PDD Online Proctoring Crash Nightmare Continues

Yes, nightmare. No, not a dramatization. By the way, I have reported this to Pro Proctor, and Ncarb through official channels and have support tickets. Michael Riscica thank you for continuing to champion the effort of getting some sort of point across to Ncarb, and for creating the survey which gives us at least a way to properly log the mess that we're currently experiencing. Even if Ncarb continues to ignore us all, at least the 2020 data and now 2021 data is all together in one place. Youngarchitect.com/NCARBsurvey

I would rather not book my next exam in a test center, due to our fun friend, the Covid Delta variant (I'm vaccinated). I've been weighing the risks of contracting Covid just to be able to take a stable exam. Wearing a mask for 5 hrs doesn't excite me (props to healthcare professionals).

1. The software is not appropriate, nor is it acceptable. No one should pay to use software, especially to be tested on material, that is as unstable as the Prometric Online Proctor software. After reading many of the reports about crashes on the ARE Community, I was hoping for whatever reason that I would luck out, it was not the case. My system and internet connection are STELLAR, and I can prove that with data. I had 3 crashes, and therefor 4 check-in processes which includes the entire room and body security check etc, takes a while. Every time I logged back on, after waiting the necessary time for the "appointment launch to refresh", I waited 30-45 minutes for a proctor. I had a proctor give me attitude. That was the cherry on top. I was very patient with each proctor.

2. The Pro Proctor online chat Customer Support (link from the launch page) is a bot, that promptly ends the conversation without asking if you have received the information you were looking for. Need I say more? Why yes, I will: the proctors are unaware of a few things: they are unaware of what their tech support is saying, they are unaware that opening the laptop screen connected to an external monitor will crash the software, they are unable to help or transfer you to a tech support. You have to get booted, or log out, to get any help.

3. The Pro Proctor phone tech support is not capable of changing anything about their system that keeps booting people off. Whether it is "too many candidates" using their system at one time, or the fact that Pro Proctor is using Flash (newsflash - Flash is no longer supported on planet earth and therefor is very unstable), Pro Proctor better figure out what they are doing, or, NCARB needs to immediately suspend the use of Prometric - and I mean, immediately. Everything halts. Until an acceptable software company is hired. All rolling clocks halt, everything. You get the picture.

4. The digital whiteboard is not a replacement of pencil/paper. For those who draw (maybe there are a few folks in the architecture industry who draw) - the use of even a fully functioning whiteboard, with a mouse, is not the same hand/eye / brain coordination as pencil and paper, and in my case seriously hindered my ability to process the questions. 

Thank you for listening. Love to all of you for sticking this out. I'm honestly not sure if I will.