Online exam invigilation

Your exam timetable in SOLS will include instructions on how to access each exam. Most exams will be hosted online on the subject’s Moodle site. If you have any questions about accessing exams, please contact your Subject Coordinator.

When you're ready to take the invigilated exam, you will need to use a Chrome (or Edge) browser and download the Proctorio Chrome extension. This only needs to be done once if using the same computer. The Proctorio extension is only active when taking a Moodle Quiz set with Proctorio. The Proctorio 'shield icon' in Chrome changes from grey to green when it is active. The extension is not active before or after an exam.

Proctorio performs a check to make sure that the internet connection, webcam, microphone, and screen recording are set up correctly. Proctorio also checks whether your computer has sufficient freely available internal memory.

Pre-checks are done before the exam time (quiz duration) starts. Your Subject Coordinator will have allocated extra time to conduct these pre-checks. Your exam duration time does not begin until these pre-checks are completed.

Permitted materials for each exam will be listed on your personalised exam timetable. Items permitted are determined by the Subject Coordinator for the examination. If an item is not listed as a permitted item on your personalised exam timetable in SOLS, you should NOT be accessing the item as this provides you with an unfair advantage. Examples of unauthorised materials include, but are not limited to, smart watches, unauthorised calculators, online materials, dual monitors, smart phones and headphones.

Note: exam permissions can include the use of a mobile phone to photograph documents for upload as part of your exam submission. UOW Exam Invigilators will be aware of such permissions and will factor them into post-exam reviews. 

 You will receive detailed instructions before your exam.

1. After you passed the 'System Diagnostic Test', you will be asked to hold your UOW Student ID Card (or other approved photo ID) in front of your webcam for a scan. If you do not have a UOW student card you can use your UOW College Student ID card, passport or Australian driver licence. Note: If you are using a passport or Australian driver licence, the name and photo need to be clearly visible to be captured by the webcam. However other personal details such as licence/passport numbers, date of birth, addresses and card numbers should be covered/masked so these details are not visible and cannont be captured by the webcam.
2. Hold your card in-front of the webcam so that the photo, initial(s), last name, and student numbers are clearly visible.
3. The program will scan your card and take a picture of it.
4. If the information is not easy to read, retake the picture using the 'Re-take' button or use the 'click here' button.
5. Examples of unclear pictures include pictures that are: overexposed, underexposed, too close, too far away, out of focus, and/or contain reflections.
6. The UOW Exams Team will check and confirm the image captures of all the exam takers. If there are any issues, you may be contacted shortly after your exam.

Your ID information is stored in an encrypted cloud server in Australia that only UOW can access.

Proctorio does not use any form of biometric analysis however it does complete some image processing to determine it has captured a sufficient photo of your ID and face.

Proctorio does not verify you and your identity, it only detects whether there is a clear image of your face and your ID picture. UOW Exam Invigilators will review all ID checks after the exam is complete. If you look noticeably different from your ID photo, or have undergone an identity change and haven’t updated your personal details with UOW, please visit this page.

You can also obtain an updated Student ID card at AskUOW, so please ensure you update your personal details before you sit for your exam. This will ensure our Exam Invigilators have access to your latest personal details.

A female exam invigilator will be present at all exam venues and will discreetly conduct ID checks in a private space on campus close to the exam venue.

If your exams are online, you can conduct your ID check in your own private space by revealing full face just for the ID checking process. You have the option to request a female invigilator to confirm your identity and view full face images for ID checking purposes. If you would like to request this, please contact exams@uow.edu.au 

You can still commence your exam late, however you will not be permitted to commence your exam 30 minutes after the scheduled exam time and you will not be given extra time to compensate for starting late.

If you are completing an online invigilated exam additional time may be granted for late entry into the exam, only if there is evidence of technical issues and we can verify that you were actively trying to gain access to your exam at the scheduled start time.

If you experience any technical difficulties, contact the Exam Support Centre for advice as soon as practicable (before, during or after your exam) on +61 2 4221 3927 or use the IT Support Chat (use the chat icon on the right of the screen once logged in). 

If you call the Exam Support Centre for assistance or are waiting for a response, please be reassured that our support staff will be able to respond to your needs.

There is no need to inform your Subject Coordinator if you are experiencing any technical difficulties, the Exam Support Centre provide each Subject Coordinator with this information.

You can also refer to our UOW Troubleshooting For Proctorio Exams Guide (PDF) for self-help.

If the technical trouble cannot be resolved, you should submit an online exam issues form within 24 hours of the incident.

Headphones are not permitted unless you have an Access Plan that specifies their use. If you are relying on headphones to act as a microphone, you will need to inform UOW Exams team in advance for the purposes of invigilation.  

Foam earplugs can be used if you have considerable background noise in your space. However, we do encourage students to come forward prior to their exam if they feel their own space or environment is not suitable to an exam setting. Should students still want to take their exam where there is continuous background noise, it will be flagged by Proctorio as an irregularity during the exam and our UOW invigilators will discern that irregularity in their reviews.

We strongly recommend that students go to the bathroom and take care of anything which may require their attention before the exam start time.

