News

Utah Campuses Call on Respondus To Lock Down Blackboard during Assessments

• By Dian Schaffhauser
• 09/02/09

The Utah Education Network (UEN) has selected Respondus LockDown Browser to reduce common methods of cheating and copying during online assessments. The program integrates with the Blackboard Vista course management system to prevent students from printing, copying, visiting other URLs, or accessing other applications during an online assessment. Students are essentially locked into the assessment until they submit it for grading.

The UEN consortium, which includes the 10 public universities from the Utah System of Higher Education as well as other educational entities in the state, uses Vista to deliver its online assessments.

"Making online tests delivered in Blackboard more secure is a challenge with all the information readily available through a simple Internet search," said Scott Allen, learning systems administrator at UEN. "Respondus LockDown Browser helps control the online testing environment so students can't access anything but the assessment itself. Several UEN institutions were already licensing Respondus LockDown Browser on their own, so we worked with Respondus to make it available to our entire Utah higher education system."

The three-year license enables institutions within UEN to install the software within testing labs or on student computers. It also allows them to use the program with other course management systems, including Moodle, which is currently being piloted at some of the universities, as well as Desire2Learn and Angel.