Student Authentication Does Not Prevent Cheating

August 5th, 2009

The Brownsville Herald reported earlier this week about a case of gross academic fraud discovered within the office of Distance Learning at University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College (“UTB-TSC”). (Herald Article)

The Chronicle of Higher Education wrote that “former student employees of the Office of Distance Education, which manages Blackboard, confessed to a police investigator that they had used the online system to obtain test answers for themselves or to give or sell to other students.” (Chronicle Article)

The cheating reports included the sale of test questions and students accessing test answers on one computer while taking the test on another computer.

Considerable time, money and ink has been expended this year debating what academic institutions must do to be in compliance with the 2008 Higher Education Act language which requires schools to demonstrate to accreditors that they are doing something to authenticate the identity of their online students.

Blackboard recently announced that a service is being made available through Acxiom that will periodically and randomly present real-time challenge questions to the test-taker (i.e., in 1998 you lived at one of the following three addresses) (Press Release). The pitch is that along with Blackboard’s username and password, these challenge questions will ensure that the correct person is taking the test.

At best such a service will ensure that the correct student is in the room where the exam is taken. Authentication does not prevent the correct student from having another student answer the test questions, or having the correct test-taker access unauthorized materials during the exam.

Identity authentication is important. The username and password sign-on required by most learning management systems starts the process, and certainly challenge questions can help validate the appropriate person is near the computer publishing the exam (just like checking an ID or recognizing your student in the exam-room or testing center), but academic institutions need to adopt methods and tools to prevent cheating if they want to protect academic integrity.

Ultimately, all institutions will interpret the HEA requirements and put processes in place to comply with them. However, there is much more to academic integrity than just meeting the current requirements of the HEA. For example, exam academic integrity means ensuring that processes are in place not only for student authentication, but also for electronic exam security as well environmental security during an exam.

Posted in Accreditation, Authentication, Cheating | No Comments »

100% Success Rate for Bar Exam Laptop Program

August 4th, 2009

One Thousand people took the essay portion of the New Jersey bar exam this July using their own laptop computers running Securexam software. Other than three people who did not have functioning power cords, every exam candidate successfully submitted an electronic exam file.

Securexam software enables candidates to word-process their exam answer while simultaneously creating a locked-down environment which prevents examinees from accessing unauthorized materials during the test. Securexam runs on examinees’ own computers, and must create a secure and trouble-free exam experience regardless of what is on the test-takers computer.

Each exam candidate was required to install Securexam software and take a qualification exam in advance of the Bar exam to confirm the software was properly functioning on the individuals own computers.

The 100% success rate at the Bar exam demonstrates how students and test-takers should never again be required to put pen to paper on a high-stakes exam.

Posted in Computer Based Exams, Professional Certification Exams | No Comments »

How a University chose to require Securexam Remote Proctor for its entire online program.

July 7th, 2009

Below is a link the a paper published in the MERLOT Journal of Online Learning and Teaching describes the process undertaken by the University of West Alabama to evaluate and ultimately choose to deploy the Securexam Remote Proctor system throughout the University’s entire online program.

In a three week period during the Spring of 2009, more then 1,600 students purchased a remote proctor device, installed the Securexam software, enrolled their biometric indentification, and took over 7,000 exams.

Today there are more than 2,200 active student users.

Implementing Technology to Prevent Online Cheating

Posted in Accreditation, Authentication, Remote Proctor, Uncategorized | No Comments »

It’s About Brand and Integrity Not Just Authentication

June 19th, 2009

The public discussion around the language contained in the legislation reauthorizing the higher education act, requiring distance learning programs to demonstrate how they are authenticating their online students, serves as a good opportunity to talk about our Securexam Remote Proctor System.

Many publications have described Securexam Remote Proctor as being built to address the new legislative requirements (New Systems Keep a Close Eye on Online Students at Home). That’s simply not true.

While Securexam Remote Proctor does authenticate the identity of a test-taker, its primary purpose is to cost effectively protect the academic integrity of computer-based exams administered at a distance.

The concept of academic integrity is not new, and most schools do not need Congress to tell them it’s important. Regardless of how schools are administering tests for their online programs, they all know that academic integrity is a key foundation of their brand, and a necessary element of the value they provide.

Securexam Remote Proctor does what a human proctor does on campus or in a testing center. It checks an exam-taker’s identification and monitors the exam room conditions. Securexam has the added benefit of ensuring the test-taker’s computer can’t be used to cheat (technology traditional schools are using in proctored settings). Securexam Remote Proctor does all of this within the value proposition of distance learning: test/learn at the convenience of the student.

Securexam Remote Proctor customers want to (1) demonstrate to employers that their students’ degrees have the same value as that held by the traditional student; (2) make it easy for students to test conveniently and without the added costs associated with going to find a proctor; (3) protect those of their students that would not cheat from those that would; and, (4) ensure that their online learners and traditional learners feel their is a level playing field.

