What is a Proctor for Online Testing?

What does a proctor do?

  • Monitors test-taker behavior
  • Ensures that test rules and guidelines are followed
  • Intervenes and supports test-taker if potential issues occur
  • Reviews test-taker accommodations and test rules provided by the exam admin
  • Provides the exam admin with reports and recordings

Before we detail what a test proctor is and what they do before, during, and after exams, here’s a quick summary of what online exam proctoring is and how it works:

What is remote proctoring for online tests?

Remote proctoring, sometimes referred to as online proctoring or test proctoring, uses test monitoring software and/or live exam proctors to monitor behavior throughout online exams to prevent cheating and protect academic integrity.

What is a proctored exam?

A proctored exam uses AI test monitoring software such as video proctoring, cell phone detection, browser lockdown, and voice detection to monitor test-taker behavior.

Some online proctoring services offer AI software (including only using a browser lockdown), live online proctoring, or a combination of AI and human test proctors.

What is a proctor for online testing?

At a high-level, a proctor definition includes monitoring test-taker behavior during online exams to help prevent and deter cheating and stay on track to successfully complete the exam. 

Here’s what an online test proctor does before, during, and after the exam.

Before the test starts

Reviewing and understanding test rules, guidelines, and accommodations

To ensure a successful exam and that expectations are clear, test proctors need to fully understand test rules and guidelines provided by the exam administrator. This can include what is or isn’t allowed, such as no cell phones or talking, or allowing specific books or notes to be used if the admin chooses. It also includes accommodations such as bathroom breaks and extended time limits.

During the test

Monitoring test-taker behavior

With some services, the proctor may have to watch a dozen test takers at the same time, but there are better solutions that monitor behavior with AI software and notify the proctor of any potential academic dishonesty. Blending AI test monitoring with human proctors can provide a less stressful testing experience.

Intervening and supporting test-takers if potential issues occur

Remote proctors can typically intervene when potential academic dishonesty occurs to assess the situation and help the test-taker get back on track. 

Ensuring that test takers are following test rules and guidelines

An exam proctor definition also includes enforcing test rules provided by the admin and ensuring that guidelines are followed. Test rules include everything from time limits and accommodations to allowing scratch paper and other applications during an exam.

Providing accommodations

Proctors also allow specific accommodations that the exam admin provides in the exam details.

After the test is finished

Providing exam reports and recordings

With some services, the test proctor may send additional notes to the exam admin to help provide context of any incidents as they review the reports and recordings.

Online test proctors are a resource for test takers

It’s difficult to overcome the idea that online test proctors are only there to catch cheating, but if online proctoring is done right, it can be a benefit for test takers and exam admins.

The right approach to proctoring online exams can help reduce test anxiety

A recent test anxiety survey

The survey by Honorlock and the University of North Alabama found that online exam proctoring can help reduce test anxiety. It showed that test takers had less anxiety after their first proctored exam and every test taker who interacted with a live test proctor responded that the proctor made them less anxious. 

How’s that possible? Aside from our non-invasive combination of AI and human proctors, proctor training is crucial for success. 

It’s important to note that nearly all proctoring services that offer live test proctors say that they’re trained, certified, or even claim that they have a “human-centered proctoring policy.” But what does that actually mean? Clarity is needed. 

Here’s how Honorlock trained exam proctors a better way

The full-time remote proctoring staff is trained by a nationally certified counselor and educator to assist and support test takers who are experiencing anxiety and stress during the online exam.

This training equips our exam proctors with the ability to:

  • Recognize signs and symptoms of stress and anxiety
  • Deescalate problematic behavior and encourage appropriate behavior
  • Increase positive interactions and help test takers learn to self-regulate behavior
Get The Test Anxiety Survey eBook

While other online proctoring services may just try to catch cheating, Honorlock aims to bring integrity, humanity, confidence, and positive outcomes.

Tyler Stike

Tyler is Honorlock's Director of Content and a doctoral student at the University of Florida focused on educational technology.

10 Ways Online Proctoring Works for Tests in the Classroom

students in test center taking proctored exams in person

Now that schools have returned to campus, some faculty are continuing to use online proctoring and exam supervision software for tests in the classroom and campus testing centers. We’ll show you how using the right proctoring service is almost like having an individual proctor for each student.

Online proctoring isn’t just for online learning environments

While many believe that online proctoring is only used in an online learning environment, that’s not the case. Some online proctoring and exam supervision services are flexible enough to be used for tests in the classroom and at campus testing centers.

10 ways you can use online proctoring for an in person test:

  1. Detecting cell phone use
  2. Proctoring written exams and STEM tests
  3. Combining AI test monitoring software and human proctors
  4. Monitoring behavior with video proctoring
  5. Providing accommodations for students and allowing assistive 
  6. Allowing and blocking specific websites with browser lockdown software
  7. Verifying student ID
  8. Quickly receiving actionable exam results
  9. Proctoring third-party tests for different exam types
  10. Accessing technical support

How to use online proctoring for tests in the classroom

Online proctoring can be used in many ways for in-person exams, such as STEM (science, technology engineering, and mathematics), essays and written tests, and even assessments using gamification techniques.

1. Detect when students attempt to use their cell phone

In person exams typically don’t allow cell phones or other devices to be used. But that doesn’t preclude some students from attempting to use their phones under their desks to search for test content online. However, there is remote proctoring exam technology that can distinguish whether students are using their phones to visit approved sites or sites that are prohibited by the instructor.

2. Proctor essays, written tests, and STEM tests

To proctor an essay, written test, and STEM test in person, instructors can simply provide instructions for the test proctor to follow. These instructions can include allowing pen and paper for a written test or math exam – and you can require that students hold their paper up after each question or certain time intervals to show their work.

You can also instruct proctors to permit behaviors that can be typically flagged, such as a student looking down and away from their camera to complete the test question on the paper.

3. AI test monitoring software combined with human proctors is almost like having an individual proctor for each student in the classroom

There are four main types of online proctoring:

  1. Blended proctoring solutions that combine AI proctoring with live proctoring
  2. AI software (automated proctoring only)
  3. Live proctoring (one test proctor watching many students)
  4. Browser lockdown software (entry-level AI proctoring that blocks browser use)

If you use a proctoring service that blends AI software with live proctors, it’s essentially like having an individual proctor for each student in the class. The AI exam supervision software monitors student behavior during the exam session and if it detects any issues, it alerts the live test proctor who can assess the situation and intervene and help the student get back on track.

When you use AI-only proctoring software, instances of possible academic dishonesty are not reported until after the exam is complete and the burden of reviewing is placed solely on the instructor. 

Live proctoring means that one proctor is monitoring multiple students at the same time and your students know they’re constantly watched during the entire exam which can cause stress and test anxiety.

Browser lockdown software is convenient because they’re easy to set up but they only protect against one aspect of academic dishonesty. Using a cell phone or another device is a simple way to cheat when only using a browser lock.

4. Monitor student behavior with video proctoring

In a large class or testing center, it’s difficult for one in-person proctor to keep track of every student. 

Video proctoring can help. AI combined with live remote proctors will deter academic dishonesty by using a webcam to monitor and record students during an exam and verify each student’s ID so you can be sure the student taking the exam is the student receiving credit.

5. Provide accommodations for students in class

Accessibility in the classroom means creating an inclusive and usable learning environment for every student regardless of their disability or condition. This applies to remote proctoring as well.

With remote proctoring, instructors can provide several accommodations for students with disabilities such as test time limit extensions, bathroom breaks, and allowing the use of assistive technology. This truly levels the playing field for all students taking the test.

6. Block or allow specific websites with a browser lockdown

Instructors can use the browser lockdown feature to allow access to certain websites during an in-person classroom test and prevent access to other sites. As we described earlier, browser lockdown software is a first line of defense to prevent cheating on tests but they’re a small piece of the puzzle to protect exams. 

