How Can I Proctor an Exam for Students Unable to be in Class?

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With the pandemic and all the associated challenges, you may have students who are unable to take an exam in class. In those cases, you have options available to you – you could email the exam to students and have them complete it and upload it into Canvas, you could add your exam into Canvas using the quiz feature and have the students complete it there, or you could use another method that suits your needs. Whichever method you choose, you may want to proctor the exam. 

Proctoring the exam is not required – this is not a “thou shalt do this.” Using the method below to proctor the exam is an option that you can evaluate and decide whether or not it makes sense for your situation. This method is especially easy for smaller courses or groups of students. If you teach a large course or have a large group of students who need to take the exam out of class, then consider talking through options (such as using TAs to help proctor) with your chair or dean. We’re going to walk through how to prepare the students and the exam, what to do on the day of the exam, then finally what you should include in your email out to your students. 

How to prepare the students and the exam  

1. Send an email to your student(s) using the template below, notifying them that they will be able to take their exam through Canvas and proctored by yourself via Microsoft Teams.
   • The email copy below walks students through the context for the exam and helps them prepare the technology they will need. 
2. Set up the exam as a Canvas Quiz with an access password. 

What to do on the day of the exam 

1. Start the Microsoft Teams meeting from the link that you sent to your student(s) about 10 minutes before the scheduled exam time. 
2. Greet your student(s) as they enter and work with them to have their webcam/smartphone positioned so that you have a good view of them and their workspace.
   1. The webcam/smartphone setup should allow the student to see their screen and interact with it. 
   2. This setup should also help you see that they are not using outside materials or communicating with others. 
   3. If you cannot adequately see a student work area during the exam, ask the student to reposition their camera
3. Remind students that…
   1. they are taking a closed-book exam and must close all applications and browser tabs other than the one for the exam, and  
   2. the Cedarville Community Covenant applies and that you expect them to not access outside materials during the test. 
4. Tell students to use private Teams chat to ask you questions. 
5. Once you have finished giving instructions and answering any immediate questions, give the exam access password so students can begin the exam. 

What to include in your email to students

[Before getting into the details below, add a salutation and whatever personal comments you may wish to the beginning of your note about them being quarantined and wishing them well. Make sure you delete this italicized part before you send the note!]

Since you are unable to be in class, you will be taking this exam through Canvas. I will be proctoring your exam through a Microsoft Teams meeting during the scheduled exam time. Before the exam time, make sure you have a working computer with a webcam or smartphone you can use to join the meeting to show yourself and your surroundings while taking the exam. 

The exam will be password protected. I will give you the access password after you have joined the meeting and I have verified your setup. The exam is closed-book, so be prepared to close all tabs in your browser except for the one with the exam. Remember that the Cedarville Community Covenant applies, and I expect you to not access outside materials during the test. 

If you have questions during the exam, use the private Teams chat feature to contact me. Once you have completed your exam, you may submit it and leave the meeting. 

Please join this meeting [insert meeting link] 5-10 minutes before the exam is scheduled to start. 

Editor’s note: This post was originally published October 13, 2020, and was updated to reflect the change from Zoom to Microsoft Teams.

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