Korean Job Discussion Forums

[bgreenster]

So I will be taking/need to take an online course while I'm here, but the school requires that I have my final exam proctored. They told me just to arrange it with the US Embassy, but since the embassy folks don't seem to serve a purpose here in Korea, they told me that they did not provide this service. I was actually told to ask Public Affairs, but they have yet to return any of my messages.

Has anyone else run into this problem? I feel like there must be some place that does proctoring, especially considering how many people do take online courses while in Korea. I was thinking maybe one of the Korean universities, or maybe another country's embassy?? Any tips or information would be much appreciated.

[laura-and-ryan]

I did an online course a few years ago, not here in Korea though, and all I needed was to find was a teacher to proctor my exam.

[rooster_2006]

It depends on what your school's policies are for the proctor.

My school requires a teacher. That's it. You can ask another English teacher if you want. My school operates under the system of "if we can't verify that it's not a real teacher, we'll approve the person." So I just got the program director at a Korean university to sign a form (I was honest about her job, and it worked anyway), and now she lets me do proctored exams all the time for free.

Some schools offer online courses with no exams whatsoever, and substitute them with papers and projects, like Excelsior College. These are obviously the best when you're overseas.

Some schools are really, really ridiculous and make unrealistic demands like "you must take the exam at the US Embassy" or "you must take the exam at a testing center in the US." My advice for those courses: don't sign up for them in the first place, since neither thing is likely to be possible while you're in Korea.

[bgreenster]

Thanks, guys!

I talked with the Canadian consulate or whatever, and they said that I can take the test there (as long as the school agrees). Seems like the easiest option, just because it's official and they're used to doing it all of the time.

I suppose props to the Canadians are now in order.... damn. ^.^

I was planning on taking the course through UC Berkeley, but I might keep looking for some in other schools where I don't have to take a proctored exam. Right now, I'm just torn between trying to go through a "good school" or simply trying to get these stupid courses over and done with. Allegedly the grad program I will be applying to doesn't care where they are taken, but I have a hard time believing that... and THIS is why it's so hard to go back to school!

Again, thanks for the suggestions, and especially to those who PM'd me offering their help. Now I have no excuses not to start this class, I suppose.

[laogaiguk]