Online Proctoring

Online proctoring is recommended for any single assessment equivalent to 15% or more of a student's final course grade (UF + Quality Matters Standard 3).

Honorlock is the University's designated online proctoring service used to deter and detect infringement upon academic integrity in online assessments within Canvas.

Online proctoring is not a free service. Faculty teaching an online course that requires proctoring should consider how the service will be funded. Check with your program or department before requesting proctoring services to confirm how your course will fund online proctoring.

The following are key considerations in determining funding:

• Is your course a UF Online course?
• Is your course part of a Self-Supporting program?
• Is your course set up to charge a Distance Learning Fee to cover proctoring?

Your program or department should know the answers to these questions. For those using ProctorU, keep in mind that ProctorU will not activate your exam to allow students to schedule until they know how the proctoring costs will be funded.

Honorlock utilizes the Google Chrome browser to record all activity on-screen during an assessment. It uses the computer webcam to record each student's face during the proctored exam.

Please review the step-by-step Honorlock Instructor Guide (PDF) for instructions on how to use Honorlock for your course in Canvas. The Honorlock Instructor Guide will highlight the following:

• Enabling Honorlock in Canvas
• Enabling Honorlock for an Exam
• Explanation of Honorlock Proctoring Options
• Viewing Honorlock Proctoring Results
• Helpful Resources

You can also watch a recorded training webinar conducted by ODL and Honorlock and the How to Use Honorlock Canvas Instructor Guide (1:47) which cover how to set up Honorlock proctoring for a quiz within Canvas.

Finally, review Honorlock's faculty guide explaining features and proctoring options: Honorlock - Explanation of Proctoring Options (PDF).

Honorlock's guide Review Exam Results is the best place to start. You can also watch How to View Student Results in Canvas (Instructor Guide) (1:01) for a brief overview.

Our guide to Honorlock's A.I. flags can be read here: Honorlock - A.I. Flags and Proctor Alerts (PDF).

Make sure to review our guide to Honorlock's A.I. flags: Honorlock - A.I. Flags and Proctor Alerts (PDF).

When reviewing videos of proctored exams in Honorlock for academic misconduct, please note the following guidelines (courtesy of the UF College of Health and Human Performance):

Setup and Preparation

• Have TAs assist and/or set up a schedule for Honorlock exam video review if you have a large enrollment course. For instance, you may decide to review certain subsets of students each exam to ensure all students are reviewed at some point in the term.
• If you are able to coordinate with a TA, teaching partner, or another proctor to split reviews of the recordings, double-check each other’s work for potentially suspicious situations.
• There may be a delay in viewing the video – per Honorlock, you may have to wait up to 24 hours post-exam.

Reviewing Flags and Suspicious Activity

• Watch a few minutes before and after the flag (i.e. the question before and after the flagged questions) – this helps you look for patterns in behavior that could be cheating.
• Listen for abnormal sounds (typing, mouse-clicking, etc.).
• Closely review the room scan (e.g. it may not show desk or could expose a second monitor).
• Keep track of timestamps for suspicious activity on a separate document (i.e. in a protected sheet shared between proctors; Dropbox is one such FERPA-compliant platform) for later reference.
• Pay attention to eye movement – are the student's eyes moving to a location other than scrap paper?
• Watch out for changes in screen brightness on the test-takers' faces, in their eyes, or glasses.

Important Notes and Additional Best Practices

• Click through and review flags first, then review random spots throughout the recording to catch infractions Honorlock may have missed.
• AI flagging is not 100% reliable. Remember that Honorlock is a tool to facilitate your role in ensuring academic integrity. Some flags may be inconsequential, whereas some suspicious activity may not be detected by the AI. We encourage faculty to review all or as many exams as possible regardless of the flagging category.
• Note that the exam is automatically flagged as high/red when time runs out.
• Pause the recording for a moment when the students hold up their scrap paper to make sure it is blank.
• Refresh the browser after watching a few recordings, as Honorlock tends to glitch up/freeze after consecutive views.

It will be up to the instructor to determine whether academic dishonesty has occurred during an online proctored exam. Honorlock is a tool to assist you in making this determination. If academic dishonesty is suspected, please proceed according to the following information:

How to submit a report to the SCCR and what to expect (instructor "testimonials" and experiences):

• Student Conduct & Conflict Resolution: https://sccr.dso.ufl.edu
• Direct link to Honor Code Incident Report: https://cm.maxient.com/reportingform.php?UnivofFlorida&layout_id=5
• Process from the Student Honor Code & Conduct Code: https://sccr.dso.ufl.edu/process/student-conduct-code/)

Additional Honorlock instructor resources can be found below:

• Important Honorlock Exam Information (PDF) covers additional notes to ensure your proctored exams run successfully.
• You can review Honorlock's Help Center resources for using their service within Canvas for more helpful articles and exam configuration guidance.

You may direct your students to UF's Online Proctoring Student Resources page or share the Honorlock resources below:

• Honorlock - Student Guide
• Honorlock - Student Exam Preparation Information
• Student Test Area Scan Example
• Honorlock - Student Privacy

You may reach out directly to our office for further assistance by contacting the Office of Distance Learning's online proctoring team at proctoring-odl@ufl.edu.

Detailed instructions on how to copy your course in Canvas can be found by reviewing Honorlock - Course Copy (Canvas) - Faculty Guide. 

Instructors may use Honorlock to proctor exams using any third-party platform including Pearson MyMathLab, McGraw-Hill Connect, and WebAssign. Read our guide Honorlock - Create a Third Party Exam (PDF) to learn more.

Yes, through Honorlock’s Search and Destroy feature, Honorlock will scope the web for any unauthorized copies of your exam questions and will immediately submit a request for removal. Additional information about this feature can be found on this page under the Protect Your Proctored Online Exam Content section.

Learn more about real-time reporting on Honorlock's online proctored exams here: https://honorlock.com/blog/definitive-guide-for-comparing-online-proctoring-services/ 

Follow the links below for useful information to share with students prior to the exam:

• UF Distance Learning Online Proctoring Student Resources page
• Honorlock - Student Exam Preparation Information
• Step-by-step Honorlock Student Guide: Honorlock - Student Guide
• The following video provides a quick guide for students on how to complete a room scan for their online exam: Student Test Area Scan Example.

For students who require or request accommodations, please share and review the resources on the Disability Resource Center website.

When enabling Honorlock for your exam, you will have the opportunity to specify any accommodations certain students may require. Notes made in the Accommodations section will only be visible to Honorlock proctors and support staff. Students will not be able to see the accommodations set for them and if necessary, should be alerted of their accommodations via email or other forms of communication.

Please note that only accommodations that relate to proctoring or authentication (Student Photo, ID Verification, Room Scan) should be listed here. Accommodations concerning exam availability, time extensions, number of attempts, and extended due dates are all managed within the Canvas exam settings.

The Disability Resource Center provides further information, services, and support for you and your students. You can review Honorlock's Accommodations page in their Help Center for more details.

For information on how to disable exams in Honorlock, review the Honorlock knowledgebase guide.