USU's Response to Virtual Proctoring Concerns

USU's use of Virtual Proctoring

Utah State University does currently utilize an electronic proctoring system to promote secure and authentic assessment to comply with federal regulations, accreditation standards, and NCAA standards that require identity verification.  This practice is to promote data integrity comply with USU data usage policies and respect privacy.  Additionally we also provide all students the availability of alternative, in-person proctoring options at our on-campus and statewide testing centers, or through certified proctored available worldwide. Students who are concerned about e-proctoring solutions are welcome to opt-out and choose one of these alternative options.  

Points to Consider:

1. We respect privacy and always strive to preserve equity.
2. We use e-proctoring tools to comply with federal regulations, accreditation standards, and NCAA standards that require identity verification. 
3. However, we are very careful with the data we collect. Our data usage policies can be found here: https://www.usu.edu/privacy/
4. We also provide all students the availability of alternative, in-person proctoring options at our on-campus and statewide testing centers, or through certified proctored available worldwide. Students who are concerned about e-proctoring solutions are welcome to opt-out and choose one of these alternative options. 
5. We regularly evaluate data to understand the implications of virtual proctoring, its efficacy, and our institutional needs to use it in the future. 
6. We are also working with statewide partners in this evaluation.

Addressing Facial Recognition Bias

In 2021 research was published regarding Facial Recognition Algorithm bias in Proctorio and other virtual proctoring providers. The original study has now been called "flawed" that "relied on an unrepresentative dataset" by one of its leading proponents. Proctorio released a joint statement made with Erik Johnson who promoted this bad study and which has now been recanted: https://proctorio.com/about/blog/legal-update

Data Privacy

Proctorio does not employ the use of biometrics or external human based proctors to monitor students while they take an exam. Proctorio will record the student's identity via webcam and, depending upon the exam settings controlled by individual instructors, monitor the exam attempt in various ways. A multitude of privacy provisions have been established to ensure your privacy and to comply with FERPA regulations. 

• Proctorio has no file access of any kind. Proctorio cannot and will not access any personal files or documents.
• During an exam Proctorio may take screenshots of the desktop, detect the number of computer monitors connected to your computer, or record web traffic. This information will only be recorded if the professor has enabled it within the exam settings. The information is stored with zero-knowledge encryption, which means the data is encrypted both in transit and at rest.
• Once an exam is completed, Proctorio no longer has access to this information.
• It is impossible for anyone at Proctorio or any of its affiliates to view exam recordings. They are only accessible to authorized users at USU and through USU's Canvas system.
• Proctorio never stores academic information from any of its users.
• Further information regarding Proctorio's Data Security can be found at :https://proctorio.com/about/data-security.