Course Delivery - Testing
Testing Options
As an Ecampus instructor, you have several options for testing your students' progress in the course. Many of our instructors choose to assess students through projects, research papers, discussions, and written or computerized exams. The exams may be open-book or can be given in closed-book, proctored situations.
If you opt for proctored exams, you may elect to handle proctoring arrangements yourself or may prefer to use the service provided by Ecampus. The Ecampus Student Services Center can arrange all of the proctoring details, collection and disbursement of exams, and logistics.
Three weeks prior to the beginning of the each term we will send you a letter and a Proctor Test Form to fill out. The information we need is:
• Name of Class
• How many exams
• Type of exam (Paper or Blackboard) and number of questions
• Time limit, if any
• Dates during which the exams are open
• Are any notes or study aids allowed?
• If your exam is on Blackboard, please provide the password for each of the exams for the entire term
• If your exam is to be printed out rather than taken on Blackboard, send all of the exams in digital format so they can be sent in one packet to avoid confusion and/or electronic files can be sent to proctors by email.
To set up your exams in Blackboard contact Dianna Fisher, Director of Project Development.
As part of our proctoring facilitation, we enter all of the testing information into a database, update testing letters that are sent to the proctors, record testing dates on a calendar, and review the calendar to arrange potential Corvallis Campus proctoring times. We are not allowed to make reservations for the On-Campus Schedule until the 3rd week of the term for midterms and the 9th week of the term for finals.
Please keep in mind your Ecampus students are all over the country, overseas, in different time zones, dealing with health and mobility problems, working, and taking care of their families. Students pay fees of $10 - $25 per exam to take proctored exams at testing centers. Please keep the number of proctored exams to the essential 1 - 3 exams. To be fair to these students, we recommend the evaluative exercises be as flexible as possible. If you opt for a proctored exam, we recommend that the test be available a minimum of two days.
If you choose to require proctored exams, be sure to let your students know by informing them in the course syllabus and in Blackboard announcements and/or via email. It is then the responsibility of the student to arrange for proctoring in a timely fashion, at least 2 weeks prior to the first exam. We make every attempt to accommodate a last minute request in the case of extenuating circumstances.
In your communications to your students, please advise them to go to the Extended Campus Exam and Proctoring website to obtain information about:
• Testing Process (Overview)
• Finding a Proctor
• Testing Centers (Oregon and National)
• Corvallis Campus Schedule
• Academic Integrity
• Proctoring Guidelines
• Blackboard Test Help
To take a proctored exam students are required to complete an "Exam and Proctoring Form." They will select a proctor from the pre-approved lists of testing centers, which includes the Corvallis Campus. If a testing center doesn't work for the student, he/she can request the "Other Acceptable Proctor" and provide the required information, and Ecampus will review and approve (or deny) this request.
Exams are processed for proctoring by order of testing date. Our goal is to send paper tests to proctors 7-10 days prior to the first day the test is open, and passwords for Blackboard exams 5-7 days in advance. As we begin processing student requests for proctors, we sometimes encounter student proctoring requests that do not meet our guidelines and must contact the student for clarification. Since timing is crucial, we appreciate your response to our early requests for testing information; last minute test proctoring requests are very difficult to accommodate due to inevitable problems with email and postal addresses and fax errors, any of which will delay the exam administration and increase the stress level for students.
How do instructors request proctored testing from Ecampus? Contact Debbie Sayer (Debbie.Sayer@oregonstate.edu) at 541-737-9281 or 1-800-667-1465.