7. Authenticate ID in less than a minute

Some courses can have a large number of students in the room at the same time. If they are taking an exam on their laptops, online proctoring can quickly and easily authenticate each student’s identity, assuring institutions that unauthorized test-takers won’t get lost in the crowd. More importantly, you’ll also be ensuring that the student taking the exam is the same person earning the credit in the course.

8. Get quick exam results

Both students and faculty expect quick turnaround times for evaluations. When you use test proctoring software, results are available when the student completes the test. Instructors can access the reports in an easy-to-read format within the LMS.

9. Proctor third-party tests outside your LMS

With online proctoring and exam supervision technology, you can even proctor third-party tests using platforms such as MyMathLab, ALEKS, Pearson, and McGraw Hill. This way, you can still provide a variety of in person exams (such as math exams or written tests) and know that they’re being effectively proctored from start to finish.

10. Students can access support

Honorlock is easy to use but if students need support for any reason, they can access it within the testing platform by chat or email. This means the instructor won’t have to attend to students experiencing any technical difficulties because support from a human is readily available and they can troubleshoot any issues.

Instructors can customize online proctoring exam settings for tests in the classroom with just a few clicks:

After creating the exam in the LMS like you already do, you can simply choose which remote proctoring features to use during tests in class:

  • They can provide instructions to allow specific resources such as calculators, pen and paper, and books that students may use for reference.
    • Instructors can even specify the pen color students must use for easy viewing.
  • During a written test or math test, students can be required to hold their scratch paper up after each question or at periodic intervals during the writing of their responses.
  • Instructors may also choose to allow or block access to specific websites using the browser lockdown setting. This allows students to access permitted websites while blocking and flagging others that aren’t permitted.

Honorlock is a versatile online proctoring solution that can be used for face to face tests

Honorlock’s online proctoring software can help prevent cheating during in-person tests to protect the academic integrity of your classroom while still supporting your students.

How Honorlock online proctoring works

Honorlock online proctoring combines the benefits of AI exam supervision software with live human proctors for a better testing experience that can work in the classroom or an online learning environment.

In addition to all of the features described in this blog, our AI proctoring software monitors each student’s exam session for potential problems. If the AI detects potential dishonesty, it alerts a live, US-based proctor to join the session to address possible dishonesty. 

When you compare online proctoring services, you’ll find that Honorlock has many features that set us apart which allow you to protect your exams whether students are taking tests in class on campus or in an online learning environment.

Want to see Honorlock in action? Schedule a demo.

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Tyler Stike

Tyler is Honorlock's Director of Content and a doctoral student at the University of Florida focused on educational technology.

Higher Education Student Test Anxiety Survey

Test anxiety is common for students, especially in an online testing environment where online proctoring is used. But what if online exam proctoring can actually help reduce test anxiety? 

To understand how our approach to online proctoring can impact student test anxiety, we conducted a survey with the University of North Alabama (UNA) to learn:

  • What causes test anxiety?
  • Can test anxiety be reduced with online proctoring?
  • Ways instructors can help reduce student assessment anxiety

Test anxiety summary

Test anxiety summary

Test anxiety is any reaction that causes stress and anxiety for students. These reactions can be psychological, physical, and emotional.

What are test anxiety symptoms?

Test anxiety can be different for each person. It can mean panic attacks and severe anxiety for some or it can be sweaty palms and nausea for others. Regardless of the symptoms, it can negatively impact testing performance.

About the student test anxiety survey

Who was surveyed?

During a three-month period in 2020, UNA students across a variety of disciplines were surveyed before and after assessments to understand their baseline anxiety regarding proctored assessments.

These students were participating in mid-term and final exams from the summer and fall semesters for two different classes.

Survey findings

Student text anxiety survey results:
  • 64% agreed that “taking an online test makes me nervous”
  • 6% decrease in overall test anxiety between their first and second exams
  • 15% decrease in anxiety associated with the statement, “Thoughts about the proctor interfered with my concentration.”
  • 100% of students who interacted with an Honorlock remote proctor responded “Yes” to the interview question “Did the proctor make you less anxious?”
Get The Student Test Anxiety Survey eBook

Online testing causes stress

What causes student test anxiety related to proctored testing?

  • Technology concerns (worried their device won’t work or they’ll have internet issues)
  • Students don’t understand what behaviors may be flagged.
  • Students don’t know how interactions with a remote proctor will play out
64% of students, even when they’re well-prepared, agreed or strongly agreed with the statement, “taking an online test makes me nervous.”

Online proctoring done correctly can help reduce test anxiety

Interacting with remote proctors can reduce test anxiety

The students were surveyed before and after assessments and we found that students who interacted with remote proctors during their exam had a marked decrease in anxiety for future exams. In fact, all of the students experienced a reduction in anxiety after they experienced a chat with a proctor.

Just being able to interact with a live test proctor helped students feel more confident. The conversations allowed them to identify different triggers for live support and experience a positive, supportive interaction. 

Students usually think that test proctors are only there to catch cheating. In reality, Honorlock proctors are a resource for students during the proctored exam.

“The proctor popping in was different than I expected – in a positive way. I imagined them being more strict. I felt that the proctor was helpful and a lot less intimidating than I thought.”

 – Student quote in a post-exam interview

More experience with proctored exams helps reduce anxiety

Students experienced:

  • 6% less overall test anxiety between their first and second exams
  • 15% less anxiety associated with the statement, “Thoughts about the proctor interfered with my concentration.”
  • 100% of students who interacted with a remote proctor responded “Yes” to the interview question “Did the proctor make you less anxious?”

Proctor training is important

During our study, we looked at whether or not better proctor training could result in an improved experience for students. 

We started by looking at existing research on physical signs of stress during tests including*:

  1. Lip licking 
  2. Excessive throat clearing 
  3. Propping the head up 
  4. Touching or rubbing the face 

Our test proctors were trained to spot these behaviors and proactively interact with students using a reassuring set of talking points.

Here’s a look at the talking points for test proctor interactions with students

Student test anxiety talk track with test proctor

Training proctors to better support students during times of anxiety

Our approach to online proctoring aims to improve the testing experience for students. Staying true to our word, our full-time remote proctoring team was trained by a nationally certified counselor and educator on support during moments of assessment frustration and anxiety to assist students and help them feel supported in their test-taking environment.

How instructors can help reduce student test anxiety

Use practice exams to help students get comfortable with proctored exams

By creating familiarity with online proctored exams, instructors can proactively help reduce student anxiety. 

Be sure to create multiple opportunities to complete practice exams, check technology requirements, and interact with a remote proctor at the beginning of the assessment.

“My professor set up a practice test the week before the first real test. The practice test listed out all of her expectations and requirements. On my first real exam, I was fully prepared for the online proctoring experience since I knew what to expect.” 

– Student quote in a post-exam interview

Provide important information about how proctored exams work

Give your students upfront information about how proctored exams work so that they know what to expect beforehand. 

Be sure to include information about:

  • What online proctoring is, how it works, and why it’s used
  • What can trigger a “flag” and what to expect during an interaction with a test proctor
  • Test rules to help avoid any confusion
  • Minimum system requirements (a device with functioning webcam and microphone, internet connection, etc.)
  • The role of a remote proctor
  • Available support options and how to access it
  • Accessibility options and accommodations

A Better Approach to Online Proctoring

Honorlock approaches online proctoring in such a way that what’s good for the institution is also good for the learner.

Our purpose isn’t just to prevent students from cheating – we aim to create a testing experience that supports academic integrity in a non-invasive and fair test environment.

Honorlock strives to build confidence and trust with students that will strengthen their relationships with your faculty and institution.

