and how to correct it?
2) for those of you that had minimal/no problems, why do you think that was?
3) would it be worth it to buy a new basic laptop with nothing on it for these tests-do you think that would avoid any issues?

Thanks!

[P226mem]

I contacted Coopersmith and they said it's ProctorU only as an option.

So my questions are:

2) for those of you that had minimal/no problems, why do you think that was?

Thanks!

Did coopersmith exams via Proctor U in summer 2020.
Had no problems.  nothing at all.  

why?
Did not have a new laptop for this. 
Had a good wifi connection even though they recommend a wired connection. was concerned that we'd lose connection due to issues with at&t locally but nothing went wrong those hours.

I followed all the suggestions from this link https://www.proctoru.com/portal/coopersm...consulting

used Chrome browser. made sure that was updated.  we did the test of the equipment from that link


ID check was easy. no weird questions to answer for ID verification like I have heard others do.  nothing like that. it was the show your driver's license/state id to the camera kind of thing.

hope it goes like that for you. I know others who hate it and struggle.  We did not experience it. that's all I know . followed the instructions. maybe the prayers we said before were the reason.

[Flelm]

I'm probably in the minority, but I have never had problems with ProctorU. I've done 5 tests through them.

I use a 9 year old desktop computer (Windows 10) with a USB camera. I have a hardwired internet connection (ethernet to router to modem). I unplug the power from my second (and third monitor), then do a restart from the Start Menu. Then I make sure to end all programs in my system tray. Only then do I connect to the ProctorU service.

I have some slight issues because I don't have speakers, only headphones, and you're not allowed to use them during the test, but the proctor wants to talk to you before. So it's a little bit of juggling but nothing crazy.

[ReyMysterioso]

My best advice is to book twice as much time as you expect to need. They're pretty slow about actually getting online out of queue and getting started. The show me the desk, show me the keyboard process can be slow and cumbersome. Just don't let it stress you out. Accept it's a nuisance like going to the DMV. Remind yourself "it's all just part of the process." In the end, everything will turn out fine and you'll get to the destination.

[P226mem]

and this isn't Proctor U, but coopersmith in case it helps with the unknown.  It takes a few days (2-4 depending) after the exam to get your exam score in the coopersmith system. I forget which of the logins you do to get the results but it's different from the course login a little.  found it without trouble even if I can't walk through it right now.  But I didn't get an email that it was ready.  I just checked.  and the transcript with passing grade was sent to tesu promptly that same week.   best wishes on the exams!

[rachel83az]

I've only done ProctorU once, so far. However, my take on the matter: a new computer won't help at all. The internet connection is MUCH more important. If you only have the bare minimum internet connection speed, you should consider bumping your plan up to the next level. Try watching YT videos at 1080p. Do you have issues with the video buffering? If you do, you're going to have issues with ProctorU. It may help to reposition the router/computer. If you have any tech-savvy at all, you will want to make sure that your router is broadcasting wifi on a different channel than any neighbors you might have. It's not uncommon for everyone around to be broadcasting on channel 1 and channel 8 is relatively clear and free of interference or vice versa. Some newer routers can choose a channel automatically but not all of them do or do it well.

[jch]

3) would it be worth it to buy a new basic laptop with nothing on it for these tests-do you think that would avoid any issues?

A dedicated laptop isn't really necessary. However, definitely make a new user account on the laptop that's just for testing use. On that account, keep it completely sterile except for the web browsers. Disable any bloat that automatically starts on startup or login. Disable any program that is in the systray, except for the core OS stuff. Disable all of the system and program notifications that you can. Make sure that current versions of Firefox and chrome are installed and ready to go.

[tallpilot]

I did at least 6 (TESU American Government, Physics I & II). I agree with others that the bandwidth and latency from your ISP is most critical. It isn't a bad idea to create a non-administrator user account on Windows for the exams (but I never had issues with proctors messing with my files, etc.). I used a wired connection and recommend that but wireless can work as long as it is stable.

It looks like others have covered this ground so I am just repeating previous posts but the advice is spot-on.

[bjcheung77]

I'm probably one of few who took over 30+ courses at StraighterLine, besides the TECEP exams, it's the only provider I have taken that uses ProctorU. The ones for Study.com, Penn Foster, Davar, etc, have options to use RPNow instead. I've only had a couple of issues with ProtorU, a technical one and a personal one with the proctor on the other end... Anyways, here's a short answer for each of your questions.

1) Technical issue with internet/connection, it was flagged as that by the proctor, there really isn't an issue with this as it's just noted on your file, your grade isn't provided until you contact StraighterLine to "find" out what the issue is, they just tell you it was "technical and remove that flag, and wham! you get your grade.

The second issue I had with them was, some dude wanted to see my extra ID with picture, like my passport, I've already had shown him my drivers license and told him I did an exam just the day previously. He was adamant I get my passport... that 'pooper' flagged my exam, anyways, I did and aced the exam as it was open book.

2) Most of the exams I had were open book and a hand full were closed book, in fact, with the open book exams, I didn't really bother with the e-book, I mainly went through the exam quickly as I knew most of the answers. I only used the open book just in case I was leaning on two answers and wanted to verify my answer.

3) NO, there's no need to buy a new laptop for this. I have a 10 year old Dell that's very slow, the built in webcam is usable though. For ProctorU, it's a tad slower than I would like AND they use 'logmein' to get into the computer, so I don't want them to access any person info, but with this crap laptop, everything still works fine. For RPNow, it's perfectly fine, no slowness or disconnections yet, it's smooth like peanut butter...

[P226mem]

 

The second issue I had with them was, some dude wanted to see my extra ID with picture, like my passport,

We kept second ID nearby just in case... I had seen on the site that sometimes they ask. Maybe it was you who told me.  and thanks if it was you. Didn't need it over here, but we were ready because of someone who helped.

anyway  TwinMom, wanted to make sure you saw this part of proctorU site with more details to know what to expect.  Found it quite helpful exam day.  
https://support.proctoru.com/hc/en-us/ar...-to-Expect-

On there it mentions about some places ask for second round of ID verify with other things.  That did NOT happen for us with coopersmith. I don't think they currently ask it either. Just one level of ID.