When deciding whether or not to proctor an exam, you are balancing three key considerations:
- Academic Integrity: Ensuring submissions represent students’ original thought, and are made by individuals who are who they say they are.
- Privacy: Protecting the students’ digital footprint, so their likeness, environment and mannerisms are not digitally distributed.
- Equity: Facilitating access to the course for students who might not have a clean testing environment, strong internet access, camera, or, in some cases, administrative access to their device.
Students are also balancing these values, and might request an alternative assessment mechanism. Instructors should be prepared to address student requests.
What are the options?
ProctorU | Respondus Monitor | |
Live Proctoring | Yes. ProctorU provides video-based testing with a live proctor. | No. Respondus utilizes a student’s webcam and video analytics to prevent and flag possible cheating during exams. Faculty then review flags. |
Lockdown Browser | Yes, Guardian Browser. | Yes. Respondus Monitor includes Respondus Lockdown Browser which does not allow students to utilize additional browsers |
Student Appointment Required | Yes. ProctorU requires students to schedule an appointment. | No. Students do not need an appointment. |
Cost | Paid for by students. Exam fees range from $17.50 to $40, depending on the length of the exam. Students who wait until the last minute to reserve their exam time will be assessed an additional late fee of $5 (72 hours to 24 hours ahead of appointment) or $8 (less than 24 hours ahead of appointment). | Paid for by the University. |
Requirements | Web Camera | Web Camera and microphone. Room Scan, ID check. Sufficient Bandwidth |
Bandwidth | Testing with ProctorU requires a strong and stable internet connection (1Mbps download and upload) to support screen sharing and remote proctoring software. Issues with stability or speed may prevent students from testing or may cause issues during an exam. | There isn’t a specific kb/s requirement for using a webcam with Respondus Monitor because the recording quality automatically adjusts when a slower connection is detected. Respondus Monitor will prioritize the Canvas Quiz and drop recording if there is insufficient bandwidth. |
Faculty Reports | Yes. | Yes, Respondus Monitor provides individual student reports with flags on issues. |
Additional Features | A beta release of LockDown Browser for Chromebook is now available for institutions using Canvas. The new Chromebook extension for LockDown Browser and Respondus Monitor can be used with both New Quizzes and Classic Quizzes in Canvas courses. During the beta period, instructors will need to enable the use of the Chromebook version on a per exam basis. The following Knowledgebase article provides additional information about the beta release of LockDown Browser for Chromebook, including feature limitations and known issues: https://support.respondus.com/support/index.php?/Knowledgebase/Article/View/586. This article will be updated periodically during the beta. | |
| Canvas Compatibility | Compatible with both Canvas Quizzes and New Quizzes | Compatible with both Canvas Quizzes and New Quizzes |
Known Issues | In the Spring 2020 semester, ProctorU ran out of available appointments for students to take exams. If students did find a time to have an exam proctored, it was often at after 10 pm and before 6 am | Respondus Monitor requires faculty to review student videos that are flagged with suspicious activity. Reviewing videos can take several hours depending on the number of students in the course and the amount of flagged content. Respondus Monitor does not currently work with Linux. Respondus monitor experienced so much traffic at the end of the Spring 2020 semester, that even though exams were taken, the system could not produce the proctoring results before final grades were due. Respondus monitor does not adjust for bandwidth and several students in the Spring semester were dropped during exams. Respondus Monitor does not provide videos associates with flagged content if student bandwidth is low. |
| Student Guides and Resources | Getting started with ProctorU - Student Instructions | Respondus LockDown Browser & Monitor |
| Faculty Guide and Resources | ProctorU - Faculty Instructions | Respondus Lockdown Browser (for Instructors) |
Other Alternatives
One of the most effective ways to ensure a high-quality assessment is to carefully plan and implement rigorous assessments within the course. If you determine that proctoring is not the appropriate solution, but you want to incorporate additional safeguards against cheating, consider our alternatives to proctoring. Visit the CTLT Resource about Ways to Ensure Academic Integrity Online to find design choices in Canvas to limit opportunities for cheating.