Get The Student Test Anxiety Survey eBook

Tyler Stike

Tyler is Honorlock's Director of Content and a doctoral student at the University of Florida focused on educational technology.

Is a Browser Lock Enough to Protect Online Exams?

This article will show you what a browser lockdown can and cannot do and provide additional proctoring solutions to solve for areas that browser lockdown software may miss.

When it comes to proctoring online exams, browser lockdown software can help to a degree, but they lack features to truly protect your exams. A browser lock is a no-frills way to check the box of proctoring exams.

This article will show you what a browser lockdown can and cannot do and provide additional proctoring solutions to solve for areas that browser lockdown software may miss.

What is browser lockdown software?

Browser lockdown software helps prevent cheating on online exams by automatically restricting access to certain websites and alternative browsers on a student’s computer. They also disable keyboard shortcuts and other functions that might be used to gain an unfair advantage. 

Here’s what browser lockdown software can do:

  • Restricts access to other websites, browsers, and applications
  • Disables keyboard shortcuts and functions such as printing, copy and paste, and screen capture
  • Removes toolbar and menu options such as browser refresh, back, forward, and stop
  • Blocks the ability for students to minimize the browser display screen
  • Prevents students from exiting the exam until they submit it

While a browser lock checks the box as a baseline tool for institutions that proctor online exams, they’re only a small part of the picture for schools and faculty who seek to preserve academic integrity.

Browser lockdown cost information

Why browser lockdown software isn’t enough to protect online exams

The features of browser lockdown software highlighted above will help prevent cheating, but there are significant things it cannot do:

Browser lockdown software can’t see the student

While a browser lock can “see” if a student attempts to access another browser tab or computer application or if the student attempts to use keyboard shortcuts, it doesn’t offer the benefits of video proctoring, which uses the student’s webcam to view them during the exam.

Video proctoring often involves recording the student’s exam session for later review by the proctor and instructor. Video proctoring is especially useful because it allows ID verification and can tell if a student is using unauthorized resources or if another person is in the room.

Cannot detect voices or audio

Browser lockdown software can’t hear when a student may be talking on the phone or asking a friend for an answer to a test question.

Some online proctoring software monitors the exam session and goes beyond simple audio detection by listening for specific keywords or phrases, such as “Hey Siri” or “OK Google.”

A browser lockdown can’t verify student ID

Student ID verification before a proctored exam has become a priority and a basic browser lockdown can’t solve this. With no video proctoring capabilities, browser lockdown software can’t verify student ID. 

Director of Learning Technology at Polk State College, Cody Moyer, summed it up perfectly, “If we can’t verify that our students are the ones who are completing the work, and all of our quizzes are out there on the internet where anyone can look up the answers, what kind of quality is that degree?”

Browser lockdown software can’t detect cell phones

A student can simply use their cell phone or another device to look up test questions and answers on the internet. But this weakness can be solved by multi-device detection software, as we’ll discuss in the next section.

Browser lockdown software lacks the human touch of online proctoring that students deserve

Because browser lockdown software is only an automated proctoring solution, there’s no human touch involved to help support students during the exam. We know that exams can cause anxiety and that technical issues can happen during the test and that’s where a human proctor can help students successfully complete their exams. Online proctoring services that combine AI test monitoring with human proctors are the best of both worlds.

Online proctoring options when browser lockdown software isn’t enough

The good news is that Honorlock provides a browser lock as a part of our standard proctoring features, but it also provides many more features and benefits such as:

 

  • Video proctoring 
  • Detecting cell phone use and voices 
  • Blending AI test monitoring software and live proctors
  • Verifying student ID
  • Reducing unauthorized use of your test questions and content on the Internet 

Advanced video proctoring

Early forms of video proctoring were unsettling for students because many didn’t appreciate having a remote proctor’s face hovering on the screen during the entire exam. 

Honorlock’s video proctoring capabilities allow:

  • 60-second ID verification
  • Room scans to make sure that no other people or test resources are present 
  • Detection of possible acts of academic dishonesty

Honorlock can detect cell phone use during proctored exams

Honorlock proctoring software can detect when students use a cell phone, tablet, or laptop to access test bank content during an online exam.

The proctoring software also captures a screen recording of specific websites that the student visited to provide evidence in the event of a violation. The recording can be reviewed by the instructor to determine if academic dishonesty occurred.

Verifies student ID in 60 seconds

Our remote proctoring software completes ID verification in about 60 seconds by capturing the content on the student’s ID along with their photo to make sure the student taking the online exam is the student getting credit.

Detects voices with Honorlock proctoring software

Honorlock’s smart Voice Detection feature listens for specific keywords or phrases to identify students who may be talking to another student or using Siri or Alexa to get the answers to test questions. If the proctoring software detects potential academic dishonesty, it alerts a live test proctor to enter the exam session to intervene and redirect the student.

Helps protect your test questions and answers from unauthorized use on the Internet

You’ve probably heard of students finding and sharing test questions and answers on test banks and homework-help sites. Maybe you’ve even seen your own test content on the Internet. It’s frustrating and it’s quick and simple for any test-taker. 

However, if instructors choose, Honorlock proctoring software searches for leaked test questions, answers, and content and can also request the removal of the material by filing DMCA copyright takedown notices.

Blends AI test monitoring with live test proctors

Honorlock was the first online proctoring service to combine the benefits of automated proctoring with those of a live test proctor. 

What is Honorlock and how does it work?

Our easy to use online proctoring software monitors the exam session for potential academic dishonesty and alerts a live proctor to join the student’s session in real-time if it detects any issues. 

This blend of AI and human review delivers a less intimidating proctored testing experience for the student because they aren’t constantly watched.

Choose to proctor online exams a better way

Browser lockdown software checks the box as a first line of defense against academic integrity but with all its shortcomings, choose to proctor online exams a better way with Honorlock. 

Our approach to online proctoring creates a non-invasive and fair testing environment that benefits the student, instructor, and institution.

Want to see Honorlock in action? Schedule a demo.

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Tyler Stike

Tyler is Honorlock's Director of Content and a doctoral student at the University of Florida focused on educational technology.

Online Proctoring LMS Integration

The online proctoring and LMS integration doesn’t sound very exciting, but it’s the difference between a quick and secure integration or one that can leave your data vulnerable and cause frustration for your instructors and students.

Keep these considerations in mind when you compare online proctoring services.

Why the online proctoring and LMS integration is important

Faculty and students will test within the LMS platform they’re comfortable with

Your faculty and students are busy, and the last thing they need is to spend time learning new educational technologies. Using proctoring software that directly integrates with your learning management system keeps your faculty and students in a familiar environment for online testing. 

Online proctoring with a direct LMS integration reduces any learning curve because:

  • Instructors can create online exams in the LMS like they normally do
  • Students can log in and launch the exam in the same LMS platform they’re accustomed to
  • After the student launches the exam, they’ll just verify their ID and complete a room scan in about a minute before starting the proctored exam.

No extra passwords or logins

Many online proctoring services require faculty and students to create an extra account and password to set up proctored exams and view reports. It’s an inefficient and frustrating process that wastes time and causes unnecessary stress before a proctored exam.

Directly integrating proctoring with LMSs removes the need for extra logins and passwords, which saves your faculty and students time and reduces headaches.

Proctored exam reports are available in the LMS

Proctoring software with a plug-and-play LMS integration makes it easy to access proctored exam reports within the LMS. The proctoring software should collect data during the exam and provide instructors with actionable reports within the LMS.

Implementation is quick

Institutions want a quick and easy implementation that takes days, not weeks or months. A key component of quickly implementing online proctoring is how fast it can integrate with the LMS. A direct online proctoring and LMS integration can be set up in about an hour.

