Using Online Proctoring with eCampus and ProctorU – Overview

Online proctoring with ProctorU is available for courses where students pay the Online Course Fee. ProctorU and their Guardian Secure Proctoring Browser allows students with an adequate internet connection and computer to take live proctored online exams in remote locations (e.g., their place of residence) that are also recorded for incident review by faculty.

There are other solutions available for all courses, such as Respondus Lockdown Browser with Monitor.  Educational Technologies provides more information and guidance on these options.

PLEASE NOTE: ProctorU is ONLY available courses that pay the Online Course Fee.  This fee typically applies to online graduate courses  (Spring and Fall) and to graduate and undergraduate Summer and Winter courses with an instruction mode of:

  • Online Synchronous (OS)
  • Online Asynchronous (OA)
  • Online Blended (OB)

Other course modalities, including Hybrid(HB) or Hybrid Limited (HL) should consider alternatives such as Respondus Lockdown Browser with Monitor. You can reach out to us at eCampus@uconn.edu if you have questions.

Faculty MUST create exams at least 2 weeks prior to the exam start date and students MUST sign-up at least one week before the exam.  Failure to do so may result in a lack of exam appointments being available.  Faculty should set up exams earlier, when possible, and encourage students to sign-up for exams promptly.  They may also monitor students' exam enrollments through their ProctorU portal.

 

This is the overview of using online proctoring with eCampus. You must read the entire series of articles located in the QuickLinks menu at the top of the page for a comprehensive understanding of the process, requirements, and recommendations.

As with in-person classes, academic integrity is an integral part of online classes. To this end, our main concerns are that the person enrolled in the course is the same person that completes the assessments (authentication) and that these assessments are done under the rules that the faculty have prescribed (cheating deterrence and, if necessary, detection).  ProctorU monitors student activity during test-taking within a defined acceptable test-taking environment, records those sessions for faculty review, and authenticates students' identity through public records challenge questions, ID capture, and other methods. Together, these provide good assurance that the student receiving credit for coursework is the same student doing the assessment and that the test-taking guidelines set forth by the faculty are maintained.   While we acknowledge that online proctoring can be viewed as a bit intrusive by some and it adds a layer of technology, ultimately, it adds value to the UConn degree by contributing to a more robust overall assessment strategy and bolsters academic integrity.

ProctorU through eCampus is only available for courses designed by UConn eCampus.  Faculty will work directly with ProctorU within the guidelines listed below. Contact your eCampus representative for more information. Non-eCampus courses might consider Respondus Lockdown Browser with Monitor as an alternative.

This post also provides examples of faculty-to-student communication, best practices/tips, and notes some of the potential problems of which to be aware.

PLEASE NOTE: ProctorU may not work in all foreign countries. Students are alerted to this information by eCampus. Faculty need to be aware that if ProctorU does not work for students in a foreign country, they will need to be prepared to use alternative means of proctoring. The article "Remote In-Person Proctoring" addresses in-person options.

 


ProctorU's Video Overview

(1 min, 47 sec)

 

How It Works - General Overview

Faculty work with an eCampus contact to determine which and how many exams will be proctored. Currently, eCampus is funding up to 4 hours of proctoring (2-hour maximum per exam) for each 3-credit online course. Proctoring sessions are in 30-minute increments and must be at least 30 minutes in duration up to 2 hours in length. For example, a faculty member might offer two 1 hour exams and one 2 hour final exam, four 1 hour exams, one 2 hour exam, or different combinations within the 4 hour allotted amount. 

These are the test duration time blocks that add up to the 4 hours:

    • 0 - 30 minutes = 30 minutes
    • 31 - 60 minutes = 1 hour
    • 61 - 120 minutes = 2 hours

What does this mean?
It means that a 45-minute test equals 60 minutes toward the 4-hour allotment.  A 75-minute OR a 90-minute test both equal 120 minutes toward the allotment.

It does NOT mean that you cannot schedule a test for a different duration within those ranges.  We expect that you schedule the appropriate amount of time needed for a test. This is to show you how to add up those times toward the 4-hour allocation.

