Arts ISIT is here to support you during your final exam period.
Arts ISIT exam support
- We have extended our exam support hours outside regular business hours
- We can provide live support during instructor office hours to address any technical issues students may have
- We can provide exam support and bookings of our computer labs to host final exams
- We have created some best practices for online exams
Extended hours
Live support during instructor office hours
Upon request, we can provide in-person support during instructor office hours. This service is designed for instructors to provide time for students to access a mock assessment, and will help reduce the number of issues during the actual online exam.
Computer labs
Buchanan B computer labs offer a secure environment for students to write online exams in person. The computers have Respondus Lockdown Browser loaded on them to help instructors and TAs conduct invigilation for in-person exams. We invite you to book these rooms and meet with one of our educational technologists to discuss how delivering assessments using Arts computers can promote academic integrity.
Best practices for online exams
Multi-factor authentication
On November 1, 2023, all students are required to set up multi-factor authentication (MFA) using Duo Mobile to login to certain applications when not on a UBC network. To do so, they will need access to a mobile phone or smart device to approve CWL logins on Canvas and Lockdown Browser.
Exams on Canvas
For exams using Canvas, please refer to Live Exam Support FAQ for Invigilators for troubleshooting steps to commonly asked issues that may arise.
Pre-exam setup
If you plan to use Respondus LockDown Browser with your Canvas Quiz, provide a practice quiz. This will ensure students can troubleshoot potential issues beforehand. There have been recent updates to Respondus Lockdown Browser which can cause problems with some operating systems. It is highly recommended you review our newly updated Respondus Lockdown Browser resource and Canvas course.
Encourage your students to enroll in the Arts ISIT Exam Practice Run, which provides an environment for students to install and run LockDown Browser on their computer and the opportunity to test exams monitored with Lockdown Browser and Zoom.
Stagger exam start times for large classes
For courses that have more than 150 students, we recommend staggering start times by five minutes for each group of 70-100 students. This helps Canvas Quiz content load properly and improves the overall functionality. Please contact us if you would like us to assist in staggering the start times for the assessment on your behalf.
If your exam is being written remotely with close to 300 students and you plan to use Zoom, email av.helpdesk@ubc.ca with a request to accommodate more participants.
Review exam settings
Please contact us in advance to go over your exam settings and ensure everything is properly set up. We may catch avoidable issues that may come up during the exam.
Have a contingency plan
Have a back-up plan in case something goes wrong with the online exam:
- Prepare a paper copy of the exam and consider exam alternatives.
- If you are using Zoom, have an alternate host that can begin the session.
- Advise students that if they encounter technical issues or need to book a laptop to write an assessment, they may contact the Student IT Helpdesk or the Chapman Learning Commons.
- Clearly communicate to your students how best to reach you in case of technical issues.
