TECEP / TESC tests + courses while living in China....?

[John Yingling]

Hi everyone!

I'm new here. I'm 31, film punk rock and teach English in China.

After much thought and research, I decided to enroll for TESC and go for a mostly test-out method. I will likely take 10-12 "real" credits for the financial aid, but I hope to be done in one year. I'm turning an AA into a BSBA.

I did not notice that CLEP exams have to be done at a "testing center" in the U.S. That's is a bummer, as I am in NorthEast China for a few years.

A few questions :

Is it possible to turn an Associate's to Bachelor's without proctored exams? I can try to find decent internet in China, but it may be tough.

Can I get my books in a totally online format? (shipping costs would be insane)

I did notice TECEP exams do have the ability to take exams by webcam. Is that correct?

Has anyone done this? Internet is bad here, so I actually am fearing the webcam method not working, as you have to go through a VPN (firewall hop)

Do you have to be monitored for regular online courses testing as well?

Was hoping I could just breeze through this, but I guess I should have done more research.

[SuzanneD]

I would be interested in answers to these questions too. My son teaches in Xiamen, China. He would also do this if test options available.

[smrt]

Welcome to the club! I can only answer a few of your questions, since I'm pretty new on my journey myself.

Proctored exams typically require a webcam and quality internet, so unless you can get that, you're at a bit of a standstill. I have heard of folks who study for a batch of CLEPs, then travel to somewhere with a testing center (Japan? Taiwan? Korea? Not sure.) and take a few at once.

I'd say with 99% certainty you can get what you need online, but it depends on what classes you need. Everyone here loves Instacert for studying for CLEPs, and that's all online.

Good luck!

[thebest777]

https://clep.collegeboard.org/search/tes...ernational

Japan is an option if your willing to pay for the trip.

https://clep.collegeboard.org/search/tes...country=jp

I highly recommend Straighterline as a source of credit for TESC.

[dfrecore]

Well, internet proctoring is one of the main ways to get your credits on this forum. And I imagine that you might be able to get some online books to study for exams, but they might not be the exact books your course recommends.

The good news is that it looks like there may be Pearson VUE testing centers in China. I'm not sure if there's one near you, but you may want to check. If so, you can take UExcel (Excelsior) exams, they have a lot of them. You may also be able to make arrangements with TESC to take exams there as well. It wouldn't hurt to check with Saylor. The cheaper colleges may let you as well: UofArkansas Self-Paced, CSU-Pueblo IS, UofIdaho IS, BYU IS and LSU Distance Learning.

I would check to see if a Pearson VUE is near you, and then check with all of the above to see if they would let you take your exams there, or if not, where they recommend you take them if you're out of country for a while. There have to be places in China where the internet is available (universities, Starbucks!!), where you might be able to log in and do your courses.

Then, post your info here (courses you've taken as well as institutions you may be able to use to take exams), and we can come up a plan for you to finish your degree. We'll just have to be a little more creative! It's a gauntlet you've just thrown down!

There will be others who have more ideas than me, so see what they come up with. Lots of creative people on this forum...

[LaterBloomer]

Is there anyone near your with an Associate's degree or higher? If so, that person can act as a proctor for any course final exams that you take through Penn Foster. Be aware, however, that some (most?) of them have quizzes, forums, or things like that on-line. As you're working at your own speed for these courses, however, intermittent Internet should be less of an issue.

Also, there was someone on this forum who was working in China. S/he ended up studying for ALL of her/his exams at once, came to the US (NYC?), and took like 500 million CLEPS and DSST exams in 30 minutes. (I exaggerate, but not by much!)

Welcome, and good luck.

[John Yingling]

Wow! Thanks everyone! I looked into Japan already for those testing sites.

Internet being spotty isn't too big of an issue. It's more just SLOW (for streaming) than spotty altogether.

I've bitten the bullet and applied to both TESC and Charter Oak, sent my transcripts, and applied for financial aid with both.

Living in China, it looks like the main kickers (forgot about BOOKS! Ah!) are that I'm going to have to figure out a mix of :

E-BOOKS! (nearly impossible to mail books INTO China)
As many non-proctored test-outs as possible I'll have to take 6 credit / month for the fin. aid, so this can be the ones with e-books / non proc / non test-out

The rest of the ones I must fly to Japan to test out of, I'll wait towards the end.

Looks like I should have no issue finishing this (or at least getting SUPER CLOSE) in a year.

As for someone with a degree near me, there are many due to the teaching gig. Didn't realize that was a thing!

I will wait and see how both my Associate's transfer into each, and post my plan for you all to review!

Thanks, all!

[mednat]

Wow! Thanks everyone! I looked into Japan already for those testing sites.

Internet being spotty isn't too big of an issue. It's more just SLOW (for streaming) than spotty altogether.

I've bitten the bullet and applied to both TESC and Charter Oak, sent my transcripts, and applied for financial aid with both.

Living in China, it looks like the main kickers (forgot about BOOKS! Ah!) are that I'm going to have to figure out a mix of :

E-BOOKS! (nearly impossible to mail books INTO China)
As many non-proctored test-outs as possible I'll have to take 6 credit / month for the fin. aid, so this can be the ones with e-books / non proc / non test-out

The rest of the ones I must fly to Japan to test out of, I'll wait towards the end.

Looks like I should have no issue finishing this (or at least getting SUPER CLOSE) in a year.

As for someone with a degree near me, there are many due to the teaching gig. Didn't realize that was a thing!

I will wait and see how both my Associate's transfer into each, and post my plan for you all to review!

Thanks, all!

John, Just sent you my 2cents on the ebook issue via PM. Don't want to come off as spammy on the public forum, but i think it'll solve this struggle for you.

[swalke321]

Propero (Pearson learning solutions) is ACE recommended for credit. It is online, self paced and no proctored final. It is more expensive but does offer a free eBook.

[Kaskadian]

Hey brother, I did complete some classes while working in Harbin and living in Jilin province. Message me for your skype or QQ and I'll see what I can find out for you.