‘Proctoring Increases Risks for Those Who Want to Copy at Exams’
Albert Belkov, a third-year undergraduate student at HSE ICEF, has taken three proctored exams this spring and summer—in Optimization Theory, Macroeconomics, and Financial Mediation. He shared his experiences with the HSE News Service.
Preparation
I took all three exams with asynchronous proctoring technology, which means that all my actions were recorded and then watched. The preparation involved reading the manual thoroughly and talking to fellow fourth-year students about the process and their impressions (they were the only ones who had encountered this tool before us). I also spent quite a lot of time preparing my workplace for the exam: not in terms of sticking cheat sheets everywhere—they would have been seen on the recording anyway—but by removing unnecessary paper, pens and pencils, checking how the camera works and making sure it transmits sound well enough.
It makes sense to walk an extra mile to meet the proctors’ requirements to avoid giving them reason to doubt a student’s honesty
It’s a good idea to study for the exam somewhere other than the same workplace where you will take it. First, you won’t worry that you overlooked a draft paper on your desk. And second, your brain will leave its comfort zone for a period of time and will work much more actively during the exam.
Technical Difficulties
I was at home during the exam, so I felt a little calmer than on campus. While I didn’t escape technical difficulties, which were different each time, all issues were resolved rather quickly thanks to timely help from the study office, for which I’m particularly grateful.
During the first exam, Examus failed, which affected many students, but access was restored quickly. During the second one, there was an internet disconnection, but I restarted the router, and it worked. During the last exam, as I later came to understand during my Zoom meetings with friends, my camera wasn’t transmitting sound. But I don’t believe this impacted the results considerably. And I believe that no one in our department was punished for taking their eyes off the screen.
Recommendations
My key recommendation to those who take proctored exams is not to be more nervous than usual. This doesn’t mean that you should fuel up with sedatives—just take your time to prepare. The situations faced by HSE students have led me to believe that if you have problems, almost everyone would have them at once. This means that even after three exams, the difference in results with the lucky ones who experienced no trouble would be equalized. And this means that in the final ranking in a specific exam, all students’ grades would shrink equally, which wouldn’t impact the relative position and grade of each student.
Make sure that you are able to log in your Examus account in advance – this will prevent 50% of the problems
If you have problems logging into the system, don’t hesitate to contact the study office immediately. As a general matter, you shouldn’t hesitate to inform them about any troubles you’re experiencing.
My advice is to repeat the process twice: how you will enter Examus, show your passport to the camera, and then show your whole room (unfortunately, in the case of asynchronous proctoring technology, one might forget this). Only after that should you begin sitting the exam. It makes sense to set timers with sound (this option has an obvious advantage over the face-to-face format), but in the end, cross-check the final time with the Examus timer (bottom right, under the window with your face).
Many students are afraid that they will be suspended from the exam because of long glances away from the screen. I think that looking at a wall or out the window is perfectly normal, but it’s better, of course, to avoid any ungrounded suspicions. If it happens, don’t focus on it. Your task is to write the exam well, and, if you have written it honestly, no one will have any concerns.
Don’t hope that the process of you writing the exam won’t be watched. Examus offers the ability to play back a recording at 10x the speed, and attempts to cheat become very obvious at high speed. My advice is to write honestly, without looking for trouble and complicating your own life.
It also makes sense to clean your room, so that everything looks decent when the 360o video view is recorded.
No Opportunities to Copy
In summary, I can say that it was more emotionally challenging to sit the exams with proctoring technology. The format is unusual: you don’t know what to do in the event of anything unexpected, there are risks of internet disconnection, etc. But in terms of the results, most of the teachers were flexible and made the exam process as simple as possible. For example, in Financial Mediation, our teachers changed the assignment structure completely, replacing the traditional essay with long answers to questions.
I believe that proctoring technology is virtually the only measure that significantly increases risks for those who want to copy while taking exams – and it happens not by increasing the exam complexity. Those who can copy well will probably be able to do it at a face-to-face exam, but in case of a proctoring system, they will obviously have a hard time. This has a positive impact on the fairness of grading, although its effect is not comparable with the face-to-face examination format. Proctoring technology is therefore a short-term necessary evil that should simply be accepted during this period of time when education is largely carried out remotely.
See also:
'This was a Major Task for All University Services'
July marked the end of the first HSE academic term conducted entirely in remote format. Specialists of the eLearning Office and Digital Services told HSE University Life how they prepared for it and which problems they encountered.
‘In the Reality of the 21st Century, an Online Form of Examination is a Necessity’
On June 10, the examination period began at HSE University, and some of the exams are being administered through the use of proctoring technology. This type of exam was trialed on some programmes in May. Below, undergraduate students and a study office employee who worked as a proctor share their experiences of proctored exams.
Proctoring: How to Ensure the Integrity of Online Assessment
17% of HSE’s spring-summer session exams will be administered with proctoring software that ensures the integrity of online assessment. Read on to learn how proctoring software is used at HSE University and what its advantages are over traditional in-person monitoring in the classroom.