Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google


Texas Community Colleges Adds Online Proctoring Service

  • By Dian Schaffhauser
  • 02/11/16

A major statewide community college system has added a new option for proctoring of online tests. The Texas Association of Community Colleges (TACC) has signed a master contract with Examity, a Massachusetts company, to offer proctoring of online exams to the system's 50 colleges through a cooperative purchasing agreement. The colleges aren't obligated to work with the company, even though, as a December request for proposal pointed out, the "contracts are highly advantageous to them."

An online proctoring system allows students to take exams without being physically in the same room as an exam proctor.

An online proctoring system allows students to take exams without being physically in the same room as an exam proctor. With Examity's service, once a test-taker has set up a profile, including submitting a "government-issued ID" with photo and time zone, he or she can schedule an exam. On test day the student logs in through the institution's learning management system and connects to the proctoring dashboard to be connected with a "live proctor" who monitors the testing-taking process.

The Texas college system specifically requested integration with Instructure Canvas, as well as other "popular" learning management systems and assessment systems, including Questionmark Perception, Pearson's MyMathLab and McGraw-Hill Connect. The RFP also stipulated that video be created for the entire testing session to allow the proctor or an auditor to check for possible violations and suspicious activities. Another requirement was that the vendor allow for payment by the college, by the student or as a split between the two. Although 18 vendors were invited to submit proposals, six did so.

"Examity offers an exemplary solution to proctor online exams by providing the flexibility, integration and reliability we need," said Charlie Oberrender, director of cooperative purchasing for the Texas college system in a press release.

About the Author

Dian Schaffhauser is a former senior contributing editor for 1105 Media's education publications THE Journal, Campus Technology and Spaces4Learning.

Featured

  • workshop participants discuss sustainability in open science and research

    Open Source: Advancing Our Digital Commons

    IT leaders are recognizing the benefits of a return to open strategies. CT asked Jack Suess, VP of IT and CIO at UMBC, for his views on returning to the digital commons of open source.

  • Digital cyberspace with particles and Digital data

    Report: AI Is Moving Faster than Data Trust

    AI agents are already in use or pilot at most organizations, but data visibility, governance and precision recovery capabilities have not kept pace, according to Veeam's new Data & AI Trust Gap report.

  • AI logo near computer equipment

    White House Releases National Policy Framework for AI

    The White House has released a four-page AI policy framework aimed at setting a national approach to AI, with priorities including child safety, intellectual property protections, truth and accuracy guardrails, and worker training for an AI-driven economy.

  • Binary code flows through a digital pathway with red and blue lights in a dark background

    Survey: Enterprises Say They Are Ready for Agentic AI Failures, but Few Test Recovery Often

    Most enterprise organizations say they are ready to recover from disruptions involving agentic AI, but a new survey of more than 300 IT decision-makers from Australia, New Zealand, Europe, the United Kingdom, and the United States suggests relatively few test those plans often enough to prove it.