Examination by Proctor
Online Course (at-a-distance) Proctor Specialist
For questions concerning proctored exams, please contact the proctor specialist.
If your instructor is requiring proctored exams for your online course, please familiarize yourself with the information on this page.
Each instructor will be administering the exam(s) in a face-to-face setting. You may locate the time, day, and location information in your Blackboard online class. It is imperative that you pay attention to the exam date(s). If you have a work or class conflict or you live outside of the area and cannot take the exam during the face-to-face time, you will need to locate a proctor.
Proctor requests MUST reach the Hattiesburg Proctor Specialist 15 working days prior to the date of the exam (see below for more specifics).
Hattiesburg Campus
The Hattiesburg Proctor Specialist is located in room 315 of the International Center. If you are in need of a testing proctor you can contact her to set up an appointment for testing. Her contact information is:
Linda Bass
Linda.Bass@usm.edu
Procotoring Specialist
University of Southern Mississippi
118 College Drive, Box 9649
Hattiesburg, MS 39406-9649
Phone: 601.266.5518
FAX: 601.266.4560
Gulf Park Campus
The Gulf Park Proctoring Specialist is now located in Room 202 of the Gulf Coast Library at the Gulf Park Campus in Long Beach. If you are in need of a testing proctor you can contact her to set up an appointment for testing. Her contact information is:
Angie H. Balius, MLIS
Angela.Balius@usm.edu
Proctoring Specialist
University of Southern Mississippi
Gulf Park Library
730 East Beach Blvd.
Long Beach, MS 39560
Phone: 228-214-3459
Jackson County Teaching Site
If you are in need of a testing proctor you can contact Elsbeth Richard to set up an appointment for testing. Her contact information is:
Elsbeth Richard
Elsbeth.Richard@usm.edu
Night Monitor
University of Southern Mississippi Jackson County Teaching Site
2200 Highway 90, Building S
Gautier, MS 39553
Office Phone: 228-497-3636
Fax: 228-497-0564
Terminology
The Learning Enhancement Center – Staff who support the use of online and alternative learning delivery methods.
Application for Examination by Proctor – Name given to the form used by students to request a proctored exam and to identify the person to serve as proctor for the exam. This application is printed from the Internet and can be found at the following URL: http://www.usm.edu/lec/des/student_proctor.php.
Proctor – Individual who is approved and appointed to monitor a student taking an exam.
Proctor Specialist – LEC staff member responsible for facilitating the proctoring process.
Distance Education Support - Web site available at http://www.usm.edu/lec/des
Faculty and student resources for distance education including a listing of courses taught in the online and interactive video format.
Southern Miss Online – Web site available at http://www.usm.edu/southernmissonline, providing information for online programs and certificates.
Faculty Responsibility
- Syllabus - when proctored exams are required . . .
- this information must be specifically stated in the course syllabus provided to LEC at the time exams are due to LEC (see item 4 below).
- each exam requiring proctoring must be identified (tests and quizzes should be given online)
- students should be given the URL for the proctor site for information on how to schedule their proctored exam. If you would like for LEC staff to place this information in your course, please email Linda Bass at Linda.Bass@usm.edu. The URL is: http://www.usm.edu/lec/des/student_proctor.php.
- Proctoring information to students – instructors must provide necessary proctoring information to Students through use of an icon in the course during each class meeting through the drop date for that course. After the drop date, at the instructor’s discretion students may be periodically reminded concerning proctoring requirements. (Proctor information is also linked to the course syllabus and is on the “LEC Distance Ed Support Web site at:
http://www.usm.edu/lec/des/student_proctor.php).
- First date for proctored exams – No proctored exams are to be scheduled or required before the fifth (5th ) week of the course during fall and spring semesters [before the third (3rd ) week for summer semester]. A five-week period [three-week period for summer] is needed to identify and approve proctors, to send all appropriate documents, and to schedule examination dates.
- Deadline for exam documents and dates to LEC – copies of all exams to be proctored during a semester should be forwarded to the LEC proctor Specialist no later than the beginning date for the semester. If you choose to administer your online exams via Blackboard CE6 and you wish for the proctor specialist to forward the password to the approved proctor, then you must submit passwords for all exams no later than the beginning of the semester. Included with each exam or password information should be the date that exam is to be given, anticipated length of time needed to take the exam, and any instructions as to what students may have with them during the exam. At the end of each semester, any exams on file in LEC will be destroyed. Therefore, it is necessary to submit your exams each semester.
- Express mail charges caused by instructor’s delay -- If it is necessary to mail the exam by express mail in order to meet exam deadlines as a result of instructor’s delay in providing exam documents to LEC, those charges will be passed on the academic department who owns the course.
- Method of transmittal of exams – Instructors should only forward paper copies of exams to the proctor specialist, Linda Bass. Please do not transmit exams to LEC by email, fax, or computer disk.