“The integration between Canvas and Honorlock was really seamless. Very easy to get it launched. It was great, we had no problems launching it and making it work.” – Peter Burrell, Associate Professor at University of Cincinnati and Business Attorney

Keeps your data secure

A direct LMS proctoring integration means that data is exchanged securely between the proctoring software and your LMS only. Make sure the proctoring services you’re evaluating are compliant with data privacy standards.

Honorlock online proctoring software and services

Online proctoring software with a plug and play LMS integration

In addition to offering custom integrations, Honorlock’s proctoring platform integrates with Canvas, Moodle, Blackboard Learn, D2L Brightspace, and Intellum so that:

  • Instructors can create proctored online exams and review reporting results within the LMS as usual
  • Students launch the online exam within the LMS and can access support without having to leave the exam window
  • No additional passwords or logins are required for test-takers or faculty

“You want an integrated system; you don’t want faculty and students to have separate sign-on. That was important for us,” said Director of Assessment Services at Indian River State College, Stephen Daniello, who also added that integrating Honorlock with their LMS was very easy and took less than an hour.

Learn more about integrating with Honorlock

Easy to use online proctoring software

Honorlock makes online proctoring easy and convenient for instructors and students. It’s easy for instructors to set up proctored online exams, choose which features to use, and review actionable exam reports. The proctored testing experience is just as simple for students; they log in, verify identity, and begin the proctored exam.

Proctor third-party exams

In addition to a direct proctoring LMS integration, Honorlock allows you to proctor third parties such as MyMathLab, ALEKS, Pearson, McGraw Hill, and others. Faculty can register third-party exams and customize settings in the LMS.

Honorlock’s online proctoring software protects your data

Honorlock uses an encrypted and secured connection during each online proctored exam. All videos and photos are stored on Honorlock’s platform. All data is stored in an encrypted format on isolated storage systems within Honorlock’s private cloud in Amazon’s AWS U.S. data centers.

When you compare online proctoring services keep the online proctoring and LMS integration in mind because it impacts the entire online testing experience for your students and faculty.

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Tyler Stike

Tyler is Honorlock's Director of Content and a doctoral student at the University of Florida focused on educational technology.

How to Get Student Buy-In for Online Exam Proctoring

An article from eCampusNews shared valuable tips from Honorlock to help higher education institutions reduce student anxiety and increase buy-in about online proctoring by educating, informing, and empowering students with accessible resources and information from trusted sources.

The article covers the following:

  • Building a foundation of student advocates for remote proctoring
  • Creating accessible help resources for students
  • Training instructors to build confidence and comfort
  • Encouraging practice tests and flexible settings

Online exam proctoring for university assessments has become a necessary tool to provide a flexible remote learning environment. But like any new process, people can be skeptical of the unknown. When students initially hear about remote proctoring, it can cause anxiety and stress. There’s typically a lack of information or there’s misinformation that circulates among the student population. 

But there are steps that academic institutions can take to put students at ease. By providing students with all the necessary information early in the process, universities can garner student buy-in and create a student body that supports online proctoring to help limit the number of questions and detractors.

Build student advocates for online proctoring

Fair and equitable online exams validate the time-honored academic agreement between an institution, its instructors, and its students. Students generally understand that creating a level playing field is necessary to support the integrity and value of their degree, but we shouldn’t assume that it’s top of mind for them. 

One way to help remind students that online proctoring benefits them is to build a student advocacy team. These students can be involved early on in the process, even helping to test and choose the university’s proctoring solution. These students can advocate by talking to students or classes, sharing information on university social or news channels, or acting as liaisons for instructors.

By creating and empowering a base of student advocates who can inform their peers, other students can more readily understand the need for online proctoring for university assessments and that it isn’t simply to prevent cheating. This can reduce feelings of anxiety and misinformation and reinforce the university’s commitment to a fair and equitable experience.

Have answers about online proctoring readily available for students

Helping students feel comfortable with any new technology requires openness and access. Students need information, and they want the information from a source they already trust and have a relationship with, not the company that manages the product. 

One best practice is for schools to create a central location for online testing information. For example, a page on the school website with information that students need about proctored exams and university policies. 

Information can include:

  • What hardware and software do I need to have to take a proctored exam?
  • How is my personal data secured? 
  • How does the proctoring software verify identity? 
  • What if I have an accommodation request? 
  • What happens if the proctoring software flags concerning behavior during a test?
  • How does the proctoring service ensure that all students are treated fairly/equitably?
  • Who do I contact if I have a problem or concern? 
  • What support is available for test takers?
  • How do I schedule a proctored exam? 

Make sure that your instructors can comfortably use the proctoring software

Students can pick up cues from their instructors.

If instructors are uncomfortable with the proctoring software and cannot vouch for it, students will notice. 

Teaching online can be intimidating for instructors, whether they are experienced in online instruction or teaching online for the first time. To mitigate that, give instructors time to get to know the proctoring software. Similar to how a university can create an information hub for students, the same can be done for instructors. If resources don’t allow for that, universities can hold a town-hall-style meeting in partnership with student representatives and the proctoring partner to answer questions.

The last thing a university wants is for students to feel like they can’t trust their instructors. Make it clear that proctoring is not designed to weed out cheaters, but to create a safe space for all students that encourages honorable exam-taking. If instructors can confidently answer students’ questions and concerns about the intent of online proctoring, students may be more open to the process. 

Encourage practice tests and offer flexible exam times

Online exams may be new to students, and even if they’ve taken online exams, this may be their first time using remote proctoring. 

Practice tests are a great way to ensure that students understand how to use the online testing platform and are clear on instructor expectations for online exams. The more experience students have with remote proctoring, the more comfortable they will feel with it. It also allows for greater exam flexibility. By providing different times to take an exam, students can choose a place and time that suits their needs – whether in a dorm, at home, or on the road.

Online exams are a great alternative to traditional in-person university assessments because they’re flexible and efficient. The right online proctoring service will offer students key benefits — comfort, convenience, and academic rigor. With so many advantages, it is important that remote proctoring is introduced to students in an approachable and understandable way.

Tyler Stike

Tyler is Honorlock's Director of Content and a doctoral student at the University of Florida focused on educational technology.

How Online Proctored Exams Help Students

Millions of students took their first online exams last year as a result of the pandemic. Some never took an online proctored exam before and expressed concerns about privacy and the discomfort of being “watched” during the exams.

Overall, the first year of widespread use of online testing went better than expected. This blog will share how proctored online exams benefit students.

Schedule and take exams anytime

Students have busy lives and scheduling an online exam can be a challenge. That’s why our live proctors and AI are available at any time.

You don’t have to schedule a time in advance, and there are no fees for changing your plans—even at the last minute. Simply log on during the exam window set by your instructor and get started — even if it’s two in the morning on Thanksgiving!

A less invasive proctored exam experience

In the early days of online proctoring, a proctor’s face might appear on your screen for the entirety of the exam, which many students found intrusive and distracting. We aren’t fans of that either. Our proctored exams combine AI software with live proctors for a better testing experience with a human touch.

Our AI proctoring software monitors you during the exam and if a possible incident happens—say you leave the camera, or a second voice appears in the room—the AI will notify one of our live remote proctors. The proctor can then enter the exam session through a chatbot (again, no faces on your screen) to make sure that you’re OK and help you get back on track.

We assume that you need help, not that you’re cheating. For instance, there’s no need to worry if you like to read questions aloud to yourself. Your instructor will receive a report after the exam, and they can decide if any exam standards were violated. 

Our remote proctors are a resource to help you, not to catch you cheating.

In fact, Honorlock’s full-time remote proctoring team is trained by a nationally certified counselor and educator on support during moments of assessment frustration and anxiety to assist students and help them feel supported in their test-taking environment.

Easy to set up and use

Taking an online proctored exam with Honorlock is easy and quick to set up. It only takes a few moments to install, and it connects with the LMS, which means no additional logins or passwords.

