High school equivalency exam costs are reduced

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to create professional hardships for thousands of Illinois residents, the Illinois Community College Board, ICCB, recently announced that they are helping to make it easier for state residents to earn their high school equivalency. 

ICCB announced that grant funding is available that will significantly reduce the cost of those exams.

The grant funding is being awarded to The Center: Resources for Teaching and Learning. 

The Center will work with Illinois’ two licensed high school equivalency vendors in Illinois, HiSET and GED, to provide the discount codes and administer the testing. 

Shawnee Community College adult basic education program director Ginger Harner said that “cost is a significant barrier to completion for students.  We appreciate the commitment shown by the ICCB to help students overcome that barrier.”

ICCB noted there are two ways to take the exams and to access discount code information.

GED candidates can find information to access the discount for the GED exam by logging on to their GED profile and scheduling a test at www.ged.com. 

First-time users will need to create a new account before they can proceed with scheduling a test. 

Candidates will need to enter the code ILSAVE20 at check-out. 

HiSET Candidates can access the discount for the HiSET exam by calling the Education Testing Services customer support hotline at 1-855-MyHiSET and scheduling a test. 

The discounts for the exams are as follows:

GED (in-person or online): Reduced from $120 to $40.

HiSET Computer: Reduced from $93.75 to $13.75.

HiSET Paper: Reduced from $115 to $35.

HiSET Online: Reduced from $141.25 to $61.25.

“If students are seeking assistance in preparing to pass these exams we encourage them to contact us,” Harner said.

Information is available by calling 618-634-3292 or emailing gingerh@shawneecc.edu.