ARCHIVED: Assess student learning during COVID-19: Alternate assessment, Respondus Monitor, and Examity

• Alternate assessment for instructors teaching courses in summer 2021
• Considerations before using any service for online proctoring
• Current policy and procedure for using Respondus Monitor
• Instructions for Respondus Monitor
• Current policy and procedure for using Examity
• Instructions for Examity
• Learn more

Alternate assessment for instructors teaching courses in summer 2021

Before using an exam proctoring service such as Respondus or Examity, faculty should consider reducing the potential for academic dishonesty by adopting one or more of the following approaches in how they think about and implement summative assessments in their online courses:

• Consider alternative forms of assessment: Rigorous assessment doesn't have to be limited to administering traditional exams and quizzes. For example, alternatives that draw on students' creativity (such as developing a product proposal or writing a story) can provide rich, viable alternatives to the traditional assessment. For more information and ideas for how you can assess learning without traditional proctored assessment, see ARCHIVED: Assess student learning.
• Use other technologies: In some cases, you still need to employ technologies to assist in providing security or automated screening for academic dishonesty. IU provides a suite of tools like test banks and plagiarism detection with no fee to the department or the students. To explore these alternatives, along with other assessment strategies, contact your campus teaching and learning center.
• When proctoring is the only option: In some cases, proctoring may be the only solution for courses in certain disciplines or due to accreditation requirements. If this is the case, IU has contracted with Examity and Respondus to deliver proctoring services to our students.

Considerations before using any service for online proctoring

Before using any service for online proctoring, consider the following:

• Limited access to the internet: Some students have low quality internet, and others are in households with multiple users who are either pursuing education or working from home. Even students with reasonably good internet might face connectivity issues.
• Limited access to devices: Not every student has access to multiple devices. Some households might not have enough devices for the number of people who need simultaneous access. Additionally, some devices may not meet the standards required for use with online tools such as Examity and Respondus.
• Limited access to other technologies: Not every student has access to a printer, scanner, or webcam. Webcams are an integral part of online proctoring for recording an exam. Additionally, students may not be able to print paper materials required for an exam, or scan and upload final exam documents and scrap work after an exam.
• Time zone: Many IU students are outside the US or spread across the country.

Current policy and procedure for using Respondus Monitor

For the summer 2021 semester, IU will support the use of Respondus Monitor for automated proctoring. Respondus Monitor will be available at no fee to all IU faculty on all campuses. Before using Respondus Monitor, IU faculty must follow the procedure noted below.

Procedure for using Respondus Monitor

If, after exploring other options, you believe that proctoring with Respondus Monitor is the only viable solution for your course assessment requirement, follow the steps below:

1. Complete the Online Proctoring Acknowledgement.
   Note:

   Any faculty member who does not complete the proctoring acknowledgement will lose access to Respondus Monitor for use in any course.
2. Give your students a practice test several days before the first real test; this is the single most important thing you can do to help your students successfully take their test with Respondus LockDown Browser and Monitor. A practice test requires students to download the necessary software and test their computer hardware and internet connection in a low stakes environment.

Instructions for Respondus Monitor

For step-by-step instructions, see ARCHIVED: Administer tests and quizzes using Respondus Monitor with LockDown Browser.

Current policy and procedure for using Examity

For the summer 2021 semester, IU will support the use of Examity live proctoring as an alternative to automated proctoring with Respondus Monitor.

Currently the only available option for Examity for summer 2021 will be live proctoring. Below are the details for live proctoring with Examity:

Procedure for using Examity

Use of Examity requires setup and permission from your academic school. If, after exploring the other options described above, you believe that live proctoring is the only viable solution for your course assessment requirement, follow these steps:

1. Contact your school's dean for approval to use Examity, and have them send this approval to your teaching center. Schools can grant permission "in batch" by courses, if that is easier for them.
2. Complete the Online Proctoring Acknowledgement.
3. Contact your campus teaching and learning center after this approval has been received to set up a time to review options and set up proctoring for your class.
4. Expect the setup process to take two to three weeks to complete.
5. If you feel your course should be eligible to use Examity, contact elearn@iu.edu.

Instructions for Examity

For step-by-step instructions, see Examity for IU instructors.

Learn more

Be aware that COVID-19 is affecting all of our partners, and as a result, adjustments may need to be made to this procedure as more information becomes available.

For information on other assessment strategies, contact your campus teaching and learning center.