Identity verification only takes about a minute, and then you do a quick room scan of your testing area. After that, you can start your exam.

Rewards honesty and ensures a fair testing environment for all

Online proctoring software protects academic integrity and creates a level playing field. You can have confidence that no one will have an unfair advantage and you can focus on demonstrating your knowledge.

Online proctored exams are accessible for all students

It’s one thing to get ready for an important exam, but it’s another thing to face additional accessibility obstacles.

Web accessibility compliance standards and best practices help create an inclusive learning environment, regardless of disability or condition. Online proctored exams help students who require specific accommodations, such as extending time limits, adjusting due dates, and allowing assistive technology.

Support is always available

Just like we offer on-demand online proctored exams, we also provide 24/7/365 US-based support. We want you to focus on your exam, not technical difficulties.

Our support agents provide quick and consistent help. Whether you’re testing at four in the morning or over a holiday, you can get help from an actual human being. They’ll troubleshoot issues with you and help make your testing experience as smooth as possible.

We protect your privacy

Privacy is important to you and Honorlock. But how do we protect student privacy and what data do we collect?

  • We don’t sell or monetize your data
  • We don’t have access to your cell phone or other devices 
  • We don’t monitor your network
  • Our proctoring software only collects basic information such as your name, email address, and IP address
  • Honorlock does not use facial recognition, fingerprints, voiceprints, or other biometric technologies to identify test takers
  • All data is encrypted and stored within Honorlock’s private cloud in an Amazon (AWS) data center

We’re here for you

More and more exams will be remote proctored in the future, so you want to know that the virtual part won’t cause more stress. Honorlock gives you the most convenient and least stressful online proctoring experience.

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Schedule time to explore Honorlock

Speak to a representative who will walk you through the ways Honorlock’s online proctoring services can benefit your company and test-takers.

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Tyler Stike

Tyler is Honorlock's Director of Content and a doctoral student at the University of Florida focused on educational technology.

How to Combine AI and Live Human Proctoring

Let’s face it: online course design is tough. It can be even more of a challenge if you’re accustomed to teaching in a live classroom. Thankfully, technological advances and online test software make it possible to design online courses that keep students engaged and learning just like they would in a traditional course. 

What are the different types of online exam proctoring?

Most of the remote proctoring software on the market today follow one of two models: 

  1. AI proctoring 
  2. Live human proctoring

Each of these models has its pros and cons, but when combining the right components of both AI and live human proctoring, you can create a better test taking experience for both students and faculty.  

What is AI proctoring?

With AI proctoring, or automated proctoring, students are monitored throughout their exam by artificial intelligence, which detects potential violations of academic dishonesty. AI features for online exams might include browser lockdown software, voice and sound detection, mobile device detection, and more. If these tools detect cheating behavior, the student will be flagged and the incident will be reported to their instructor. 

Pros of AI proctoring software

  • Reduces human oversight as compared to Live Proctoring: Oftentimes, live human proctors are monitoring more than one student at a time which can increase the chances of them missing potentially suspicious behavior.
  • Ease of Scheduling: Most AI proctoring systems utilize on-demand scheduling, so students can take online exams from anywhere at any time.
  • Easy Reviewing: The AI proctoring format makes it easy for instructors to review any incidents. Exam reports typically provide flags and allow the instructor to review the video if it was recorded to determine if the student broke any rules.
  • Scalability: AI proctoring can help you scale online programs while still protecting various elements of academic dishonesty. 

Cons of AI proctoring software

  • Lack of human intervention: There is no live remote proctor present to intervene in real-time if academic dishonesty is detected, and some instances of academic dishonesty may be missed.
  • Cheating is often only addressed after the exam takes place: There’s nothing that can be done until the instructor receives the report and makes a call about the incident.
  • False reports of cheating: Sometimes a student may get flagged for reading the question out loud or looking away from the screen to think about the answer. With no live remote proctor present to verify if cheating is happening, this student may be flagged for academic dishonesty by the AI software.
  • Lengthy review process: The proctored online exam has to be reviewed after completion so that a report can be prepared for the instructor, and this can sometimes be a lengthy process—creating frustration for faculty and students by delaying the grading process. 

What is live human proctoring?

For this type of remote proctoring, a live online exam proctor watches students taking exams in real-time. They’re often able to intervene in real-time when an issue arises, and they also prepare a report for the instructor after the exam. Additionally, the online exam session is recorded for later review.

Pros of live human proctoring

  • It’s live: Human proctoring provides the same benefits as proctoring an in-person exam.
  • Students can get help: It’s important to remember that remote proctors aren’t just there to catch cheating, they’re also a resource for students.
  • Live proctors can intervene in real-time: If an incident of potential cheating does arise, the proctor can address the suspicious activity immediately.
  • Instructors are more confident with exam integrity: Since a human being handles all the test monitoring, that can help instructors feel more comfortable that the integrity of their test will be protected.
  • Exam sessions are recorded: This makes it easy for instructors to take another look at the exam session and decide if disciplinary action may be warranted for suspicious behavior. 

Cons of live human proctoring

  • Live proctors may watch up to ten students at a time: Because the proctor’s attention is divided, there’s always a chance that they’ll miss an incident with one student while keeping an eye on another.
  • Scheduling can be difficult: When only using live remote proctors, students have to schedule their proctored exam ahead of time and at a time that aligns with the proctor’s schedule. Students may also need to pay a fee if they need to reschedule.
  • Increased student anxiety: Live proctoring may also increase test anxiety for students—even when they aren’t doing anything wrong, they may feel like they’re being watched, which could distract them from the exam content.

Is there another remote proctoring solution available?

If you’re looking for online proctoring that pairs the best of both worlds—something that lets your students do their thing without distractions but still deters and prevents cheating to protect academic integrity, the answer is yes. To effectively monitor online exams, you need online proctoring software that blends the benefits of AI proctoring and live test proctors.

How does a combination of AI proctoring and live remote proctoring work?

A hybrid remote proctoring solution harnesses advanced proctoring features to monitor students and flag potential incidents of dishonesty and alerts live proctors to intervene if needed. This method of proctored testing may provide a less intimidating and non-invasive exam experience for students because they aren’t being constantly watched by a live proctor and flagged for irrelevant issues. Scheduling is also easy because students can take their proctored online exam on-demand at any time, 24/7/365.

AI that’s human reviewed

Honorlock reinvented online proctoring and was the first to combine the benefits of AI with those of a live online exam proctor.

How does Honorlock work?

Honorlock’s AI-driven technology monitors the student for potential problems, and, if it detects any suspicious behavior, a live online exam proctor is prompted to join a student’s session in real-time to address possible dishonesty as it happens. 

Honorlock’s blend of AI and human proctoring keeps the human touch while delivering a much less intimidating and non-invasive testing experience for the student. Faculty save time when reviewing the assessment report because they don’t have to review false flags.

Top benefits of online proctoring that blends AI and human proctors

  1. Provides exam integrity
    With a blended proctoring solution, AI doesn’t actually make decisions about student behavior but rather flags a potential incident so a live proctor can pop in to assess the situation.
  2. Provides a 1:1 setting
    When an online exam proctor is alerted by the AI, they’re attentive and focused on one student.
  3. No scheduling issues
    Students can schedule and complete their online exams at any time, 24/7/365.
  4. Cost-effectiveness
    Hybrid online proctoring software is a more cost-effective solution than live proctoring because watching every single online exam from start to finish is time-consuming and expensive.
  5. Review options
    With Honorlock, the online exam proctor has an analysis window to review the potential academic dishonesty situation before they pop in via chat.
  6. Supports students
    Blending a live human proctor with AI means students have someone to support them during their exam should they experience difficulties with technology or an interruption from their parents or roommates. The proctor is there to support the best possible exam experience.

