Honorlock is FERPA compliant and uses securely encrypted protocols to save and view all test taker assets. Honorlock's certified proctors and your institution's faculty are able to review test session videos until deleted based on the school's retention policy. 

• Student information (i.e. student name, course number, exam name. You will be asked to provide a copy of your student ID). This information is synced with TAMU school’s learning management system (i.e., Canvas).
• During the exam, we collect a webcam video recording that includes desktop activity and audio recording.
• Exam and web pages visited by a student during an examination.

Honorlock retains data for a period of 12 months. Student data is deleted after the 12 month retention period. Only a request by a student’s educational institution will extend the retention period if the school is investigating a case of academic integrity

• No. Honorlock uses a Chrome browser extension that uses AI to detect the presence of faces in your camera and different voices. A student will have to install the browser extension to take an examination. The student can immediately delete the browser extension following the examination. Honorlock does not have the ability to control your computer, read your passwords or download any files at any point in time.
• Honorlock does not have access or the ability to control secondary devices such as mobile phones.

No. Honorlock is only proctoring your school’s examinations via the Chrome browser extension. You are free to delete the Chrome browser extension immediately following an exam. However, the extension will not track any activity or record any data unless you are taking an exam and logged into your school’s LMS.

Yes. You are welcome to uninstall the Honorlock Chrome extension after your test is complete if you're not completely comfortable keeping it on your computer.

Proctored testing enables the university to ensure the academic integrity of assessments and to comply with federal regulations that require universities offering online and distance education to verify student identity. This is a common practice of online courses. Though instructors may use a variety of alternate assessment strategies, they may also rely on online proctoring to ensure the security of tests offered to online students in different locations. Online proctoring helps prevent academic honor violations such as:

• Use of a false identity
• Unauthorized collaboration
• Use of unauthorized materials
• Copying or distributing test items to others

Ensure your computer is charged and has a strong internet connection. You can check your system at honorlock.com/support. Make sure to use Google Chrome when you log in to take your test. We recommend students take their exam in a quiet private location to limit potential flags and distractions. Your instructor may provide specific requirements regarding exam setting.

We verify the photo and name on your ID to ensure you are the correct test taker. You can use any government issued (i.e. driver license, passport) or a student ID that has your clear, recognizable photo. Make sure the name on the ID matches your name on record with TAMU.

Honorlock offers technical support 24/7 to assist students before, during, and after their proctored tests. If you need any assistance, contact Honorlock’s support agents by live chat using the link in the Honorlock window. Always contact Honorlock support via chat if you encounter problems during the exam! 

If you are being prompted for an access code you are most likely not in Google Chrome or you do not have the Honorlock Chrome Extension.

The Honorlock extension is a small program that modifies the Chrome web browser and not your computer. Nothing is installed on the computer. Students can remove the Honorlock Chrome extension as soon as their exam is submitted. (See instructions for removing Chrome extensions in Google's documentation.)

You will need to have a working webcam, microphone, and either a laptop or desktop computer.  A reliable and speedy Internet connection is essential.

Honorlock is VPAT certified and fully accessible to students with special needs. Additionally, Honorlock works with screen readers if needed.

No. Honorlock simply reports back possible incidents. Ultimately, your instructor determines if cheating occurred by viewing the video recording.

No. Your instructor may use a variety of assessment strategies that don't include online proctoring. When the nature of the course or instruction makes online proctoring a necessity, however, your instructor may choose Honorlock to ensure the academic integrity of your test.

Being displaced during the COVID-19 social distancing period may put you in a situation where online proctored testing is difficult or impossible. Depending on your living situation, you may not have access to reliable internet, computer hardware, or a private space where you can test uninterrupted. Communicate any limitations or obstacles you have with online proctored testing to your instructors so they can work with you.

Honorlock’s data retention policy is 12 months.

Honorlock employees and instructors/administrators at Texas A&M.

The data elements listed in Honorlock include the following:

• Student name
• Student email address
• Student ID
• Course ID
• Exam ID
• Instructor name
• Exam start and end dates
• Recording of the student exam session
• Metadata that includes IP address, city, state, and operating system

Honorlock has a mobile device detection feature which can track usage and visitation to Honorlock seeded websites that host exam content. Honorlock does not have access to the device or network.

Honorlock does not have access to computer files or the network used to take the exam. Honorlock does not sell information/data to other companies.

Data in transit are encrypted using TLS 1.2, with SHA-256 and RSA 2048-bit public key for all data transfers in and out of our system. Data at rest are encrypted with AES-256 block encryption.
 

All data are encrypted and treated equally in order to protect student identity and information.
 

Honorlock does not monitor student networks.
 

HonorLock is contractually bound in the Agreement to comply with FERPA and failure to do so would subject them to liability for breach of contract.  FERPA permits the University to grant a school official (including a contractor) access to student education records, provided that the University has determined that the contractor has a legitimate educational interest in that information. Students may refer to the Office of the Registrar’s FERPA Notice to Students for information on how the University defines the terms “school official” and “legitimate educational interest”. Pursuant to the University’s contract with HonorLock, the University has designated HonorLock as a school official under FERPA that may only access student education records to the extent that HonorLock needs to access those records to fulfill its services. HonorLock is contractually obligated to comply with all privacy laws, including FERPA, and may not re-disclose student education records to third parties except as authorized under FERPA, as required by law, or unless such re-disclosure is required for HonorLock to perform its services and authorized by the University in writing.

The 12-month process follows record retention schedule item 01.401.10 which requires completed class tests, examinations, and course papers to be kept one year after academic term.  Additionally, student rule 57 allows students to appeal a grade through the end of the next academic term.  The Agreement states that after an exam is proctored, HonorLock will retain an archival copy for 6 months. The university is working with HonorLock to ensure the data are available for student appeals for the appropriate length of time.

