Proctorio FAQs

We're committed to mitigating the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on your study and course progression as much as possible.  

Following health advice, we're unable to hold exams in-person this semester. In some cases, Course Conveners have made arrangements for alternative forms of assessment, but where an exam must be undertaken to satisfy the course assessment, we've purchased an Australian license for Proctorio to conduct remote, invigilated examinations safely and securely.

We have conducted IT security assessments and a privacy impact assessment of Proctorio; and we have implemented a range of measures to protect students' privacy. The privacy protections offered by Proctorio are one of the key reasons we selected it over other options. The impact assessments conducted showed that Proctorio was the best option for safeguarding student privacy whilst upholding academic standards. 

There is additional information readily available concerning Proctorio and privacy, including a detailed Privacy Impact Assessment and information about how Proctorio meets the Australian privacy principles. 

No. We've been working closely with various Australian Government security agencies over the last 18 months to harden our security systems. Our systems are very strong, and there is more investment to come. 

 

Further to this point, installing Proctorio onto your device does not expose you to cyber-attacks. See the ANU Cyber Advisory and HECVAT assessments for more information. 

 

COVID-19 will be a part of our lives for the foreseeable future and this year our community and operations have adapted to function both remotely and in a COVID-safe way on campus. The pandemic is not a short-term situation, therefore short-term solutions, such as a pause on examinations, are not viable. 

To ensure that students are assessed fairly and under the same conditions, both remote and in-person examinations often require invigilation. It's also important that we provide assessment options for students so they can continue their study pathway and complete their degree on time.  

Invigilated examinations are a core assessment requirement for some courses, and we have purchased Proctorio to ensure that students can complete their core assessment remotely. 

 

You will need a computer less than 10 years old, with internet access (0.244Mbps), Chrome browser and a webcam (see detailed requirements here). Practice examinations are provided on this Wattle page to ensure your hardware, software, and internet connection are adequate for the task. 

It is important to remember Proctorio has no access to other files on your computer. If you're using a shared computer, or a computer belonging to your employer, you may wish to create a separate user account to take your examination

If you do not own a computer, webcam or other equipment needed to use Proctorio, there are a number of options available to you:

There have been no changes to the support services we provide at ANU, and Access and Inclusion continues to administer special assessment arrangements for examinations. 

Your Course Convener takes decisions about assessments appropriate to the course and any special assessment arrangements, such as extended time, will still be applied.  If you have any additional questions or concerns, please contact Access and Inclusion at access.inclusion@anu.edu.au.  

 

Proctorio has a very low bandwidth requirement: 0.092 - 0.244 Mbps. This is well below ADSL1 speeds, and should not impact significantly on your internet.  Our testing has so far found no instances of inadequate bandwidth.  Longer outages may require you to "re-enter" an examination, for which there is a process, including the option to apply for special consideration due to disruption in an examination.  

Course Conveners will determine if your course requires the use of Proctorio for assessment purposes. For students within reach of the ANU campus, options to undertake your Proctorio examination on campus are available. For further information, please see this webpage.
 

Your Course Conveners make the decision on the best assessment option for individual courses. Course Conveners will inform you of the assessment requirements for their course as soon as possible via the course Wattle site. If you have a Proctorio examination, we strongly encourage you to engage with the Wattle practice site. 

Proctorio captures a photograph of your ANU student card and of your face. These are then presented for your Course Convener or an invigilator (e.g. ANU Examinations office staff) to check the ID of the test-taker after the examination. 

Proctorio does not use any form of biometric analysis, so does not attempt facial recognition. It does do some image processing to determine that it has a good capture of a photo ID and of your face. 

If these parameters are not satisfied, the ID check is flagged for extra attention after the examination. If you do not have an ANU student card, you are welcome to use your driver licence or passport, and you can cover your private details (e.g. address, birth date) so they are not captured. 

 

No. The recording will be used by the examination invigilators to review students taking their examination.  Recordings flagged with a high suspicion rating will be more carefully reviewed, with students invited to explain any particularly unusual behaviour, noting that the recordings are also a good source of evidence to defend a student who needs to explain unexpected circumstances occurring during an examination (e.g. a fire alarm).  

 

All recordings will be deleted after examination results are finalised. Consistent with Academic Misconduct Rules (2015), any student found to be cheating will be subject to the prescribed disciplinary action.