How can a college verify that a student enrolled in a distance-education class is the same one taking the class exam? It’s a vexing problem for colleges that rely heavily on distance education to serve their students, and that want to prove to accrediting agencies and employers that the degrees they confer have integrity. Many institutions require distance-education students to take proctored exams, but being at a specific test site at a specific time is often impractical for working students. Software Secure Inc., a company in Cambridge, Mass., says it has developed a technology that can authenticate the identity of a student taking an online exam and monitor the student’s behavior during the exam.
Steven C. Toy, the company’s vice president for sales, unveiled the technology, called Securexam Remote Proctor, at a Monday session at the League for Innovation Conference, in Charlotte, N.C. Remote Proctor is an odd-looking contraption that features a mirrorlike ball, about the size of a ping-pong ball, suspended above a small, black pedestal. The device is planted on a table next to the student’s computer and turned on before he or she sits down for an online exam. The device reads the student’s fingerprints, has a microphone that picks up sound, and a camera that captures a 360-degree view of the area around the student. The latter two capabilities help instructors determine if students are getting visual or verbal assistance while taking their tests. Troy University, in Troy, Ala., will soon be testing Remote Proctor on its students, nearly half of whom take distance-education classes. Mr. Toy said his company spent millions of dollars to develop Remote Proctor, which it expects to sell for roughly $150 apiece.—Andrea L. Foster