Yes, Texas A&M has protocols with regard to data breaches which include a required Information Security Incident plan. HonorLock is contractually required to inform Texas A&M of any data breach to their information systems.   
See Texas A&M System Policy and Texas A&M IT Control Catalog requirements.
Per the Agreement, HonorLock is required to comply with all Texas A&M policies, rules, standards, practices related to safety and security policies.  Further, under the Agreement, HonorLock’s responsibilities with regard to any data breaches is fully discussed. In particular, HonorLock must report any unauthorized disclosure of data within two business days of discovery to the University. 
SAP 29.01.03.M0.10 “Information Resources – Notification of Unauthorized Access, Use, or Disclosure of Sensitive Personal Information” provides the protocol for the initial Texas A&M response. Texas A&M IT also has a publicly available incident response plan: https://it.tamu.edu/policy/it-policy/controls-catalog/controls/IR/IR-8/

Texas A&M has data destruction processes for media and media sanitation procedures and must comply with state requirements and applicable Texas A&M record retention schedules. Texas A&M SAP 13.02.99.M0.01 governs the maintenance of student records and includes a link to the A&M System’s records retention schedule.

Honorlock has stated: “The Honorlock Proctoring Quality Assurance Program is designed to ensure that our proctoring team is providing exceptional support to all exam takers they come into contact with. Our proctors are required to be full-time support representatives for at least six months before joining the proctoring team and must have exceptional QA scores while on support to be considered for promotion to the proctoring team. Each proctor is reviewed against the quality standards outlined in the scorecard for chat sessions. Proctors are evaluated on their ability to quickly identify violations during the analysis window, the effectiveness of their instruction to gain exam taker compliance, and overall speed of work to minimize the exam taker’s time out of the exam. Team leads review and provide feedback to each new proctor for the first ninety days and biweekly after that time frame as long as they are scoring in the above-satisfactory range. Additionally, the Customer Services Manager reviews all negative client satisfaction ratings to ensure that students are treated fairly and appropriately by the proctors during a live pop-in interaction. If a proctor at any point receives scores that are satisfactory or less, the frequency of the feedback increases and/or the proctor is sent back through training. In situations where an egregious mistake is made, the proctor will be suspended until the appropriate action has been taken to prevent future occurrences.” 

Training on bias, cultural differences and handling tough scenarios is built in as part of the eighty hours of initial proctor training.
 

Proctors are monitored for Quality Assurance in all aspects of their assigned work, including the violations or flags they assigned to student sessions.
 
 

Students will not be notified if a proctor is observing their exam session.

The choice of proctoring technology is the decision of the instructor of the course.

Honorlock’s policy does not require students to waive their FERPA rights.

The authentication process to begin an exam varies from student to student, depending on the student and the device used. An experienced user that is familiar with Honorlock will only need a few minutes to authenticate before starting their exam. A new user or one who is experiencing a technical issue may require more time to start their exam. We recommend students to take practice exams beforehand to ensure their exam start will go smoothly for high stakes exams.

As a result of the changing landscape in higher education, Texas A&M University now requires students to have access to an appropriate computer to complement course instruction. Information on the institution’s policy is available here including additional information about financial aid.

If the browser crashes, please navigate back to where you began the exam and click “Launch Proctoring” to relaunch the proctoring process.

The exam guidelines are set by each instructor.  Honorlock proctors will do their best to enforce those guidelines.

No, however, Honorlock would alert the Key Administrator for your University within 48-hours of a confirmed breach.  It would then be that University’s discretion to notify any impacted parties at the institution itself.

A stable internet connection is required to take an online exam, and it is required by Honorlock to take an online proctored exam. 

Honorlock Proctors will use their best judgement as we understand that finding a quiet and private space for testing can be difficult. We highly recommend testing in a quiet room without other persons present. You should discuss concerns with the instructor of the class well in advance of any exam as the instructor has the option of allowing “Background Noise” or “Testing in a Public Area.”

Office of General Counsel did not approve the software.  The vendor selection was made by Texas A&M.  OGC only reviewed the contract of the selected vendor for legal sufficiency and approved with edits.

Yes.  John Pryde, Texas A&M’s Privacy Officer in OREC, reviewed the contract and responded that he was comfortable with moving forward with the software.

The Exam Task Force (Dr. Jennifer Whitfield, chair) identified five proctoring companies to review and have vendor demos based on criteria established prior to contacting the vendors. After a thorough review of each of the five companies and their products, the committee found three satisfactory, with a preference for HonorLock based on its model.  Cost, logistics of implementation, peer institution consultation, and time to implement were additional considerations after the committee reviewed the products.  Additionally, a significant consideration was ensuring the selected vendor could handle Texas A&M’s scale at all points in the semester. One vendor said it could not handle peak load and others were going to require a fairly complex planning process that Texas A&M had concerns with given all of the other complexities faculty were navigating. 

In the Agreement HonorLock certified that no employee or person who is paid by Texas A&M has a direct or indirect financial interest in the award of this Agreement, or in the services to which this Agreement relates, or in any of the profits, real or potential.

The Exam Task Force was a derivative of the Fall Planning Committee on which Eric Mendoza (SBP) and Uthej Vattipalli (GPSC) were members.  Several efforts to engage the Spring 2020 student perspective by the Office for Academic Innovation found that inconsistencies in the exam experience were a significant issue with the shift to remote instruction in the Spring. A core guiding principle of the Exam Task Force was to streamline the student exam experience for Texas A&M students. Additionally, the LMS Advisory Committee has student representation in Sven Lohse.

support@instructure.com is the best place so that Texas A&M can triage what is an issue with the software/integration with the LMS in our continuous improvement model. The email creates a service ticket that can be tracked until resolution.