***Fall 2020 Online Test Proctoring***
Students & Faculty: Do to the current COVID conditions, DSS is only providing virtual proctoring in specific instances. We are however here to support you. In many circumstances, using Blackboard’s extended time function fully accommodates a student's need for additional time. For some students, merely extending the time for a scheduled exam may not fully support the accommodations need. (i.e., Extension may cause them to miss their next class or exam.) In these circumstances, the student and faculty member should still be having conversations about the best way to administer extended time for exams. This could mean that there is an adjustment to the start time, end time or date the exam is taken.
In an effort to support students and the faculty, we have come up with three options for providing extended time.
Option 1: You can use Blackboard for your exams with or without a lockdown browser. We understand many of you are already using this option. Please make sure to discuss with the student the approved start/end times and date of the exam and make the necessary adjustments in Blackboard. (DSS always needed faculty approval for those adjustments; this should be no different.)
Option 2: You can provide an open note/open book exam by proctoring the students via a web-based meeting platform such as Zoom/Webex live. (simulating the face to face experience)
Reach out to DSS with a list of students needing extended time for your exam. DSS will reach out to students to determine the logistics of how to provide the extended time should you be unable to provide it.
DSS will coordinate with the Faculty member and student to determine the start date and time for the exam. DSS will then:
Join your Webex/Zoom room with the rest of the class and take over proctoring for the students needing the extended time. The DSS proctor would stay in the room until all students have completed the exam. This allows the students to be able to ask questions along with their peers during the start of the exam.
Should the students need to take the exam on a different day or start earlier than the rest of the class, DSS proctors can proctor the exam in a web-based platform (Zoom/Webex) in which they would provide the student the link to that room. It is important to let DSS know how we can best reach you should a student have a question during the exam.
Option 3: Your exam falls outside of these two options please contact [email protected] to discuss your unique needs.
** It is important to note that many students already take exams with DSS accommodations (in an in person-environment) in the same room as their peers, unless they have private space which at this time we would not be providing, due to the remote environment. We are doing our best to ensure the confidentiality of the student's needs while providing an equitable testing experience.
