Virtual Proctoring In Distance Education: An Open-Source Solution

Abstract

Students will cheat during exams, that is nothing new, but now that the Higher Education Act requires the proctoring of exams, distance education institutions now find that both they and their students have a major problem. Exams have to be proctored, but requiring distance education students to search out a reliable proctor and travel to a specific location perhaps multiple times per term imposes an undue burden on the students. But schools now have to ensure the integrity of the exam-taking process and this will require creative solutions since many distance education institutions have no physical campus and perhaps will never actually see any of their students. Virtual proctoring, whereby the student can be at their home or office and can be viewed, recorded and supervised is one solution and this will become an increasingly important part of the educational experience since the proctoring of exams is now mandatory.