Respondus Online Proctoring

No, Respondus doesn’t require students to create a profile.

You’ll be asked to show your student ID at the beginning of an assessment the same way you would in an in-person environment. If you don’t have a student ID yet, make sure to contact your department to arrange for it to be sent to you prior to your assessment. The ID can be printed if you don’t have a physical card. It’s recommended that you don’t use other forms of identification, as these contain additional personal information that’s not provided on your student ID.

Prepare your assessment environment:

• Tell your roommates, parents, siblings or any other individuals in your home the date and time of your assessment and that you will be recorded. Ask them to stay outside of the area during the assessment.
• Find a room or space in your home with minimal personal information in view (e.g., photographs). The best location, where possible, is in front of a blank wall or closed door.
• Make sure you have everything you need for your assessment. This could include any study aids your instructor has approved, your student ID, a glass of water or a comfortable chair.

Prepare your computer:

• Make sure you have the latest supported updates to your operating system installed prior to your assessment date.
• Close all open applications, other than what will be allowed during the assessment (e.g., Avenue to Learn), prior to starting Respondus. Closing applications yourself before starting Respondus is preferrable to letting Respondus close them for you.
• Open Respondus and Avenue to Learn at least 10 minutes before your assessment begins.

If you use assistive devices, contact Student Accessibility Services for testing before writing tests/exams.

Check out this helpful article, written by University Technology Services (UTS): Preparing your computer to work with Respondus.

If your laptop does not have a functional webcam, you can apply for support to purchase necessary technology via the COVID-19 Student Emergency Relief Fund.

Read this article to explore methods to use your mobile device as a webcam.

Please note: University Technology Services (UTS) does not provide technical support for devices not owned by the university. We recommend that you test a workaround in advance of your scheduled test.

• The assessment will be displayed full-screen, and you won’t be able to minimize it.
• The browser menu and toolbar options will be temporarily removed, except for back, forward, refresh and stop.
• You usually won’t be able to access websites, although your instructor may identify specific websites that will be allowed.
• Access to other applications including messaging, screen sharing, virtual machines and remote desktop will be temporarily blocked.
• Printing and screen capture functions will be temporarily blocked.
• You won’t be able to copy and paste anything to or from the assessment.
• Right-click menu options, function keys, keyboard shortcuts and task switching will be temporarily blocked.

While tests and exams in any environment can be stressful, we know that online invigilation can feel less flexible than in-person assessment. Will an involuntary movement, like an itch or sneeze, result in a flag? What if you catch yourself inadvertently gazing out a window, or if you need to drink water or use the bathroom?

While it’s possible these could result in a flag from the system, don’t worry — your instructor will review any flagged activity the same way they would survey the room in an in-person environment. This means it will be up to a human, and not a computer, which cases are investigated further.

Don’t panic. Remember that it will be your instructor who determines which recordings indicate academic misconduct. Sometimes things happen that are outside our control — and that’s okay. If possible, explain to the camera what has happened, note the time and email your instructor afterwards. We’ve put together some common “what if” scenarios in this FAQ more details on what to do.

Although it’s best to use the washroom before an assessment begins, if you need to use the washroom during the assessment, simply say to the camera “I’m going to use the washroom” before leaving the camera view. Note the time you left, and email your instructor after the assessment to explain — that way, when they’re reviewing the recordings later, they’ll know what happened.

If a fire alarm goes off or there is another emergency that occurs while writing your assessment, the first priority is your safety. If safe to do so, explain to the camera why you’re leaving, note the time, follow emergency protocols and email your instructor afterwards to explain the situation. If there’s no time to explain in the moment (again, your safety comes first!), simply connect with your instructor after.

If you feel ill before you start your assessment, consider whether you need to submit a Request for Relief for Missed Academic Term Work (MSAF). If you start to feel ill during the assessment, and you don’t think you can complete it, exit the assessment and contact your Associate Dean’s Office or Program Office once your situation has stabilized.

Before your assessment, make sure to let everyone in your home know that you have an assessment and that you’ll be recorded. Sometimes, though, the unexpected can happen — a child could enter the room without realizing or a roommate could forget that you’re writing a test. Stay calm, ask the person to leave the space and send a note to your instructor afterwards explaining the situation.

