Faculty FAQ

Our current third-party proctoring solution utilizes Artificial Intelligence (AI) to proctor exams. However, AI has been repeatedly shown to have bias against students of color and students with disabilities, leading to an increase of false flags for academic misconduct. Students have also reported concerns over privacy and technology as it relates to proctoring, as well as increased test anxiety when using the online proctoring tool. In an effort to create a more equitable, student-centered experience that still addresses faculty concerns around the potential for misconduct, DTS and Academic Excellence and Support Services have joined together to shift the majority of our online exam proctoring from Honorlock to Testing Services. 

The Online Proctored Testing through Testing Services utilizes professionally-trained human proctors to observe exam sessions. These proctors are trained in the CAPS Mental Health Toolkit and DE&I initiatives, which provide them with the resources to support students who may be experiencing panic or anxiety during their exam. Live proctors can also observe what is happening in the student’s environment – for example, a crying baby, barking dog, or ringing doorbell – and pause the exam as necessary without flagging the student for misconduct. Additionally, there is a significant reduction in the administrative burden for faculty and course coordinators to review exam sessions; if a student commits misconduct during an Online Proctored Testing session with Testing Services, they will document the misconduct and retain the video footage to share with you for review.

The transition will begin in Summer 2023, with all courses using proctoring completing the transition by the start of Summer 2024. 

Whenever you’re ready! Testing Services is using Time Tap to schedule online proctoring sessions. While we encourage you to take a moment to review the Faculty Scheduling Instructions, the Time Tap site is straightforward and easy to navigate. If you have any questions, please contact Testing Services. 

• Single session exam: All students take an exam at the same time (1 proctor to 10 students)
• Block exam: Students take an exam at any point during a specific window of time (1 proctor to 10 students)
• Light exam proctoring: Students are monitored in case a significant event interrupts their exam, but misconduct is not a concern (1 proctor to 25 students)
• Make-up exam: Students are able to make-up an exam (variable; no more than 1 proctor to 10 students)

There are two options for you to deploy your exams:

• You can require that all students take their exam on the same day at the same time. For instance, all students must take their exam on Tuesday from 1-2:30pm. Note that students will need to log into their test 30 minutes prior to the start.
• You can also open the exam for a block of time and specify the amount of time students have to take their exam. For example, you may choose to make your exam available from Thursday to Saturday with a 1-hour time limit for completion. Students will then be able to schedule to take their exam within this time frame.
  

72 hours prior to the start of your exam, you’ll receive an email asking if anything has changed. If possible, please make any change requests at least 48 hours prior to the scheduled exam time. For changes within 48 hours of the scheduled exam time, please contact Gina in Testing Services.

In order to ensure an adequate number of proctors for your exam, Testing Services requires that all exams be scheduled at least 14 days in advance.

• Within 2-business days, you will receive a personalized link for your course from Testing Services to share with your students for all of your exams. This link can be shared in Canvas or via email to direct students to your specific exam(s). This link will allow your students to see only your exams in Time Tap.
• If anything has changed, please let Testing Services know at least 48 hours prior to the scheduled exam time. For changes within 48 hours of the scheduled exam time, please contact Gina in Testing Services. 

Students will receive an email 24 hours before the exam that includes the following information:

• Exam Name
• Exam Date/Time
• A Zoom link to connect to the session
• A list of items needed, including
  • Computer with camera, microphone, and speakers
  • Identification (Bearcat ID, Driver’s License, or Passport)
  • Any items allowed by faculty, such as scratch paper

If this occurs, the Testing Services staff will document the misconduct and retain a video of the incident for you to review. If you would like to move forward with the Conduct Office, Testing Services can help to facilitate that as well. 

• For Single Session and Block exams, 1 proctor will observe no more than 10 student.
• For Light exam proctoring, 1 proctor will observe no more than 25 students
• For Make-up exams, 1 proctor will observe no more than 10 students

Online Proctored Testing has limited availability for the Spring 2024 Semester. Please reach out to Testing Services (uctesting@ucmail.uc.edu) to inquire about online proctoring availability. 

Absolutely. In fact, we recommend you use Honorlock’s “browser guard” function in conjunction with the live proctoring from Testing Services. Due to the live proctor, “browser guard” is the only Honorlock feature that needs to be enabled. You may choose to whitelist websites for students to access during the exam. Do not select any other options within Honorlock.

Make sure that students understand the order in which to open applications to take their exam:

• Log into Zoom with the provided link from Testing Services.
• Open browser and navigate to the exam.
• Launch the exam.

If the exam is launched first, the student will not be able to log into Zoom due to the lockdown browser.

Be sure to emphasize the importance of using both the Honorlock lockdown browser and the Zoom live proctoring. Some students will try to circumvent one or both of these. Explicit instructions may help to deter this, such as, “Both Honorlock and Zoom live proctoring must be utilized in order to receive credit for your exam.”

Honorlock will be available for full proctoring for the 2023-2024 academic year. During this time, Testing Services will be working to determine and meet the requirements of various accrediting bodies to ensure there are no gaps once the transition is complete.

Testing Services does not offer exam makeup or reschedule options with Online Proctored Testing. 

Yes, and it is absolutely recommended that you do so. Please note: Do NOT change the password in your Quiz settings if you are using Honorlock. Instead, please follow these instructions from Testing Services on how to create a password quiz. 

Accommodated testing will not be affected by the Online Proctored Testing transition. If a student has an accommodation, they will have a separate testing experience to ensure accommodations are met and their privacy is maintained.

For Spring 2023, there were approximately 11,925 courses in Canvas with the spring term designation. There were 249 Honorlock requests received for Spring semester. This means just 2.1% of courses used online proctored testing in the Spring. 

Students can take online proctored exams on any computer or laptop, excluding Chromebooks and tablets. 

Zoom Desktop Client

•  The browser-based client will not work for proctoring.

Google Chrome Browser

Honorlock Chrome Extension

Yes. It can be their Bearcat Card, a state-issued driver’s license, or passport.

• For Single Session and Block exams, 1 proctor will observe no more than 10 students
• For Light exam proctoring, 1 proctor will observe no more than 25 students
• For Make-up exams, 1 proctor will observe no more than 10 students