How Universities can Ensure Exam Integrity & Authenticity with Live Online Proctoring

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How Universities can Ensure Exam Integrity
Authenticity with Live Online Proctoring
The emergence and impact of the COVID-19 pandemic
have been felt equally by business enterprises
and educational institutes all around the globe.
With restraints placed on physical classrooms and
examination halls, modern universities are
turning to technology to conduct online exams
and even student assessments. With the continued
emphasis on social distancing to curtail the
virus spread, it is no longer feasible to gather
many students in a single examination hall for a
long period. At the same time, it is not
practical for higher universities to keep
canceling (or postponing) critical
examinations. Technology-driven online
proctoring is now going mainstream in
universities and is replacing the traditional
pen-and-paper mode of examinations. A recent poll
conducted by April Educause found that 54 of
educational institutions are using online
proctoring services, while another 23 are
planning to adopt it. How does online proctoring
work and how does it ensure the integrity and
authenticity of university examinations? We will
discuss all this in the following sections.
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What is Online Proctoring? Online proctoring is
like the regular exam invigilator mode of
monitoring students attending examinations. The
only difference is this form of proctoring is
conducted remotely and involves the use of
technology (like a webcam or video
recorder). Just like offline exam proctoring,
the main aim of online proctoring is to ensure
that the examinations are conducted "free and
fair" without any fraud by the students.
Multiple types of online proctoring are available
for universities. We shall talk about them in a
later section. The Need for Online Exam
Proctoring Even without the constraints posed by
the COVID pandemic, online proctoring offers
many benefits over traditional pen and
paper-based assessments. With the eLearning mode
of education gaining prominence, online
proctoring is the feasible mode of exam
invigilation.
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• The International Center for Academic Integrity
  recently found that 70 of university students
  confirmed that they have cheated during their
  exams. Among the more recent academic cheating
  scandals, Boston
• University is investigating alleged cheating by
  students using Chegg, an
• online subscription-based tutoring app. Senior
  lecturer, Jesse Stommel of the University of
  Mary in Washington thinks of cheating as a
  pedagogical issue without easy solutions.
• Online proctoring is effective in reducing exam
  cheating percentages due to the continuous
  observation and monitoring of students by human
  invigilators. Apart from ensuring exam integrity,
  online proctoring can save up to 25 costs of
  conducting examinations in physical centers.
• Which are the different types of proctoring
  techniques for online exams? Let us discuss them
  next.
• 3 Types of Online Proctoring Techniques
• Online proctoring for online examinations can be
  conducted using any of the following 3
  techniques
• Live Online Proctoring
• As the name suggests, this proctoring exam
  technique is used by providing live audio or
  video feeds of the student to the proctor.
  Neither the proctor nor the student needs to be
  present in the same location. Using live online
  proctoring, over 30 candidates can be monitored
  by a single proctor at any given time.

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• In this proctoring technique, exam proctors need
  to be trained to check for any rule violation by
  the candidates including
• Identifying the presence of additional people
  with the candidate or when the candidate leaves
  the exam vicinity.
• Tracking the head and eye movements of the
  candidate for any fraudulent activity.
• Monitoring the presence of any unauthorized aids
  like mobile phones or reference materials.
• While this proctoring technique is highly
  effective, it is also quite expensive as
  universities need to invest in proctoring tools
  and live Internet connectivity.
• Recorded Proctoring
• As the name suggests, in recorded proctoring, all
  activities of the students during the
  examination are recorded using either screen
  shares or audio (or video) feeds. Also known as
  subsequent
• proctoring, the assigned proctor goes through the
  stored
• recordings after the examination and checks for
  any cheating or fraudulent activity.
• The advantage of this online proctoring technique
  is that students can take up the exam according
  to their schedule and convenience, while
  proctors can go through the recordings whenever
  they are available.

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• Remote Proctoring
• This technique is similar to the methods used in
  live and recorded proctoring, except that it is
  always used for students in remote
• locations. It has a combination of proctoring
  techniques including
• capturing images of the candidate after fixed
  intervals (for example, every minute). Proctors
  can also keep a tab on their students using an
  Internet-connected web camera.
• Additional proctoring methods include taking
  regular screenshots of the candidates desktop
  screen or listening to the candidates voice or
  audio recording.
• How Online Proctoring Ensures Exam Integrity
• Irrespective of the technique used, online
  proctoring can ensure the integrity and
  authenticity of examinations in the following
  ways
• Complete candidate authentication
• This step ensures that the right candidate is
  appearing for the exam and has not been replaced
  with a proxy candidate. Appropriate identity
  checks can be employed in different ways
  including uploading the photo ID of the
  candidate or verifying by clicking a facial
  photo using a webcam. Human proctors can also
  monitor the candidate through the exam duration
  to check if they match their authentication
  details.

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• Audio-video broadcasting or recording
• Online proctoring is largely possible due to the
  availability of cost-effective and accurate
  audio or video devices. All that is needed is a
  computer with an operational sound recorder or
• webcam. Post the student authentication, the
  video or audio device needs to be activated to
  initiate the proctoring process.
• Detecting and reporting suspicious behavior
• Online proctoring can be even more effective than
  having a human proctor physically present in the
  examination premises. As mentioned earlier,
  online proctoring can track head-eye
• movements and any such movements for a prolonged
  period can be marked as suspicious behavior.
• Browsing and sharing restrictions
• Online proctoring provides a cheating-free exam
  environment by disallowing exam candidates from
  opening additional tabs on their web browser
  during the test duration. Additionally, online
• proctoring tools can prevent information sharing
  by disabling functions like using search
  engines, screen sharing, file sharing tools, and
  even copy-paste of text.

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Conclusion With growing academic concerns about
exam cheating and other fraudulent activities,
online proctoring offers the right solution to
enable a level playing field for all exam
candidates. In todays expanding online learning
world, remote proctoring offers both convenience
and cost benefits to universities around the
globe. With customized solutions in online
proctoring, EnFuse Solutions has helped
businesses and educational institutes stay one
step ahead through the use of innovative
technologies. Looking for the right proctoring
tool for your institute? We are here to help.
Get in touch with us today! Read more about
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