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  4. Online Proctoring & Alternatives

Online Proctoring & Alternatives

Online exam proctoring allows for students in different geographical locations to be monitored while taking exams using webcams and screen monitoring technologies. We have partnered with ProctorU, an industry-leading proctoring service, to provide online exam proctoring services. 

 Students can also request proctoring services through the Counseling and Testing Center on the University’s campus, although capacity is very limited. 

Faculty also have the option of allowing students to be proctored in-person at a remote location, in which case the faculty member would need to provide the student with the Proctor Approval Application and have the student complete and obtain all approvals.

ProctorU offers the following features: 

  • Identity Authentication 
  • Artificial Intelligence (AI) enhanced Live Proctoring 
  • Faculty review of recorded test session 
  • Convenient 24/7 scheduling for students 
  • Reports of any testing irregularities 
  • Email notification of testing incidents 
  • Faculty "Live Look-in" during live testing sessions in progress

Additional Strategies for Securing Your Online Exam 

Online exam proctoring is just one way that you can make your exams more secure. Below are several strategies that can make your exams more secure, whether or not you use online proctoring.

  1. Create large question pools - You can create a large group of questions on the same subject and then instruct the Moodle Quiz to randomly assign a small number of them for an exam. This ensures each student will see different questions on each exam.
  2. Shuffle choices within questions - This will ensure that Choice A for one student will be different from Choice A for another student.
  3. Use a time limit - Choose a time limit that is appropriate to the amount of work that the student must do on the exam but avoid adding extra time if it is not needed.
  4. Use a small testing window - Use your traditional classroom meeting time as a starting point to calculate an effective start and stop time for your exam. Leaving the exam available for students to access for an extended time is not recommended unless a proctor is also used.
  5. Ask open-ended questions - Consider using the Essay question type to ask students questions wherein the answer may vary from student to student.
  6. Assign open-book questions - If you cannot prevent students from using the textbook, consider writing questions that are intended to be open book. 
  7. Use other tools in Moodle - Outside of Moodle quizzes, you could add written assignments, discussion forums, and even multimedia projects (e.g., slideshow presentations, videos, podcasts, infographics, etc.) that students submit.  
  8. Use Zoom - Although Zoom should not be used in place of an online proctoring service, there are tools within Zoom for assessment. Within a Zoom web meeting you can use polling as a quiz to check for understanding. You can choose to display the results to students as part of a discussion, or keep it hidden. Also, the individual student polling results can be saved and viewed by you after the meeting as a record for grading. Learn more about polling in Zoom.  

Resource Links 

The following resources provide a variety of tips and suggestions for how to replace online proctored exams with other types of assessments. In some cases, the alternatives may be more authentic than traditional multiple-choice exams and better aligned with the learning objectives being assessed.