 

Steps:

  1. Faculty create a ProctorU account through ProctorU's website

  2. Set up your online HuskyCT* exam with a password and the recommended settings (See below). Passwords should NOT be shared with students.
    *Other online exam platforms (such as McGraw Hill Connect and others) may be acceptable, as well.

  3. Faculty set up a short practice quiz with a password and the recommended settings so students can experience ProctorU before an actual exam. (Note: Passwords are NOT shared with students)
      1. Recommended that practice quiz is low or no stakes
      2. Practice quiz should be created with the same settings as the actual exams
      3. Practice quiz should be administered in the first several days of classes
      4. Faculty should review all practice quiz sessions to ensure there are no systemic issues with their exam settings in HuskyCT or ProctorU
      5. Students should be instructed to take the practice test using the same computer in the same location connected to the same network as they will with the actual exams
  4. Faculty schedule exams online at ProctorU at least 3 weeks prior to the exam. (See below)
    2 hours maximum per exam, 4 hours combined maximum time (not including the recommended practice quiz). The recommended practice quiz does not count toward this allocation.
    Note: Proctored sessions allow 1 attempt per scheduled session. Tests should be "standard" format online tests using HuskyCT or a publisher site with a password that controls student access.  Hand-written work (scanned or photo submissions) is "non-standard" and not currently permitted.  Submission of ANY scanned work will occur after the proctoring session has ended.  Contact eCampus to discuss this further.
  5. Students create an account on ProctorU, test their system, and sign up for an exam slot.
    They must do this at least 1 week prior to the exam date.  If signing up late, within 72 hours of the exam start time, they will need to pay an out-of-pocket late fee (See note below).  Signing up late will not guarantee an exam appointment is available during the designated exam slot. We recommend signing up for exam appointments as soon as possible but no later than one week prior to the exam start.

    NOTE: Due to demand caused by COVID-19, students MUST sign-up for exams no later than 1 week before the exam starts. Earlier than this is better and faculty should monitor student sign-ups using their ProctorU portal and encourage students to sign-up immediately.
  6. At the time of the exam appointment, students return and log in at ProctorU's site (with Chrome or Firefox browsers) where:
    1. students connect live with a proctor
    2. their identity is verified
    3. the test taking area is approved
    4. test taking parameters are communicated
    5. the proctor enters the exam password, and the test begins
    6. The student is monitored during the test, and proctors will actively engage a student in the event of a problem
    7. Incident reports are generated and emailed to faculty and eCampus staff for any problematic situations.

Note: ProctorU serves as the main point of contact for issues related to their service. Faculty can contact ProctorU directly as follows:

ProctorU Customer Success Specialist & Faculty Contact (part of Meazure Learning)
Ashley Moman, Customer Success Specialist
amoman@meazurelearning.com
601-291-2121 or 855-772-8678
Online help form

 



Possible Problems and Notes

  • Chromebooks, tablets (including Android, iPads, and Surface RT), and Linux operating systems are not supported.
  • Access to ProctorU from some foreign countries may be limited or prohibited. While using UConn's VPN may or may not allow a student to gain access to take the exam, it is the student's responsibility to be aware of and abide by any laws and regulations where they are located.
  • The best connection for maximum bandwidth is to connect directly into a network/modem rather than use WiFi.
  • The exam location must be a private controlled environment. ProctorU considers McDonalds/Starbucks/most public WiFi locations unacceptable but public libraries may be acceptable. Faculty can specify if students are not permitted to take an exam in a Library.
  • Faculty may/should send students to ProctorU earlier to set up accounts and test their systems (Use a practice quiz), but until the exam is session is created and approved, students will not be able to sign up for exams. (see next)
  • Creating a practice quiz using online proctoring helps reduce the stress during the first high stakes exam. eCampus encourages a practice quiz and this time (15-30 minutes) will not count toward the 4 hour allocation.
  • Again: Submit the "New Exam" form at least 3 weeks before the scheduled exam. Students must sign up at least 1 week prior to the exam. If signing up late (within 72 hours of the exam) they will have to pay a late fee to ProctorU.

Other Resources

For information on academic integrity or misconduct see:

 

Why use online proctoring and should one consider other assessments?

 

10 Steps for Test-Takers to Get Started with ProctorU


Related Posts:


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