Study.com is switching to non-proctored and open-book exams

[vetvso]

Has anyone taken a non-proctored exam yet? What was the process like?

I just finished one. You no longer need to use a webcam, show ID, or anything like that.  They get your identity by using your biometric keyboard pattern. You no longer need to use the secure browser, I did it from my firefox browser.  Open book was nice, but with so many questions you have to be careful you don't spend too much time searching for any one answer that you don't know. The only course materials allowed for open book is the study.com courses themselves and your own notes.  I wasn't sure if the notes needed to be in physical form on paper or could be in a MS word document.  I used an MS word doc so I could search using ctrl+f and it seems to have been fine. The best part to me was I got my official course grade back within 30 seconds of completing the exam, without having to wait for an official review which used to take weeks.

I have finished several since the change, and there is an ID requirement. I scan a QR code and then follow the directions for the front/back of my DL and a face photo.

[jg_nuy]

My son took the first exam after the change. There was the ID verification (ID plus selfie), which had trouble running on his mobile. He had to borrow mine to get it through successfully, from a link sent via text.

Instructions were clear once past this small barrier and he had no issues with the exam itself after that. He said the experience was very similar, but it was nice to have the notes in case he needed them. He did not use them for this particular exam, which he passed.

[frankc]

My partner is about to start the UMPI accounting degree, but she just saw in the UMPI Discord that someone mentioned UMPI won’t accept any accounting or business major/concentration courses from SDC apart of a few low-level intro classes after May 1, 2025. Apparently, there was a screenshot of an advisor’s email saying they recently got re-evaluated. Not sure if this is legit or just bad info, but I know advisors can be pretty unreliable. Just wanted to check if anyone knows more about this.

[Ares]

My partner is about to start the UMPI accounting degree, but she just saw in the UMPI Discord that someone mentioned UMPI won’t accept any accounting or business major/concentration courses from SDC apart of a few low-level intro classes after May 1, 2025. Apparently, there was a screenshot of an advisor’s email saying they recently got re-evaluated. Not sure if this is legit or just bad info, but I know advisors can be pretty unreliable. Just wanted to check if anyone knows more about this.

That is just bizarre but they will take Sophia courses?

[Duneranger]

Removing proctors is a bad thing. It obviously keeps the integrity of the exam. A lot do schools will not be fond of this.

I used proctors in previous hybrid degrees and SL.

No issues at all One told me to stop touching my face once and to adjust my camera mid test….oh well. People are so soft nowadays. All the complaints regarding anxiety and difficulty with proctors is ridiculous.

[frankc]

My partner is about to start the UMPI accounting degree, but she just saw in the UMPI Discord that someone mentioned UMPI won’t accept any accounting or business major/concentration courses from SDC apart of a few low-level intro classes after May 1, 2025. Apparently, there was a screenshot of an advisor’s email saying they recently got re-evaluated. Not sure if this is legit or just bad info, but I know advisors can be pretty unreliable. Just wanted to check if anyone knows more about this.

That is just bizarre but they will take Sophia courses?

I’m guessing they won’t take any more SDC UL credits but will still accept the lower-level ones, kind of like Sophia. So I don’t think Sophia will be affected. But honestly, I’m not sure if that enrollment advisor actually knows what’s going on or if they just gave bad random info to other students.

I really hope the advisor is wrong because I finally convinced my partner to get a degree! Took me almost a year of trying every day to get her to agree on the UMPI Accounting degree lol

[bjcheung77]

Basically, I'm thinking that's all speculation for now, we won't know for sure what the changes are and the reasons behind it until the institutions or Sophia.org, Study.com, or whatever ACE/NCCRS provider you're using tells us. Changing the mode of proctoring shouldn't affect the content and medium classes are being taught, they're just changing ways to proctor to something less invasive, it's still proctored with other means, such as geo/IP logging, ID & voice, etc.

[nathan$]

Has anyone taken a non-proctored exam yet? What was the process like?

I just finished one. You no longer need to use a webcam, show ID, or anything like that.  They get your identity by using your biometric keyboard pattern. You no longer need to use the secure browser, I did it from my firefox browser.  Open book was nice, but with so many questions you have to be careful you don't spend too much time searching for any one answer that you don't know. The only course materials allowed for open book is the study.com courses themselves and your own notes.  I wasn't sure if the notes needed to be in physical form on paper or could be in a MS word document.  I used an MS word doc so I could search using ctrl+f and it seems to have been fine. The best part to me was I got my official course grade back within 30 seconds of completing the exam, without having to wait for an official review which used to take weeks.

I have finished several since the change, and there is an ID requirement. I scan a QR code and then follow the directions for the front/back of my DL and a face photo.

That's interesting you had to show ID still. Before taking the exam, I had not yet finished all the quizzes for my course, and a box randomly popped asking me to type "I agree to the academic integrity policy" like 3 times, similar to how Sophia asks you to type a sentence to get your biometric keyboard pattern periodically. When I went to take the test, I merely had to type this sentence again before it would let me in. I've taken 3 exams now since the change and didn't have to show ID for any of them. Only the first one auto-graded within a few seconds though, the other 2 that I took still took several days to receive my official course grade.

[Duneranger]

Basically, I'm thinking that's all speculation for now, we won't know for sure what the changes are and the reasons behind it until the institutions or Sophia.org, Study.com, or whatever ACE/NCCRS provider you're using tells us.  Changing the mode of proctoring shouldn't affect the content and medium classes are being taught, they're just changing ways to proctor to something less invasive, it's still proctored with other means, such as geo/IP logging, ID & voice, etc.

lol I hardly call your example proctoring. None of that means anything. Without a person watching you, it’s insanely easy to cheat. You can have your phone or another computer out or just have notes on your desk.

People complain with you give access toyour computer as well.

Point is, people will complain whenever even the most basic of standards are enforced.

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Has anyone taken a non-proctored exam yet? What was the process like?

I just finished one. You no longer need to use a webcam, show ID, or anything like that.  They get your identity by using your biometric keyboard pattern. You no longer need to use the secure browser, I did it from my firefox browser.  Open book was nice, but with so many questions you have to be careful you don't spend too much time searching for any one answer that you don't know. The only course materials allowed for open book is the study.com courses themselves and your own notes.  I wasn't sure if the notes needed to be in physical form on paper or could be in a MS word document.  I used an MS word doc so I could search using ctrl+f and it seems to have been fine. The best part to me was I got my official course grade back within 30 seconds of completing the exam, without having to wait for an official review which used to take weeks.

I have finished several since the change, and there is an ID requirement. I scan a QR code and then follow the directions for the front/back of my DL and a face photo.

That's interesting you had to show ID still. Before taking the exam, I had not yet finished all the quizzes for my course, and a box randomly popped asking me to type "I agree to the academic integrity policy" like 3 times, similar to how Sophia asks you to type a sentence to get your biometric keyboard pattern periodically. When I went to take the test, I merely had to type this sentence again before it would let me in. I've taken 3 exams now since the change and didn't have to show ID for any of them. Only the first one auto-graded within a few seconds though, the other 2 that I took still took several days to receive my official course grade.

Sophia’s defense against cheating is a joke. Using a program to detect irregularities in typing is a piss poor way to enforce test integrity. 

It’s a hand waive joke attempt. Sophia has 0 test integrity.