Online Proctor Experiences

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9 comments

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    Michael Riscica

    Scott please fill out the new survey about the updated ARE exam. 

    https://youngarchitect.com/NCARBsurvey

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    Scott Thorson

    Thanks! I will be interested in the results of that survey.

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    Michael Ralph

    Same question - has anyone had a positive online proctor exam experience?

    Sounds like there are too many issues along with misinformed proctors.

     

    I was looking forward to taking my next exam online in order to avoid a 2.5hr drive including going over two mountain passes each way - but I rescheduled to take it in person rather than deal with the added stress of the proctor issues.

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    Scott Thorson

    Original poster here, I took a second exam Tuesday and it went far more smoothly. The first security proctor I connected to, their audio and video cut out but after a system restart the exam (PPD) was stable for the next 4-5 hours.
    I do think that the audio/video disconnecting is happening on ProMetric’s side as my system checks out fine each time and many of the proctors have no issues.

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    Julia De Vito

    Hello all,

    My experience taking the exam via the online proctored option this week was good. I had no connection issues and the proctors were well informed regarding the break and large monitor with laptop policies. I felt like the check-in process was very quick and had virtually no wait time between the check-in and being connected to the proctor viewing me during the exam.

    To avoid any connection issues, I used an ethernet cable rather than Wi-Fi. I didn't find PDFs or tools to lag more than they did at the in-person version, though I was taking PJM, which has fewer resources than other exams.

    The only minor issue I had, which I've see written about in other posts, was that content on the whiteboard wasn't always retained when switching to different questions. It was very random: sometimes all content was saved, or content on one page but not another was deleted, sometimes all was deleted. I only opened 3 pages. It didn't ultimately affect my ability to take the exam, and I tried to shrug it off and just keep going with the questions, but it's definitely a bug that should be fixed.

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    Carolina Trabuco (Edited )

    @Julia De Vitro: Did you use a desktop or a laptop? And did you use a mac or a PC? Other than checking the system through Prometric do we have the option to check our system on the NCARB side? 

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    Julia De Vito

    Hi Carolina,

    I used a PC laptop attached to a separate screen. I had the laptop closed during the exam as per the guidelines. Since my laptop only has 2 USB ports and no HDMI or ethernet port, I used adapters and a keyboard with 2 USB ports included to achieve all necessary entries for webcam, keyboard, ethernet & HDMI adapter.

    The system check is only on the Prometric side, since they are the ones administering the exam. Both the NCARB guidelines and Pro Proctor Guidelines explain testing accommodation and system requirements.

    Before you launch the exam application, you run the system check (which is also best to try well in advance of the exam date to check all is compliant); then it takes you to a first self-check-in process, where you take a picture of yourself and your ID; next you are connected to the readiness agent who performs the various security checks on yourself and the environment; finally you are directed to the proctor who launches the exam and is always available via chat or voice (but not physically visible on your screen).

    I hope this helps!

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    Carolina Trabuco (Edited )

    Thank you @Julia! One last question: what webcam did you have?  And what time did you test? I am trying to gather all what I need and also wondering if the time people has taken their exams has anything to do with the poor experience. Looking at the times they are offering the tests it almost looks like the proctors are in another country! =O

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    Julia De Vito

    Carolina,

    My test was at 3:45 pm. I was also wondering whether test times are affecting bad experiences. 

    I got a Logitech C525 camera. The important thing is that it has an Autofocus function.

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