Straighterline New Proctor Policy Change

[ryoder]

I think Straighterline's move to proctored exams is long overdue. TESC uses ProctorU for its exams so why shouldn't Straighterline?
Straighterline's costs are still competitive and I still recommend them as long as there is no CLEP or DSST exam that covers the content or if the student has failed the CLEP test already.
Students should focus more on learning and less on the logistics of proving that learning. ProctorU is a little invasive but we need to get beyond that because a lot of schools use it now.

The cost is not a minimum of 49+99 per course as long as you can complete more than one course in a month. I always recommend that people buy the required textbook prior to enrolling and read through the book. Then pay the fee and begin taking the tests.
I finished three courses in a month this way for a good total cost per test.

[Ace_King]

Three courses a month after November 1st could possibly "flag" your account. Those days are over.

Sigh, the good times!

[scorched]

I could get on board with this if I felt the proctoring was truly an academic credibility issue, TESC is an accredited college, SL not at all. As it has been discussed, what good is proctoring an open book final? How is that more credible? I consider myself exceptional at finding information via searches, so if I am allowed an ebook that is context search-able, and 2 hours of time, I guarantee I can pass any final whether or not I know the material or not. So it would be possible for me to pass all the quizzes via illicit activities, then take the so called proctored final and not even need a good grade to get credit I don't deserve. Sure I can let them control "my machine", but what stops me from using my 3 other local computers and access to my personal servers. There is nothing that could stop me, or anyone for that matter, from defeating this half assed effort of increasing "academic credibility". There will always be cheaters, not much you can do about it, but they needed to take it further, but also not force people to use a specific service that has security implications.

I think Straighterline's move to proctored exams is long overdue. TESC uses ProctorU for its exams so why shouldn't Straighterline?
Straighterline's costs are still competitive and I still recommend them as long as there is no CLEP or DSST exam that covers the content or if the student has failed the CLEP test already.
Students should focus more on learning and less on the logistics of proving that learning. ProctorU is a little invasive but we need to get beyond that because a lot of schools use it now.

The cost is not a minimum of 49+99 per course as long as you can complete more than one course in a month. I always recommend that people buy the required textbook prior to enrolling and read through the book. Then pay the fee and begin taking the tests.
I finished three courses in a month this way for a good total cost per test.

[fm101]

Sure I can let them control "my machine", but what stops me from using my 3 other local computers and access to my personal servers.

ProctorU requires a webcam and microphone be used, so there is that.

[Publius]

I think it really boils down to this.

1) Don't think something if it isn't broken.
Whatever happened to that saying? Maybe everyone at SL needs to write this adage on a sticky note and put on their computer or something. I'd bet they'd get a whole lot more accomplished. Seriously though, accredited colleges and universities, across the nation, were partner schools with SL without requiring a proctored final. It seemed every newsletter I got from them, they had some new Partner College.

2) If you're going to fix something, try and fix all of it. Half way jobs don't work.
Again, everyone is wasting their time. Students all across colleges cheat. Students in SL have, and surely will cheat. No one can stop them and having a proctor won't 'fix' this cheating problem. As users have said, where there's a will, there's a way. Not to mention their students can still pass a course without passing a final. So fine, have a student cheat on the entire course, but oh, yes, take the final, be honest on that! Who cares about a final at that point? The cheater has already reaped his benefit. BTW, if SL was THAT concerned about cheating, they should consider investing some money into purchasing some Bibles for their students and giving them some sermons! Think about, to change outward actions requires an inward change first. Maybe having their students read a few excerpts from the Bible on what happens to liars and cheaters and then have a mandatory quiz would help. Believe it or not, there really was once a time in U.S. History when our government and our president endorsed the spread of the Bible, Christ, and Morality. They realized that it was the only way to truly have moral people.

3) When you fix something, think the process through and execute it well.
SL would get a 30 from if we're talking the CLEP scale! milelol: I give them some credit for at least announcing their change, and some for allowing an alternative proctor if it can be found. Other then that, they totaled failed. How at first, they only considered Proctor U, from raising their prices, to coming on here and leaving a few canned messages (they did reply to some users, but others they just hit copy and paste), to not considering that students can pass a course without passing a final (they'll have to make some adjustment to this if they'll want to nail down the cheating), to a whole host of other issues. Poorly thought out, poorly executed.

I could go on, but those are, IMO, the 3 big issues.

[scorched]

True, but a webcam and microphone have no bearing on this, they can control, watch me and listen all they want on one of my computers that is interfacing the test, but they can't stop me from using any of my other computers that would be helping me find the answers or doing other things I shouldn't be doing. So if I can do this, it won't stop people who want to cheat, hence why its not solving their credibility issue.
And I read somewhere that each proctor can be monitoring 5-10 students, so how much can they really catch someone doing?