As requested, we will start profiling schools using Securexam Remote Proctor. Hopefully you will see what they realized long ago. The system addresses the same issues schools and accreditors have promoted forever; facilitate learning, promote integrity, prevent cheating.

Posted in Cheating, Remote Proctor | No Comments »

Software Secure has rejoined the conversation

June 2nd, 2009

All of us working at Software Secure have agreed to use this blog to openly discuss the important trends we hope to influence in education and testing technology. This blog has been quiet for some time, while we focused on developing our products and supporting our customers. Now we hope to dedicate some time each week to share what we are hearing and doing in hopes of contributing to the process of improving education.

Each day, in sales, R&D, or support we have conversations that demonstrate that the issues our company is trying to address are at a critical stage in the evolution of test technology.

Every day, we hear or read something about: the importance and value of distance learning, the benefits and dangers of integrating technology in education, the prevalence of cheating, the need for institutional accountability and student accountability, or the cost/value of education.

Going forward, we intend to use this space to share with you our thoughts on these issues. We will also provide herein firsthand accounts of what our customers are doing. We welcome your participation, and hope that this blog will play some small role in improving how people learn.

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

Securexam Remote Proctor

February 19th, 2008

The following post was originally published on May 23, 2007 in the previous version of this blog.

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Removing a Roadblock to Distance Education

This week, Software Secure officially announced Securexam Remote Proctor.

Developed with the assistance of Troy University, Remote Proctor eliminates the need for students to go to campus to take an exam or arrange to have a proctor for every testing situation. The product combines security software, biometrics and video to authenticate the identity of a test-taker and ensure the test experience is as honest as it would be in the classroom.

Every exam can be a take-home exam. The ability to take the exam remotely while ensuring academic integrity is a big issue. For nontraditional students, including distance learners, who no longer have to go to a testing center or find a proctor. For professors and educational institutions, who can now be assured that their remote testing is credible as well as convenient.

But it’s actually even more important, because what this technology does is remove one of the biggest roadblocks to viable, widespread distance education.

Thanks to the Internet, we’ve overcome many of the obstacles to distance learning. Web sites. Email. Second Life. Podcasts. Course Management Systems. All these tools make it possible for a professor to share her knowledge and teach her students, no matter where they are. And in the case of time-shifted lectures via podcast, they don’t even have to be “in class” at the same time. Teaching, learning. We’ve got that covered.

But an education system requires evaluation and assessment. Accreditation. But the test alternatives for remote learners have been limited, and often expensive, depending on how far the learner is from an approved place to take the test. Without a cost effective way to ensure the integrity of remote, unproctored, testing, the development of comprehensive distance education – topic to test – is next to impossible.

Not anymore. Remote Proctor changes the landscape. And it costs about the same as the average college textbook.

Think about it. If you are just taking an online language course so when you go to France you can ask for a coffee or the check, when you cheat on the test, the only person you cheat is yourself. If you are taking a comprehensive exam for a certification or a degree, it is an entirely different story. You are cheating yourself and everyone else who is taking the exam without cheating. You are cheating the people who rely on your degree or certification to ensure a certain level of competency.

When we eliminate cheating, we eliminate a significant roadblock to distance education.

Now, I am well aware that this little post isn’t going to change widespread terminology. Distance learning is the terminology in use today, and is likely to be for some time. But now that we’ve eliminated a key barrier to acceptance of remote testing, over time folks will develop a new expectation for true distance education. One that includes assessment with test integrity as well as instruction.

How Remote Proctor works

Remoteproctor

For something so critical, it is pretty simple. I’m sure the engineers who developed it would read me chapter and verse on how making something this simple and easy to use is actually a pretty complex and involved task. But for the students and professors using it, it will be easy. A lot easier than driving to a testing center.

The Remote Proctor device connects to the student’s computer. When it is time to take the test, she identifies herself by fingerprint. The Securexam software provides access to available exams, and also locks down access to other resources that might be on the computer — Internet, email, files, etc. The student has access to the test and only the test. The camera in the unit records a 360-degree real-time video and audio view of the environment during the entire exam. Movement, other than the expected typing away at the keyboard, is transmitted to the professor. The result: the professor knows that the person taking the test is the student, and she isn’t getting any additional help from friends in the room. Or not, as the case may be.

Remote Proctor was developed with the invaluable assistance of Troy University. Here’s what one of their professors has to say:

“Having the Securexam Remote Proctor System in my class will allow me to preserve the essence of distance learning while maintaining academic standards. The Securexam Remote Proctor System enables me to maintain exam integrity and the ‘anytime, anywhere’ flexibility of online education.” — Dr. Murray Widener, professor of Public Administration at Troy University,

The Securexam Remote Proctor System will be available in September 2007.

More About Remote Proctor
The Wired Campus: Your Cheatin’ Heart
Troy University unveils digital proctors

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