Honorlock’s 3-step process

Honorlock takes the headache out of remote proctoring. In just three easy steps, you can protect the integrity of your exams with confidence.

  1. Create Your Exam
    Build your test in the LMS like you normally would.
  2. Enable Honorlock
    Use our custom integration to turn on proctoring and choose which features to use.
  3. Review Results
    Our proctoring staff will review the test sessions, and you’ll be notified of any guideline violations with our proctoring reports.

Schedule a demo to see the benefits of combining AI and live remote proctors for your institution, schedule a call with Honorlock today.

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Allie Luker

Allie is an experienced marketing professional with an extensive focus in higher education technology. She is passionate about creative solutions that drive innovation and positive results for organizations.

Responding to Academic Dishonesty: Why and How to Use a Developmental Approach

Honorlock online proctoring platform LMS integration

Consider taking this approach to protecting academic integrity to prevent academic cheating while empowering students.

Considerations on a Punitive versus a Developmental Approach

To say that coronavirus was a major disruption to colleges and universities across the country could not be more of an understatement. Since Spring semester 2020, colleges and universities have been tasked with completely turning their worlds upside down in order to keep students engaged and learning while simultaneously keeping them safe. 

More than 1,300 colleges and universities in all 50 states canceled in-person classes and/or switched to online instruction as the pandemic accelerated.1 At least 14 million students have been affected.2

Delivering and consuming instruction was not the only challenge. The pandemic also altered nearly every aspect of college life. Students and faculty made it through canceling events, closing dorms and the demise of all the things that make college life enriching including peer groups, student/faculty dynamics and athletics just to name a few.

As students left campus and online learning increased, institutions also needed to ensure academic integrity for this enormous initiative. Testing paradigms had to shift – and shift quickly.  Honorlock alone provided over 6 million online proctored exams in support of higher ed during this time.

Making it through the pandemic

It has been over a year since the pandemic hit. The good news is the undergraduate grades have held steady and even improved at a number of universities that offered most courses remotely.3 That’s something to be proud of, considering all the fear of the unknown and plain hard work it took for faculty and students alike.

But all is well. Beth McMurtrie in “Good Grades, Stressed Students” goes on to say:

 “…Averages can hide a lot. Some campuses saw a rise in the number of students on probation or dropping out after a semester, even if average GPAs did not decline. Some campuses reported a significant amount of cheating, which may skew grades and suggest deeper struggles for students.”

Many students struggled to adjust to remote learning

The data also suggests newer students unfamiliar with college life, students on a lower socio-economic scale and students in community colleges fared worse than others. A new report from the National Student Clearinghouse found summer enrollment fell the most at community colleges and among black students.4

In the “Good Grades, Stressed Out Students” article, we meet Jackie Bell, a sophomore at San Francisco State University. All but one of her courses are virtual, so she has spent hours in her bedroom each day without talking to anyone. Other than a 9 a.m. live class three times a week, she watches taped lectures, takes notes, and works on her assignments until 6 pm.  

Jackie also had difficulty figuring out her path through college. She met virtually with someone in advising, but later found out they had given her the wrong information. She also tried to make an appointment with a counselor, but they were either too busy or when she did connect, they suffered from technical issues.

 “I already don’t know anything about the system,” she said. “Online I have to dig even more. There’s nobody telling me, maybe you should check this out.”

In that same article, Allison Calhoun-Brown, senior vice president for student success and chief enrollment officer at Georgia State University added:

“First-year students just didn’t know how to do college. They didn’t have a sense of where they could get support, how all this works, how to organize yourself well enough to know the deadlines.”

She continued:

 “A lot of the best research said that these classes should be taught asynchronously, but we found that students performed much better if the class was synchronous. There was probably a stronger connection to classmates and students.”

One professor at UC-Santa Barbara had students tell him they were expected to help out at home more now than before, cutting into study time. Parents were impacted – if they could keep work at all – with all the childcare challenges that COVID brought, for example. So siblings were expected to pitch in.

COVID created a perfect storm of change and stress, coupled with the need for students to “make the grade” in uncharted territory.

The need for online exam integrity is growing to include non academic settings

As investments in the digital delivery of online learning content increased significantly over the last several months, so too has the focus on administering high-stakes online exams to allow test takers to take such exams from their homes without risking exposure to COVID-19.5

And as important as COVID was in shining the spotlight on academic integrity – for online proctoring, it is quickly becoming even larger than academia alone.

Testing organizations have introduced home-based online versions of exams, such as the Graduate Records Examination (GRE), the Advanced Placement (AP) exams, and the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) exam.

Corporations learned lessons from COVID as well. The remote work phenomenon opened up a new frontier in how and where work gets done, and it has spilled over into how certification paths for workers are delivered and administered.

Certification paths for skills development are on the upswing in corporate America, and it really began to take off as COVID struck. Just as in academia, online proctoring improvements enabled organizations to move from more expensive in person formats and enabled corporations to continue offering certification tracks virtually.

And we will have learned the lessons of COVID (hopefully) in order to apply them to the next pandemic in what has become a global village.

Online proctoring software will continue to improve

So, while we may all wish to debate the privacy concerns with remote proctoring, the reality is, it’s here to stay. At the very least identities need to be verified and abject cheating will need to be flagged, whether you are in an academic setting or a corporate one.

Will online proctoring continue to evolve over time? Most assuredly so. Will it happen fast enough to assuage students who feel they have had this thrust upon them in a very demanding time. Probably not.

What can we do to help students adjust and still protect academic integrity?

So what can we do to help our students adjust to this new testing paradigm? First, we need to consider looking at “cheating” through a bit of a different lens. There are really two different approaches here.

First, rather than look at proctored online testing as a way to “catch” cheaters, consider it a tool for visibility into how and why the academic cheating may be happening.

Secondly, we need to figure out what we should “do” with cheaters and their need to cheat. That’s the harder one.

For these questions, we turn to the work of Tricia Bertram Gallant, who Honorlock had the pleasure of working with at a recent Academic Integrity Online virtual seminar in conjunction with The Chronicle of Higher Education.

Dr. Bertram Gallant is an internationally known expert on integrity and ethics in education. She is a long-time leader with the International Center for Academic Integrity (ICAI). She is also the Director of Academic Integrity at UC San Diego.

In a recent UC San Diego newsletter article, entitled “Does Remote Instruction Make Cheating Easier”6 Dr Bertram Gallant breaks down remote instruction versus online learning in answering the following question:

Is it remote instruction that can increase the chances of students cheating, or more likely the stress of the COVID-19 pandemic?

Unfortunately, we know much less about remote instruction than we do for online learning, which is very different from remote instruction. Online learning is planned, and often exams are still proctored (with either online services or required in-person proctoring).

Remote instruction is the mode of instruction in which students are temporarily separated from the instructor and course content is delivered digitally, as in the case of an emergency campus closure.

We don’t know if students are cheating specifically because of remote instruction. But we do know from the research conducted over the last 10 decades by behavioral economists such as Dan Ariely and psychologists such as Eric Anderman, among others, that human beings are more likely to cheat when:

        • They see or believe that other people are doing it.
        • There are temptations/opportunities (that is, cheating is situational).
        • There is a heightened state of arousal, stress or pressure.
        • The class rewards performance rather than mastery of the material.
        • The class reinforces extrinsic (i.e., grades), not intrinsic (i.e. learning), goals.
        • Instruction is (perceived to be) poor.
        • When it’s less likely that there will be costs to cheating.
        • They can disassociate their self-identity from their actions.

So, if remote instruction or the pandemic result in any of the above factors, then it is logical to conclude that there would be increased chances of academic cheating.

Consider a developmental approach rather than punishment when cheating occurs

Dr. Bertram Gallant’s work in getting to the bottom of why students cheat and then using the information to help students not cheat is of great interest.