ProctorU requires a webcam and microphone be used, so there is that.

[Publius]

True, but a webcam and microphone have no bearing on this, they can control, watch me and listen all they want on one of my computers that is interfacing the test, but they can't stop me from using any of my other computers that would be helping me find the answers or doing other things I shouldn't be doing. So if I can do this, it won't stop people who want to cheat, hence why its not solving their credibility issue.
And I read somewhere that each proctor can be monitoring 5-10 students, so how much can they really catch someone doing?

Further yet, what stops partners in 'crime'? Why couldn't one guy help out the guy taking the test and search for answers on a different computer? Webcams have a limited range of view, and one can easily see what's on a screen without being seen. This is one example of I'm sure, hundreds. Point in case, you can't stop it. If they want to cheat, they will. Heck, I've seen people cheat on the computerized drivers exam in a room full of 50 people.

[IrishJohn]

I think Straighterline's move to proctored exams is long overdue. TESC uses ProctorU for its exams so why shouldn't Straighterline?

Well first there is the obvious: TESC is an accredited school while SL is not. I can choose a different school if TESC's use of ProctorU disturbs me, which it does, and transfer any credits earned there. With SL my choices are far more limited, to around 30 or so schools. At the very least I could switch to Excelsior or COSC which don't mandate using ProctorU. Secondly, while TESC is moving towards making the use of ProctorU standard for their exams it currently still allows its students to use acceptable third-party proctors. There is a chance that will continue with feedback from their students. It boils down to an issue of trust in allowing an outside company access to one's personal computer. I find that to be unacceptable, others may disagree.

Straighterline's costs are still competitive and I still recommend them as long as there is no CLEP or DSST exam that covers the content or if the student has failed the CLEP test already.
Students should focus more on learning and less on the logistics of proving that learning.

Before this kerfuffle I would have agreed with you, but now I would argue that that being "competitive" involves more than just cost. The utility of credits earned via SL is far more limited than CLEP, DSST or TECEP. Looking at their current courseload, much of what they offer with few exceptions for most students can be found at ALEKS, CLEP, DSST, ECE or TECEP. These alternatives are also transferrable to hundreds of more schools than SL courses are. I don't necessarily object to SL requiring proctored exams, mostly the wisdom of this regardless of the requirements of the schools where the credits would be transferred to as well as mandating the use of ProctorU. Yet if you want to break it down to just dollars and cents, it is far cheaper to use one of the alternatives now than it is to take an SL course. It's not just the price of SL's courses, with the possibility of more money if you need extra time to complete a course, but also the textbooks that are required. Even when found cheaply on Amazon or elsewhere that adds to the overall cost. I've taken 7 courses through SL before all of this and can say that studying for their finals won't be much different than preparing for a CLEP or DSST, at least in the business courses. I've taken CLEPs & DSSTs with very little studying (e.g. an hour or two on test day) and passed them, which IMO at the very least equates to an open-book exam. Heck, I've taken open-book exams before that were quite challenging if you didn't study beforehand.

The cost is not a minimum of 49+99 per course as long as you can complete more than one course in a month. I always recommend that people buy the required textbook prior to enrolling and read through the book. Then pay the fee and begin taking the tests.

Their recent changes and very poor manner in rolling them out to their customer base has one good aspect in that it woke people up to look at exactly what they offer and the alternatives. One could just as easily take free open courses through Saylor.org, use IC or other online resources, and then take the CLEP or DSST or ECE or TECEP. The time frame is about the same but the cost is much, much less. The credits earned from both are not exactly the same, both in transferrability and frankly in appearance on your transcript IMO. I fail to see what SL offers now that makes it the better alternative since you have to take a proctored exam regardless of which way you go. No, from now on I'll be recommending alternatives to SL because IMO they are far better for students and are better overall.

[IrishJohn]

And once again a hack from I assume at Straighterline has changed my entry at Degree Forum Wiki to the following:

UPDATE 10/10/12: Straighterline has announced a new requirement "for all final exams to be proctored takes effect for courses purchased on or after November 1, 2012". Only the $99 per month subscription model will see a price change - the course registration fee of $39 per course is raising to $49. The a la carte $399 per course and freshman year of 8 courses for $999 remain unchanged.

Have a question? Call a StraighterLine student adivsor at 877-787-8375 .

I've just changed it back... and edited out a wee bit of their sales pitch.

I can keep this up indefinitely Straighterline and it doesn't cost me a thing, how about you?

[FilMor]

so what happens if i sign up to a math course and i complete it in a few days? there's only 5 exams after all and i already know the subject, will my credit be valid?