If you do need to use the bathroom or leave your desk for another urgent reason during the exam, the period you are away from your desk will be flagged as a potential irregularity for review. Before you leave your room and move away from your device, you can speak to your device camera "having a bathroom break". This will assist invigilators with the review.

The use of Proctorio by UOW invigilators will not compromise the fairness of our exams. It will help mirror invigilation that has previously occurred during an on-campus exam setting. UOW’s trained invigilators will use the data reports to identify potential irregularities but will not flag them as suspected misconduct until there is clear evidence that a student has gained an unfair advantage, this is in line with procedural fairness and the principles of natural justice that would apply to any allegations of possible misconduct. We will continue to follow long-established and robust UOW Academic academic misconduct procedures with our online exams, including those exams using Proctorio.

Online (Moodle and Proctorio) exams

If you cannot sit or complete your exam due to illness or another extenuating circumstance, ensure that you apply for Academic Consideration before your online exam starts or prior to completing it. Remember, once you complete your online exam, you can no longer apply for Academic Consideration. In this instance, you must contact your Subject Coordinator after the exam to discuss your options.

If your Academic Consideration application is approved by your Subject Coordinator, you may be able to undertake a deferred exam in the scheduled deferred exam period. Please make sure you are available during the Supplementary and Deferred exam period relevant to your session.

On-campus exams

If you cannot sit your exam due to illness or another extenuating circumstance, ensure that you apply for Academic Consideration before your exam. If you fall ill during an exam you MUST advise the exam supervisor before leaving the exam venue. In this case, you can apply for Academic Consideration after your on-campus exam.

If your Academic Consideration application is approved by your Subject Coordinator, you may be able to undertake a deferred exam in the scheduled deferred exam period. Please make sure you are available during the Supplementary and Deferred exam period relevant to your session.

If you’re ejected from your exam due to an internet disconnection or some other technical issue, Proctorio will temporarily log you out of your Moodle exam, but the Moodle exam attempt remains in progress for its original duration. When your technical issue is resolved, you can re-enter the Moodle quiz attempt following completing the Proctorio check-in. 

If you cannot redo your Proctorio check-in, or quickly re-enter your Moodle exam, contact the Exam Support Centre on +61 2 4221 3927 or use the IT Support Chat (use the icon on the right of the screen once logged in). 

Proctorio is an online invigilation tool that integrates with our Moodle quiz environment and works within your browser via the Proctorio extension. This extension allows elements of your activity to be recorded while sitting the exam.

Proctorio is only installed within supported browsers and does not have access to your files or operating system. You may need to grant the browser extension temporary access to your webcam, microphone, and screen recording abilities while sitting the exam.

You can easily uninstall Proctorio from Chrome after your exam by selecting the puzzle piece shaped ‘Extensions’ button at the top right of your browser, find the Proctorio extension and click on the more actions button to remove it.

UOW will be invigilating via the online learning integrity browser tool Proctorio. The use of online invigilation tools such as Proctorio is consistent with many other Australian universities. Proctorio is an online invigilation tool that integrates with our Moodle quiz environment and works within your browser via the Proctorio extension. This extension allows elements of your activity to be recorded while sitting an exam, it does not have access to your computer's operating system. Proctorio stores the recordings of your exam activity for review by authorised UOW staff to help ensure the academic integrity of the exam. These recordings are purged after the exam integrity review period. Proctorio does not give live access to anyone to view your activity in real-time while sitting the exam. 

Important information about Proctorio at UOW

• Recordings collected by the Proctorio tool are directly encrypted by the web browser and placed in a server that only authorised and trained UOW staff are able to access.
• No third parties will have access to or be provided with personal information.
• Proctorio staff cannot access any UOW exam data.
• Room scans will not be used in exams invigilated by Proctorio.
• Proctorio will not have access to the operating system or any files from students' computers other than what students have explicitly granted permission to during their invigilated exam browser session.
• Proctorio can determine the amount of keystrokes being pressed, but not which keys, or content of those keystrokes.
• Students will contact UOW staff if they require assistance, they will not contact Proctorio.
• Trained and authorised UOW invigilators check the exam recording and report, artificial intelligence is not used.
• UOW will carry out a manual deletion process at the end of the exam appeal period of reports stored within Proctorio. Any report data stored by Proctorio will not exceed a maximum of 12 months and will be automatically deleted.

UOW recognises that some students may not have adequate access to equipment or a suitable environment to sit an online exam remotely. Students can contact UOW Exams via our online form to discuss their options including sitting their exams in one of UOW’s facilities.

Reasonable adjustment (RA) provisions will be provided and adjusted for the online exam environment using Proctorio. Each individual student’s RA will be taken into account when setting Proctorio against the exam environment. UOW also may organise some alternate arrangements for students with RA's where required, this may include organising a place on campus to take an exam with an in-person supervisor.

The University is changing its methods of assessment and reducing its reliance on exams as a method of assuring learning. The decision to use alternative assessments, including Proctorio, is not a cost-driven decision. The decision to use Proctorio is about quality of learning.

Other models of assessment are being utilised based on the subject assessment requirements including online unsupervised exams, online open-book exams, and a small number of on-campus exams.

Proctorio will not be applied to all online exams. Proctorio is being utilised for some end-of-session exams and for about 30% of those exams in Autumn session.