Online Proctoring Tools: A Discussion of Privacy, Accessibility, and Appropriate Use

Online proctoring tools have been available for more than a decade, with many colleges and universities using these services to replicate the campus proctoring experience in their online courses. During the 2020 pandemic, some institutions licensed and deployed a proctoring solution for all courses, while others banned the use of such proctoring tools, citing privacy, accessibility, and access as concerns. After the pandemic, institutions that have adopted online proctoring tools may want to continue their use, but the concerns remain. During this session, the moderators will briefly summarize their experience with online proctoring tools and facilitate discussions on the following topics: privacy and student advocacy (What issues drive questions about online proctoring? What are companies doing to protect privacy? Who speaks for these concerns?); accessibility (Disabled assistive tools, unstable internet connections, flawed facial recognition, and mental health concerns are some issues); assessment strategies and appropriate use of proctoring (An increased demand for online proctoring has inspired broad conversation about assessment and the appropriate circumstances to use proctoring); and partnerships with vendors (How might we clarify our institutional approaches, opportunities, and policies to allow us to partner more productively with our vendors and eliminate gaps in understanding?)