Taking TESC exams for free through ProctorU

[skyfall123]

Wow...how did I miss this one. I don't know when this started, but this is really good for TESC students who are taking courses. ProctorU is a service that provides webcam proctoring. This means that you don't have to leave your house or pay a fee to take your proctored TESC mid-term. I'm very familiar with this since I am doing an MBA that uses this same service. It is awesome. The only thing required is a high speed internet connection and a webcam.

The official reply from the Testing Center at TESC when I asked if ProcotrU could be used for mid-terms and TECEPs. Yowza...this is really great. No fee....test from your home or work.


We are not offering the Proctor U option for TECEP exams. The exams will still be pen/paper exams that are to be mailed to your proctor site. However, there is no fee associated with taking your midterm online via Proctor U.

Best Regards,

Teresa Figueroa
Office of Test Administration

[cookderosa]

Wow...how did I miss this one. I don't know when this started, but this is really good for TESC students who are taking courses. ProctorU is a service that provides webcam proctoring. This means that you don't have to leave your house or pay a fee to take your proctored TESC mid-term. I'm very familiar with this since I am doing an MBA that uses this same service. It is awesome. The only thing required is a high speed internet connection and a webcam.

The official reply from the Testing Center at TESC when I asked if ProcotrU could be used for mid-terms and TECEPs. Yowza...this is really great. No fee....test from your home or work.


We are not offering the Proctor U option for TECEP exams. The exams will still be pen/paper exams that are to be mailed to your proctor site. However, there is no fee associated with taking your midterm online via Proctor U.

Best Regards,

Teresa Figueroa
Office of Test Administration

You didn't miss it, it's new. I think someone here posted about 6 months ago that TESC was partnering with Proctor U for the class exams. I think you still have to have "someone" receive the test, and I don't know how/why the proctorU would be used- I guess just sit in front of a computer while you write? I don't see this really being a cost saver since you still have to find someone who qualifies ot receive the test. My proctors never charged me a fee, but some might. I wonder if the use of ProctorU is enough to convince a local proctor to waive their fee? I'm suspecting not.

[skyfall123]

I think you still have to have "someone" receive the test, and I don't know how/why the proctorU would be used- I guess just sit in front of a computer while you write? I don't see this really being a cost saver since you still have to find someone who qualifies ot receive the test. My proctors never charged me a fee, but some might. I wonder if the use of ProctorU is enough to convince a local proctor to waive their fee? I'm suspecting not.

Cook I didn't explain it correctly. You don't need an additional proctor. You take the exam from home. What probably happens is that TESC sends ProctorU the exam, they then create a unique login that you use to access. In fact you have me wondering and I know the people behind ProctorU so I'll put in a request to them explaining how the back end is handled.

Thomas Edison State College - Online Proctoring Center powered by ProctorU

Better explanation here Thomas Edison State College - Online Proctoring Center powered by ProctorU

[bricabrac]

In fact you have me wondering and I know the people behind ProctorU so I'll put in a request to them explaining how the back end is handled.

Think of allowing your computer tech service sharing your terminal with you to fix your computer. This is what the service is like. You are screen sharing (however you want to describe it) with the proctor service.

Some of the tesc students (including me) were not happy with this service. Depending on your role you may have highly sensitive material on your computer. TESC feels the company will not have access to for instance your hard drive but my tech folks and I know otherwise. Once you allow that person access to your computer they can do just about anything. Not to say they would but get the right person in a job such as this and problems will most likely occur. Students who use their company computers also let the school know the company would not approve allowing outside access to their computers. If it had been a TESC department handling this it would not have been a problem but how can they control or be responsible for a third party.

So because of sensitivity to issues such as this, I am not taking any exams via the online proctor. If we could sign in from a public computer I would have no problem with it (same as taking clep/dsst at local college). Anyway because of the immediate negative reaction by certain student we are still allowed to request paper exams sent to our usual proctor. Im sure the majority will benefit though from having the ability to take their midterms from their homes free of charge.

[skyfall123]

So because of sensitivity to issues such as this, I am not taking any exams via the online proctor. If we could sign in from a public computer I would have no problem with it (same as taking clep/dsst at local college). Anyway because of the immediate negative reaction by certain student we are still allowed to request paper exams sent to our usual proctor. Im sure the majority will benefit though from having the ability to take their midterms from their homes free of charge.

Great explanation. Thanks.

[cookderosa]

Great explanation. Thanks.

Yes, thanks! Very cool!
I like proctorU, I've been through 2 classes at 2 diff schools that use it.

[ProctorU]

Hello, I work for ProctorU. There are some helpful resources out there for you to get a little more information about who we are and what we do. I would also like to clear the air on some of the information I've seen in these posts.

Start with our website and some of our introductory videos:
ProctorU: How it works!
ProctorU: Getting Started
ProctorU on Vimeo

Some users of this forum have expressed concerns about security. We do not have access to your computer once your exam session is over. We use a program called LogMeIn https://secure.logmein.com/ that allows us to share your screen. You can see whatever the proctor can see. We may borrow a user's mouse to trouble shoot a technical problem, but that person can see everything the technician is doing. Once the session has ended, the connection is permanently closed and we no longer have access to your computer. Students that use us again and again can testify that they must connect with us for each session to establish a new connection because the original one from their first exam is long gone. We proctor hundreds of exams per day and thousands per month for over 100 institutions.

We are a service-based company. If there were a security breach on a student's computer, it would be detrimental to our business, just like if McDonald's served poisoned hamburgers. We want you to be happy and comfortable with our service and continue to take your exams with us.

Our four company pillars are Integrity, Service, Simplicity and Fun.

We stick to these principles and take the very seriously. For this reason, we only hire individuals with high levels of integrity. Each ProctorU employee must successfully pass a background check and a rigorous interview process. Our proctors work in a controlled environment where their sessions are monitored and managed by an experienced team of professionals.

If you have any questions at all, please feel free to contact us at 205-870-8122 or email me personally at fhayes@proctoru.com.