Horrible online proctoring experience
A little background...
I did the online proctoring with Prometric and it went perfectly... no issues, the proctor was great and helpful.. very smooth, and convenient being that I could test from my home office.
That experience went sooo well that I figured I'd go the same route with PSI. WRONG.
The experience was horrible (for several reasons).
- When I am studying, reading important material, I tend to mouth the words. Sometimes I will even read out loud (basically a whisper). It helps for the information to sink in and aids in my comprehension. I was doing this on the exam.. All of a sudden a huge chat window pops up and they tell me I couldn't whisper or make any noise.. fine, I stopped whispering (even though I was the only person in the room per the required guidelines).. no biggie.. I continue with the exam, but continue to mouth the words, but I was BARELY moving my lips because I didn't want it to be an issue. They opened another huge chat window and told me that I couldn't move my lips or mouth the words or I would risk my test being terminated immediately per the guidelines... now I'm pissed. I asked where it said in the guidelines that I couldn't move my lips and they just said it was 'per the guidelines'... and of course my time continues to run. So I continue to test (being that I have no recourse at this point without risking running out of time or getting my test terminated)... Another thing I will tend to do is put my hand on my face when studying, reading a lot of material, deep in thought etc.. I might rest my hand on my cheek, under my chin, or put an index finger on my mouth.. all of this I did with prometric (both in person and online) and NEVER had an issue. The proctor interrupts me AGAIN and tells me I can't cover my mouth.. even putting my fingers on my mouth were not allowed. They ended up interrupting me several more times throughout the course of the test.. each time they did, it would break my concentration. It was soo bad I was worried my test would get terminated if I just scratched my face.
- Then towards the end of the exam when I only had about 10 minutes left, they completely paused my exam and asked me to show them my entire desk.. so I had to stop while in the middle of a question, take my camera and show them my whole desk area and computer before they restarted.
- Separate from above, they keep a video in the top right corner of the screen which shows what the proctor is seeing on your camera.. this is very distracting and I do not need to see this. It takes up screen space and again, is just distracting.
- When you are checking in for your exam, their system only gives you 15 seconds to record the required 360° view of the room and desk (separate videos), but you need to go slow.. this time needs to be at least 20, but 30 seconds would be preferable.
- It took forever for a proctor to get me checked in. The check-in process is much slower then prometric and I do not like that I never actually get to speak with them. It is just through chat.
Overall, I'd give them a 3 out of 10 for their online proctoring. They are WAAAAYYY too strict and it felt like I could barely move without them constantly jumping in and interrupting my test.
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Hi Sarah,
Thank you for posting about your PSI testing experience. Please report your experiences to NCARB Customer Service, and we will reach out to PSI directly to address these issues.
We appreciate your feedback.
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Since PSI is so strict about your entire head/shoulders being in view I like seeing what they're seeing (camera) so I know for sure I'm in the correct place.
With that said, it's incredibly stressful that you have to literally sit like a stone for 3-4 hours while taking the exam. I also don't appreciate their threats - I moved closer to the screen to read something and I got a message saying if I didn't keep my head fully in view they would immediately terminate and fail my exam or whatever. They are obsessed with power or something.
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