Rather than a simplistic punitive approach “don’t cheat,” Dr. Bertram Gallant’s work revolves around developmental approach examples that use the student’s reasons for cheating and couple them with targeted mentoring based on those reasons to move the student toward a higher integrity stance. She sees this as fundamental to the responsibilities of each institution to the student.

In a recent Journal of College and Character article entitled Punishment is Not Enough, The Moral Imperative to Responding to Cheating With A Developmental Approach7, she writes:

The rates of academic cheating should not surprise us. Deception is used by all species as a strategy for survival and success, and so the act of cheating by students may be seen as a “natural and normal” (Stephens, 2019, p. 9) response to school systems and cultures that value “achievement, credentials, and getting ahead” more than learning (Galloway, 2012, p. 391). 

Consider the hypothetical student who is at risk of failing a class, the consequence of which would be losing their financial aid and thus their ability to pay their rent. In such a case, deception, rather than honesty, may be the intuitive, default response of the student, with honesty requiring more deliberative thought and reflection (Bereby-Meyer & Shalvi, 2015).  

This intuition toward deception is bolstered by what Ariely (2012) calls the “fudge factor,” our ability to maintain a healthy sense of ourselves as honest people even as we cheat. This “fudge factor” is on full display in the Josephson Institute survey—while half of the students admitted to cheating, 93% of them expressed satisfaction with their own morality.

This is not to say that colleges and universities should accept cheating as morally acceptable or inevitable (Stephens, 2019). Academic cheating is certainly not morally acceptable. When students cheat, even on the most minor of assessments, they are being dishonest (i.e., misrepresenting that they know, have done, and/or can do) and perpetuating unfairness (i.e., gaining a competitive advantage over those who have been honest).

As such, cheating represents an existential threat to academia because it not only undermines student learning (both academic and moral) but also the validity of its assessment and, ultimately, the integrity of the credentials conferred upon them.

She then outlines very clearly the differences between a punitive bias and a development frame.

Responding to Academic Misconduct: Presuppositions of Two Contrasting Approaches

You can see from the table that punishment is included in both approaches, lest you think there are no repercussions to cheating, but in the punitive there is little opportunity for change or learning.

At the end of this article she and her colleague, Jason Stephens, devised a call to action for institutions:

In this article, we examined why educational institutions fail to respond developmentally to cheating, choosing instead a punitive approach. We also examined the benefits and limits of both punishment and development.

In the end, we argue that when educational institutions adopt a punitive approach, they are declaring that students who cheat are simply incorrigible and incapable of learning and growth, or we are incapable of helping them learn from cheating, and so all that remains to do is punish.

We believe that we can do more than this. We believe that we must do more than this. This article, is a call-to-action, a challenge issued to all colleges and universities, but particularly those who are already dedicating resources to other activities that facilitate character or moral development (like service learning or ethics classes), to make the commitment to move away from the punitive toward more developmental approach examples for responding to cheating.

To do this, institutions can start small, perhaps by training a small group of people to have structured reflection conversations with students to help the students do their own assessment and begin their own education.

For those institutions interested and able to do more, perhaps consider a restorative justice process instead of the current judicial process or using existing resources on campus (like the writing or learning center) to create educational opportunities that students could take after an instance of cheating.

To go further, institutions can form a taskforce to analyze their current punitive approach, discuss and design a developmental approach, and then invest some resources into building up the structures necessary to support students in the aftermath of cheating.

These same structures and resources can also engage in preventative education and culture-building, so the institution is supporting integrity in all facets, but the goal of moving from punitive to developmental should be primary.

If we refuse to help our students learn from their failures—ethical or otherwise—we are failing our students and falling short of achieving our educational missions.

Online proctoring with a human touch to protect academic integrity

Honorlock’s mission is much more than catching cheating and delivers a better way to protect academic integrity with online proctoring that’s good for the institution and for students.

Our exam proctoring services aim to protect academic integrity and empower students. We take the online proctoring experience and make it human by combining the benefits of live human proctoring backed by smart AI proctoring software.

Honorlock’s philosophies as a company follow the developmental approach rather than the punitive, which is why we are sharing this paper. We value integrity, humanity, humility and courage – for ourselves and in our relationships with others. 

Our remote proctors are trained specifically on how to de-escalate the stress that goes with online proctoring so students can have a more human interaction with proctoring. Customers are able to adjust the online proctoring to more closely match their needs.

Our approach to the fine tuning of the AI that drives the online proctoring experience includes feedback loops so the product is constantly improving. Honorlock’s customers will attest to our focus on continually building online proctoring solutions and relationships that provide insight into a better solution for institutions and students alike.   

The pandemic isn’t over yet

COVID is a hard lesson that’s still being learned. We aren’t going “back to normal” as we knew it. But with communication, perseverance and the strength of our communities and colleagues, we are making our way through it.

Please consider adding a look at what your institution’s practices and philosophies are in terms of cheating.  If we are building a better model, perhaps it is time to include a change of direction in how integrity is approached, communicated and strengthened. Continue to be aware that different constituencies experienced the pandemic in different ways.

Here are some helpful Do’s and Don’ts we compiled that remind us of that humanity in learning.8

Don’t

  • Do not forget that we are still in a pandemic. Do not forget that it is also an inequitable pandemic.
  • Do not cause further harm. Do not support, enable, or endorse policies that perpetuate further inequities or fuel negative perceptions of students.
  • Do not ask students for their approval of a decision that has already been made. Instead, engage with them in advance to help determine a solution.
  • Do not require more proof of learning in an online class than you would normally require in a face-to-face setting.
  • Do not forget that this is not the educational experience students wanted or expected. Nor is it a test of online education. And in case you were wondering, it still will not be “online education” in the fall. It will continue to be a derivative of emergency remote teaching and learning.

Do

  • Use learning outcomes as a guide and means to design and focus educational offerings.
  • Listen to students’ voices and respond accordingly.
  • Modify assignments and assessments in ways that are flexible, use low bandwidth, and are based on the principles of equitable assessment.
  • Be aware of and address systemic inequities.
  • Engage in trauma-informed and healing-centered pedagogy and assessment

To learn more about how Honorlock can help your institution protect academic integrity and support students, sign up for a demo today!

Schedule A demo

Sign up below to receive more resources for tips, best practices, white papers, and industry trends

 Smalley, A., Higher Education Response to Coronavirus (COVID-19), National Conference of State Legislatures, Mar 22, 2021, https://www.ncsl.org/research/education/higher-education-responses-to-coronavirus-covid-19.aspx
2 Johnson Hess, A. How coronavirus dramatically changed college for over 14 million students, CNBC, Mar 2020, https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/26/how-coronavirus-changed-college-for-over-14-million-students.html
3McMurtrie, B., Good Grades, Stressed Students, Chronicle of Higher Education, Mar. 17, 2021, https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/26/how-coronavirus-changed-college-for-over-14-million-students.html
4Sedmak, T., Community Colleges, For-Profit and Rural Institutions, Black Undergraduates, and Male Undergraduates Suffered Most from Online-Only 2020 Summer Sessions, According to Latest Enrollment Data, National Student Clearinghouse, Sep 2020, https://www.studentclearinghouse.org/blog/community-colleges-for-profit-and-rural-institutions-black-undergraduates-and-male-undergraduates-suffered-most-from-online-only-2020-summer-sessions-according-to-latest-enrollment-data/
5Luna-Bazaldua, D., Liberman, J., Levin, V. “Moving high-stakes exams online: Five points to consider”, Education for Global Development, July 2020.
6Piercy, J., This Week at UC San Diego, Does Remote Instruction Make Cheating Easier, July 2020, https://ucsdnews.ucsd.edu/feature/does-remote-instruction-make-cheating-easier
7Tricia Bertram Gallant & Jason M. Stephens (2020) Punishment Is Not Enough: The Moral Imperative of Responding to Cheating With a Developmental Approach, Journal of College and Character, 21:2, 57-66, https://doi.org/10.1080/2194587X.2020.1741395.
8 Supiano, B., Teaching: Assessment in a Continuing Pandemic, https://www.chronicle.com/newsletter/teaching/2020-08-20 3/6

Jan Wilson

As an organizational development and learning consultant, Jan has provided strategic planning, process alignment, change management, curriculum development and planning, as well as learning solutions to a variety of clients in pharma, healthcare and state governments. Jan earned a Bachelor of Business Administration with a concentration in information technology from Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee, and a Master of Education in Human Resource Development from Vanderbilt University, also in Nashville, Tennessee. Additionally, she has served as adjunct faculty at the Peabody School of Vanderbilt University.

