Saylor Piloting New Proctor ($5/test instead of $25)

[jch]

It appears that Saylor is in the process of switching everything from ProctorU to the new service. The Direct credit page now includes this note:

Note: we are in the process of changing proctoring providers from ProctorU to SmarterProctoring, but some credit courses have not yet been updated. See the Saylor Direct Credit section on a course page for any new information.

Indeed, courses now include instructions for taking exams with SmarterProctoring. Not all of them have the link yet though. This is great! The price is still just $5 too! I think I'll try some inconsequential course this week and see how it goes.

[rachel83az]

That's great! Cant wait to hear of your experiences with the new proctor.

[jch]

Two months later, and Saylor is yet to enable the new proctoring option on most of their courses. Except for the initial handful of smarterproctoring courses, everything else is currently missing the direct credit final exam link. I don't think it's even possible to take the credit exam for most of Saylor's offerings right now, and this situation has continued for an inordinate length of time.

[jch]

Update: Saylor's exams should all be available with the new proctoring service now! I tested it out today with a random course, and the testing session largely went well.
Due to confusion on my part, changes to the exam registration flow, and communication gaps by Saylor, I mistakenly believed that the exams were unavailable.
Things work differently than I was used to with the old ProctorU system. Instead of separately connecting with a proctor and opening the exam page under their supervision, SmarterProctoring handles everything within one link. Also, the proctored exam link will only appear if you've actually registered for the course. Together, these changes led me to believe, incorrectly, that the exams were unavailable.
Apart from the initial launch, my experience with SmarterProctoring proceeded smoothly. They take care of everything via the Chrome browser and their extension. There's nothing else to download and run like there was with ProctorU.
My only hangup occured when attempting to start the proctoring session. Naturally, as a new user, I was required to install the browser extension. Upon doing so, I was supposed to just go back to the proctoring session - but it didn't work. The proctoring page started to load but got stuck. Instead, I had to close that tab and click the start session button in Saylor again.
Once I overcame that hurdle, the identification, security, and exam launch procedures proceeded quickly.
I'd advise installing the extension ahead of time to avoid this hassle, but I cannot find a link to it anywhere! Just be prepared for this issue.

[rachel83az]

Oh, nice! In that case, I do wish TESU accepted more of their credits. I'm tempted to at least give a couple of their business courses a shot, though. $5 a shot seems worth it.

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They have an FAQ on manual installation: https://smarterproctoring.zendesk.com/hc...-Extension

[jch]

I tried to use SmarterProctoring last night for anther exam, but could not gain access to the exam.
Having the extension installed made the exam launch process a breeze. In just a few minutes, I made it to the exam login page on Saylor. The SmarterProctoring extension pasted in a password, which Saylor rejected. I tried again with no success. I then opened up the proctor support chat. In less than a minute, I was connected with someone who understood the situation. They were able to take control through the browser extension and attempted to manually type the password a few times. Quickly, they concluded that their password on file was wrong. The agent promised to email Saylor and me, in addition to resetting/refunding my exam attempt. I haven't heard any updates from anyone yet, but it's only the next morning.

[rachel83az]

Which exam isn't working right now? I'm thinking about trying out the College Success exam because it's only $5 and I get to see what's what.

[jch]

Which exam isn't working right now? I'm thinking about trying out the College Success exam because it's only $5 and I get to see what's what.

I did CUST105 customer service successfully. Note that the real exam is much harder than the certificate version. Surprisingly, I barely passed.
BUS206 Management Information Systems is the one that didn't work.

[rachel83az]

Yeah, I've heard that the Saylor exams are much more difficult than the other places. But, at $5 each, I'm considering taking a few that can transfer to TESU just to see if I pass.

[rachel83az]

I attempted to take College Success today. First attempt: needed to install the extension. Had to restart. Second attempt: It didn't think my face matched my ID. I think it's due to how glossy the passport is? I might try later with an ID card. Third attempt: It seemed to go fine. I got about halfway through the exam and got a message that my session had been closed. I was forcibly ejected and was unable to finish the exam.