Instructional Technology and Distance Education Services

Student Fee: Free to TAMIU Students

Face-to-Face proctoring services are available for online courses at the TAMIU Testing Center, located in Senator Judith Zaffirini Student Success Center 201. Proctoring must be coordinated in advance with Testing Center staff to have students adhere to their available hours of operation. Contact the Testing Center for additional information at:

Location: Senator Judith Zaffirini Student Success Center 201
Phone:(956) 326-2131
Email: thetestingcenter@tamiu.edu
Visit TAMIU's Testing Center Web Page

Student Fee: Free to TAMIU Students.

The Respondus LockDown Browser is a locked browser for taking tests in Blackboard Learn. The LockDown Browser should only be used for taking Blackboard tests. It should not be used in other areas of Blackboard. The browser will prevent students from printing, copying, going to another URL, or accessing other applications during a test. If a Blackboard test requires that Respondus LockDown Browser be used, students will not be able to take the test with a standard web browser.

Watch the first portion of this video (0-1:13) for information about the LockDown Browser.

The LockDown Browser is accessible to students on any campus computer and may be downloaded on personal computers. Instructors should direct students to TAMIU's Respondus LockDown Browser and Respondus Monitor page for access to the software and FAQ's on the tool and any troubleshooting tips.

Additional Resources for Faculty:

1. Respondus LockDown Browser Syllabus Statement (DOCX)
2. Respondus LockDown Browser and Monitor Quick Start Guide (for Instructors) (PDF)
3. Respondus LockDown Browser and Monitor Quick Start Guide (for Students) (PDF)

Student Fee: $15 for a 1-year (365 days) subscription for unlimited courses and tests held within Blackboard at Texas A&M International University

Working in conjunction with the Respondus LockDown Browser, Respondus is an automated proctoring tool that requires the use of a webcam and microphone to record the student during an online, non-proctored exam.

Watch the ending portion of this video (1:14-2:24) that describes Respondus Monitor.

Instructors should direct students to TAMIU's Respondus LockDown Browser and Respondus Monitor page for access to the software and FAQ's on the proctoring service and any troubleshooting tips.

Additional Resources for Faculty:

1. Respondus Monitor Syllabus Statement (DOCX)
2. Respondus LockDown Browser and Monitor Quick Start Guide (for Instructors) (PDF)
3. Respondus LockDown Browser and Monitor Quick Start Guide (for Students) (PDF)

Student Fee: Fee for services is applied per test and varies depending on the level of security and additional hours (above 1st hour). Contact eLearning for test fee information.

IMPORTANT: Contact eLearning immediately if you wish to incorporate this service into your courses, at least 4 weeks in advance of the initial test.

Examity is an external, test proctoring service for online Blackboard tests. Instructors are provided choices of varying levels of security, and depending on the level, the majority will include the need for the student to meet virtually with a live proctor. Recordings of the testing session may be recorded for later review.

Watch this brief introduction about this online proctoring solution.

Instructors should direct students to TAMIU's Examity page for information about the proctoring service, a guide for using the services, and tips for testing with Examity.

Additional Resources for Faculty:

1. Examity Syllabus Statement (DOCX)
2. Examity Quick Guide (for Instructors) (PDF)
3. Examity Quick Guide (for Students) (PDF)

The syllabus is considered as the main document for listing the expectations of the course. If a student is required to purchase any technology software, subscription or service, it is vital to include this information in the syllabus immediately, so that students have time to prepare and meet the requirements of the course.

See resources above to find syllabus statements for each of the tools or services.

Unless a test is being proctored in a testing center with desktop computers, the "Forced Completion" setting should never be using for online tests where students can take an exam on their devices. If this setting is enabled and a student's computer encounters an issue (network connectivity, browser crashing, clicking back out of a test, etc.) during a test attempt, the system will believe the student has left the test and their attempt is automatically submitted at that point. Students that encounter this issue would not be able to resume where they leave off in the test and would require a new attempt from the instructor.

By leaving this setting disabled, students that encounter computer errors can resolve their issue by completely closing their browser, logging into eLearning and resuming where they left off in the test, with any time that is still left. (NOTE: Timers on a test never pause while a student has left the test. Students must be quick to get back into the test with any time remaining.)

Tests with no timers can create an opportunity for collusion or to perform prohibited research on the test. It is recommended to add a timer that provides students enough time (per question) to read the question text and answer choices, a few moments to analyze and determine the correct choice, select the choice, and submit. The more time that is provided on a test per question, the greater the opportunity for an answer to be researched (from online sites or an eBook) or shared with another person.

With the timer feature enabled, you may also have the system submit a student's attempt at the moment time expires on the timer by setting "Auto-Submit" to "ON". This limits students to the designated time on the test and prohibits them from exceeding the time limit. Setting "Auto-Submit" to "OFF" will provide the student with an option to exceed the timer, but have their attempt marked "Late" in the grade center.

How to Enable a Timer and Auto-Submit

1. Locate the test/quiz/exam in the content area.
2. Hovering over the title of the test, access the contextual menu to select "Edit the Test Options".
3. Under "Test Availability" section, check the box next to "Set Timer".
4. In the field box provided, enter a time limit (in minutes) for your test.
5. Under "Auto-Submit," select "ON".
6. Click the "Submit" button to save the settings.

To prevent direct collusion where questions number and answer choices would be shared ("1 is A, 2 is C, 3 is B,... etc."), it is recommended to enable the options to randomize the question order and answer choices in a test.

How to Randomize Question Order

1. Locate the test/quiz/exam in the content area.
2. Hovering over the title of the test, access the contextual menu to select "Edit the Test Options".
3. Under "Test Presentation" section, check the checkbox for "Randomize Questions".
4. Click the "Submit" button to save the settings.

How to Randomize Answer Choices for Multiple Choice/Multiple Answer Questions

1. Locate the test/quiz/exam in the content area.
2. Hovering over the title of the test, access the contextual menu to select "Edit the Test".
3. You will be taken to the test canvas, which contains the questions of the test.
4. Hover over a question to access the contextual menu and select "Edit".
5. Under the "Options" section, check the checkbox for "Show Answers in Random Order".
6. Click the "Submit" button to save the settings.
7. Repeat steps 2-6 for each question requiring randomized answer choices.

In Blackboard, a pool is a collection of questions that can be linked and randomized in a test. By using pools and a test's feature of question sets or random blocks, a subset number of questions from a pool can be randomized between each student. Within the test, questions can be randomized as a whole or within sections of a test. No test is the same, but there will be some overlap in questions.

As new semesters arrive, instructors can add additional questions to previously built pools so that the variety of questions grows and remains current with the material presented to students in a semester.

There may be many unforeseen scenarios of why a few students are unable to complete a test with the majority of the class. To protect the integrity of the answer key on a test, instructors may disable all test question feedback on a test until all submissions are collected by the system. This can be completed by the following two methods:

1. Method 1: Under the Test Options of a test, change the rule to show test results and feedback to "After Attempts are graded". (Test results and feedback will be available to students after all students enrolled into the course are graded.)
2. Method 2: Disable all feedback to all for the collection of all students attempts. After attempts are collected and graded, manually enable feedback to students in the Test Options.