Top 10 Benefits of Online Proctoring

Benefits of online proctoring services

As more universities and colleges are using remote learning and online exams, the need for online proctoring is increasingly important. But what are the key benefits of online proctoring and why is it important to institutions, faculty, and students? 

Top 10 benefits of online proctoring

    1. Verifies student ID
    2. Online proctored exams are easy to set up and customize 
    3. Proctored testing features prevent and deter cheating
    4. Proctoring creates a fair online test environment for students
    5. Detailed reporting provides insight into learner behavior and patterns
    6. Online proctoring works for a variety of exam types
    7. Proctoring software is accessible and allows accommodations
    8. Proctored testing removes administrative burden on test centers
    9. Students can schedule online exams 24/7/365
    10. Affordably scales to your institution’s needs

A deeper look into the top benefits of online exam proctoring

1. Online proctoring software verifies student ID

Did you know that some educational programs are required by law to verify student ID?

While some are required by law, it’s safe to say that all institutions want to ensure that the student taking the online exam is the same student enrolled in the course. To verify their ID, students simply launch the online exam and the online proctoring solution will capture the content on the student’s ID along with their photo, so you can be sure that the student taking the remote exam is the student getting credit.

2. Proctored exams are easy to set up and customize

Setting up a proctored exam can be quick and simple for instructors. With a complete online proctoring solution, instructors can enable online proctoring in three steps: 

  1. Create the exam in the LMS as you normally would
  2. Enable online proctoring and choose the features you’d like to use
  3. Review the results

Customizing the proctored exam features is easy because the proctoring solution should integrate with your existing remote learning platform. This allows you to pick and choose which remote proctoring features you’d like to use, such as webcam, disable printing, record screen, browser lock, room scan, and more.

3. Proctored testing features prevent and deter cheating

One of the benefits of online proctoring is that these services tackle academic dishonesty in a variety of ways using common features and select features that are more advanced.

Common proctored testing features to prevent cheating

  • ID verification
  • Video monitoring and sound detection
  • Browser lockdown software
  • Allowed URL sites and applications

Some online proctoring services go beyond common online proctoring methods with advanced features such as:

  • Cell phone detection: Nearly all students have access to a cell phone or secondary device. This proctoring technology can detect the attempted use of cell phones and other devices.
  • Live Pop-In: This proctoring feature combines the benefits of AI proctoring and live human proctoring. Live Pop-In uses AI proctoring software to monitor students during the online exam and prompts a live remote proctor to join a student’s exam session in real-time if it detects potential academic dishonesty. Combining AI proctoring and live human proctoring aims to  provide a less intimidating and non-invasive testing experience for students.
  • Exam content protection: It’s frustrating for instructors to find their test questions on unauthorized websites, such as Chegg and Quizlet. This proctoring feature searches the internet for unauthorized sharing of test questions. Some proctoring solutions will also submit a DMCA takedown notice on your behalf to request that the test content be removed.
  • Meaningful voice detection: Sound detection and monitoring is a common test proctoring feature, but often results in an abundance of false flags. Meaningful voice detection listens for specific keywords or phrases, such as “Hey Siri” or “OK Google,” to identify students who may be attempting academic dishonesty and alerts a live remote proctor in real-time to pop into the online test session to intervene and help redirect the student. This feature can save instructors time by reducing the number of false flags to review and allows students to read questions out loud without being inappropriately flagged.

4. Proctoring online exams creates a fair testing environment for all students

The proctored online exam benefits and features mentioned above are meant to create a fair testing environment for all students. By preventing and deterring academic dishonesty, students know that the value of their education will remain strong and institutions protect their reputation. 

5. Detailed reporting helps faculty understand student test-taking behavior

In-depth reporting provided by proctoring solutions can give instructors a wealth of information about test-taking behavior by identifying patterns and understanding how students engage with online exams. This data can be used to improve online exams and drive toward better student outcomes.

“Honorlock was more than a tool to guard or block students from using inappropriate information. It was also a means to detect and determine many different ways that students approach the exams. Because of access to the wealth of data/information through Honorlock, I became better able to utilize it.”

– Ryan P. Mears, PhD, University of Florida

Download a free customizable RFP template for online proctoring6. Online proctoring works for a variety of exam types

Exams come in many forms such as in-person, online, and paper-based. Online proctoring can be used for each. 

As an example, how can you successfully proctor an online, paper-based STEM exam? The good news is that with a few simple steps, paper-based exams can be proctored much like a “regular” online exam through the LMS or other testing platform. 

Tips for online proctoring paper-based exams:

  • Provide the remote proctor with specific instructions and expectations for student behavior 
    • Specify resources and objects that students can use, such as pens, paper, and designated textbooks.
  • Prepare a list of exam settings
    • Develop a comprehensive list of online exam settings to use or share with other faculty members. This removes any confusion and ensures the proctoring tool is used to its fullest capacity. 
  • Offer reasonable exam time limits
    • Students should have ample time to complete the proctored online exam but it’s recommended that instructors don’t release exam results until all students have completed the exam to prevent knowledge sharing or exam content.

7. Proctoring software is accessible and allows accommodations

Any technology used in education should be accessible; whether it’s online proctoring or laptops and keyboards. The online proctoring solution should be accessible for all students and integrate with your existing LMS. Additionally, the proctoring solution should provide instructors with the ability to provide accommodations. Accommodations in an online test can mean extending time limits and adjusting due dates or allowing bathroom breaks.

8. Proctored testing removes administrative burden on test centers

Campus testing centers are adopting online proctoring services because of the significant benefits it provides. Online proctoring provides all the benefits of in-person proctoring and more. By combining AI proctoring and live proctoring, testing centers can eliminate the need for in-person proctors which makes scheduling easier and can reduce costs.

9. Online proctoring software provides flexible exam scheduling

One of the biggest benefits of online proctoring is that it removes many of the scheduling hassles associated with online exams. With proctoring services that combine automated proctoring and live proctoring, students can schedule their online exam at a time that works for their busy schedules, 24/7/365. 

10. Remote proctoring affordably scales to your institution’s needs

Universities and colleges face a major challenge with expanding education programs without sacrificing academic integrity. Online proctoring services need to be easy to use and flexible for students and instructors, secure and reliable for administrators, and provide cost-effective scalability for decision-makers.

As you grow your online programs, you need cost-effective online test proctoring. Online proctoring services that charge a flat rate per online exam or per student protect your bottom line and help you accurately estimate testing costs.

Online proctoring is a resource for student and institutional success

Online proctoring isn’t simply a way to catch cheaters – it’s a resource for students, faculty, and institutions. Proctored testing features ultimately drive toward the goal of providing a fair testing environment to improve student outcomes. 

Read our 5-Part guide to comparing online proctoring services, which provides information on functionality, implementation, support, cost structure, and specific questions you should ask proctoring companies as you evaluate. 

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Tyler Stike

Tyler is Honorlock's Director of Content and a doctoral student at the University of Florida focused on educational technology.