Keep in mind that, even if your recording is flagged as potentially suspicious behaviour, your instructor will review the recording before deciding whether or not to pursue an investigation into potential academic misconduct. Sneezing does not equate to cheating, unless there is other evidence your instructor observes that academic misconduct has occurred.

It’s good practice to have something to eat and to drink some water before the assessment, but it’s also okay to drink water during your test or exam.

To use Respondus, you should have one of the following systems:

• Windows: 10, 8.7; Windows 10S is not a compatible operating system.
• Mac: macOS 10.12 to 11.1.
• iOS: 11.0+ (iPad only). You must have a compatible Avenue to Learn login.

To use Respondus Monitor, you’ll also need to have a webcam. If you don’t have the equipment needed to complete your assessment with Respondus, you may be eligible for emergency financial support. You can also reach out to your instructor to discuss your situation and develop solutions prior to the assessment.

While there has been concern expressed on social media platforms, there has been no evidence of damaged or corrupted files on a student computer as a result of completing an exam using Respondus at McMaster. For more information on how to prepare your computer to for an exam using Respondus, check out this article from UTS. If you suspect that your computer has been damaged as a result of Respondus use in an assessment, contact the UTS HelpDesk. You will need to provide your device to assess the claim of damage.

For technical issues during an exam, you can contact Respondus directly via their 24/7/365 live chat. You can access this chat from within the application during the assessment. If you have any issues accessing Respondus or related to Avenue to Learn, you can contact the Avenue to Learn service desk. Your instructor may also be available to support you during the exam or provide you with additional support contact information.

Audio and video recordings, as well as any additional data about computer use during the assessment, will be accessed first and foremost by your instructor. This information will help them identify if there is a possibility of cheating and if your case requires follow-up.

Other than your instructor, this data will only be shared with relevant University staff who require the information to perform their duties related to academic integrity. For example, staff involved with the investigation of academic misconduct may review your audio and video recordings and additional data to inform their decision on whether or not your case constitutes a breach of the McMaster’s Academic Integrity Policy. Other staff who may need to access this data include your teaching assistant, proctor(s) authorized by your Faculty and Avenue to Learn administrators.

Access to data collected through Respondus is restricted to instructors directly responsible for courses and other relevant university staff in the cases outlined above. It is stored in the Amazon Warehouse Solution (AWS) within Canada, which has dedicated oversight for privacy and information security activities.

Respondus does collect anonymized, aggregated data on the use of its service to help improve performance, diagnose problems, and detect and prevent fraud and abuse of its services and systems.

Respondus uses industry-standard Transport Layer Security (TLS) encryption to transfer data. Respondus uses independent, third-party security firms to perform “penetration testing” of the Respondus system. This includes a review of the Respondus architecture and testing for vulnerabilities and exploits. However, no data transmission over the Internet is 100% secure for any service or system. Find out more about data privacy protection for information stored at AWS.

In addition, if students access Respondus through Avenue to Learn, the University further supports information security with a secure firewall to protect student information, which is regularly tested and monitored for vulnerabilities.

Respondus is required by law, as well as by the University’s agreement with them, to inform McMaster’s Information Security department if there is a suspected security breach. Information Security would then work with Respondus to investigate the incident and determine if any personal information was involved, in which case the McMaster Privacy Office also engages in the investigation. Any individuals who have been affected by a breach will be immediately notified by the University.

Your personal information will be retained by Respondus for 12 months after it is collected, in compliance with the Undergraduate Course Management Policy. McMaster may be required to request and retain a copy of the information collected by Respondus beyond this time period when it is related to a grade appeal or an allegation under the Academic Integrity Policy.

Before choosing Respondus, McMaster’s Privacy Office and Information Security Office performed a privacy impact assessment (PIA) — this is an in-depth analysis of the risks posed to the protection of privacy in using a third-party service provider. The assessment takes place in several stages, and begins by examining publicly available material (including the vendor’s privacy policy and terms of use). The second stage includes obtaining the vendor’s internal policies and protocols that provide greater detail for analysis on information collection, use, access and disclosure, as well as security safeguards and incident management protocols.

Although Respondus is a private-sector tool and is not required to be compliant with the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA), the university has a one-year, non-renewable agreement with Respondus to ensure that the university meets its compliance requirements under FIPPA and to protect student privacy when using Respondus.