Respondus Monitor Online Proctoring

Online Proctoring Now Available for All Courses for Free

Respondus Monitor, an online test proctoring solution, is now available to all faculty and students for tests and quizzes conducted in Canvas, free of charge. Please see below for instructions on how to use it, including training, FAQs, and written guides.

1. What is Respondus Monitor and how does it work?

  • Respondus Monitor is a software-based video proctoring service that can be used when students take a test in Canvas. The system will automatically monitor and record any suspicious behavior, such as using secondary computers, phones, calculators, textbooks, or receiving assistance from other students, which instructors would need to review afterwards to determine whether an academic integrity violation has occurred. In other words, Respondus Monitor creates a video for the instructor to review at a later time with the possible violations flagged and time-stamped.

2. Technical Requirements – What Equipment Do Students Need to Use Respondus Monitor?

3. Technical Requirements – What Equipment Do Instructors Need to Use Respondus Monitor?

4. Training / How-To Guides / Getting Started With Respondus Monitor

Respondus offers several resources on using Respondus Monitor

5. How to Create an Online Test in Canvas Using Respondus Monitor

6. Best Practices for Online Tests

  • Have students complete a practice quiz that uses LockDown Browser + Respondus Monitor to ensure they have installed both applications correctly
  • Create a Quiz with randomized questions (using Canvas Question Bank)
  • Randomize the quiz question choices
  • Require all quizzes to be assigned to the Lockdown Browser
  • Modifying the Lockdown Browser settings [PDF] to lock students into the browser until the exam is completed
  • If necessary faculty can allow access to specific external web domains
  • Require Respondus Monitor for the exam
  • Require a webcam check, environment check, & student photo ID

7. How to Ensure Academic Integrity

No system is foolproof, so you may want to review the following tips below.

  • Research shows that educating students about academic integrity is more effective than enforcement alone, so you may want to explain to students why doing their own work is important. Reinforcing positive behavior as desirable is an effective way to make students feel that they are being treated fairly.
  • Review the Code of Student Academic Integrity
  • Add the following language to your syllabus: “All students are required to read and abide by the Code of Student Academic Integrity. Violations of the Code of Student Academic Integrity, including cheating on quizzes and plagiarism, will result in disciplinary action as provided in the Code. The Code is available from the Dean of Students Office or online.”
  • Faculty may ask students to produce identification at examinations and may require students to demonstrate that graded assignments completed outside of class are their own work.

8. What to Do If Some Students Do Not Have a Webcam or the Correct Equipment? / How to Determine Whether Your Students Are Ready to Use Respondus Monitor

Some students may not have the time or resources to acquire the correct equipment before you begin using proctored testing, so you may need to determine what your students’ readiness is and also consider giving the affected students an alternative assignment to demonstrate what they have learned.

Survey Your Students to Know What Equipment They Have. To use Respondus Monitor, students will need the right equipment [see FAQ] and will need to download the application [FAQ]. However, some students may not have the correct operating system, or webcam, or some other technical limitation. We recommend you survey your students to see what technology they have. One easy way is to use Canvas:

Possible Questions to Ask

  • ​Do you have either a laptop or desktop computer available? Y/N
  • Are you using Windows (10, 8, or 7) or Mac OS X (10.10 or higher)? Y/N
  • Do you have a web camera (internal or external) and microphone? Y/N
  • Do you have a broadband internet connection? Y/N
  • Is your *only* device a Chromebook, iPad, or other device that does *not* use Windows or Mac OS X? Y/N
  • ​Anything else you deem relevant for your course that you may need to know about your students

Using the Results to Adjust Your Course

  • ​If some students do not have the necessary equipment to do proctored testing, you may want to consider giving these students an alternative assignment to demonstrate what they have learned.
  • Randomized quizzing is an option to help with academic integrity (using the Question Bank in Canvas)
  • If they have the right kind of computer and operating system but no webcam, you can use the Lockdown Browser with a randomized quiz (using the Question Bank in Canvas)

Ideas for Alternative Assignments for Assessing Learning

  • Write a paper
  • Create a video / recorded oral presentation
  • Give an oral exam, one-on-one, using WebEx [link] or Google Hangouts [link]
  • Create an open-book exam [see the Online Assessment section of the Teaching Resources Google Doc]