- On-campus students –Instructors should designate a date, time, and classroom location for their exam to be offered on-campus, and advise their students of this information. Students at a distance may opt to take the exam at that date and location, instead of through a proctor. LEC will provide proctoring services for on-campus or local students in the case of an emergency or if a class conflicts with the time the exam is scheduled. These students will be charged a $10 processing fee and are subject to the late fee if applicable. This same service is offered at the Gulf Park Campus in Long Beach & the JC Teaching Site in Gautier, MS.
Student Responsibility
- Primary responsibility – it is the primary responsibility of the individual taking the course to obtain a proctor, as required, and to accurately communicate this information to the proctor specialist in the Learning Enhancement Center (LEC) in a timely manner, using the appropriate form.
- Proctor information – Carefully read the proctor information at http://www.usm.edu/lec/des/student_proctor.php
- Locating a testing site – Though we have a long listing of testing centers in Mississippi, it is impossible to have such listings for sites all over the world. Securing a testing site will depend upon one’s location.
- The standard approach to obtaining a testing site is to locate the nearest community college, college, or university. Make a contact with a testing office on the campus and request that they proctor the exam. A secondary possibility, when colleges or universities may not be available, is to contact the local superintendent of education’s office.
- For those who live in Mississippi, including those who attend Southern Miss – Gulf Coast campuses, we have a long listing of testing centers in our state to choose from. This list may be viewed from the "testing centers in Mississippi” link above.
- Students on military installations may contact the education or testing officer. If on a ship at sea, the ship’s captain or known education officer would be the point of contact.
- Persons in a foreign country and unassociated with the military may contact the U.S. Embassy to seek proctor assistance.
- Instructors should designate a date, time, and classroom location for their exam to be offered on-campus, and advise their students of this information. It is the responsibility of the student to follow up with your instructor if this information is not published on your syllabus. Students at a distance may opt to take the exam at that date and location, instead of through a proctor. LEC will provide proctoring services for on-campus or local students in the case of an emergency or if a class conflicts with the time the exam is scheduled. These students will be charged a $10 processing fee and are subject to the late fee if applicable.
- The standard approach to obtaining a testing site is to locate the nearest community college, college, or university. Make a contact with a testing office on the campus and request that they proctor the exam. A secondary possibility, when colleges or universities may not be available, is to contact the local superintendent of education’s office.
- Examination by Proctor form – you must first read the Examination by Proctor, Student Responsibility section before you may access the “Application for Examination by Proctor” form.
- Download and print out a copy of the “Application for Examination by Proctor” form after you have read the student responsibility section.
- Student should complete the personal information required on the form.
- Ask the testing supervisor [at the testing site the student has located] to complete the proctor information on the form.
- Mail or fax the form to the proctor specialist in the Learning Enhancement Center in Hattiesburg, MS.
- If you wish, you may schedule up to three (3) exams per course on an “Application for Examination by Proctor” form.
- Deadline for “Application for Examination by Proctor” to LEC office – The proctor specialist should receive a student’s completed “Application for Examination by Proctor” form as early as possible, but no later than fifteen (15) working days prior to the scheduled examination date [nine (9) working days during the summer semester] for your application to be processed and to assure mailing of the exam and materials to the testing center. We will not be able to accommodate proctor requests within 48 hours or less of the scheduled exam date and time. If an “Application for Examination by Proctor” form is received after the stated deadline, it is possible that the exam will be received after the appropriate testing date, thereby affecting the student’s grade. Additionally, the processing fee for late exams will be $40 per exam and $60 per exam, if outside the U.S.( See “Proctor Fees” for more information about fees associated with proctoring).
- When the “Application for Examination by Proctor” is received after the stated deadline (See “Student Responsibility”, item 5), the processing fee within the U.S. will be $50 per exam and $60 per exam if outside the U.S.
- If it is necessary to send an exam via express mail to meet a testing deadline and this is the result from an instructor’s delay in providing the exam documents to the LEC, those express mail charges will be passed on to the academic department that owns the course.
Proctoring Fees
- The LEC will charge a $10 processing fee per exam within the U.S. This fee will be charged to your student account at the end of the semester. Please note: charges will not appear until the beginning of the next semester. All students, regardless of location, will be charged the $10 processing fee. This includes students who take their exams with the proctor specialist at the LEC. The proctor fee outside the U.S. is $20 per exam.
- Testing center charges – If a testing center or proctor requires testing fees associated with proctoring an exam, it is the student’s responsibility to pay those charges.
- Late charge – When the “Application for Examination by Proctor” is received after the stated deadline (See “Student Responsibility”, item 5), the processing fee within the U.S. will be $50 per exam and $60 per exam if outside the U.S.
- Express mail charges caused by student’s delay – If it is necessary to send an exam via express mail to meet a testing deadline and this is the result from a student’s delay in providing the completed “Application for Examination by Proctor” form or caused by inaccuracies on the application, those express mail charges will be passed on to the student and charged to their account.
- Express mail charges caused by instructor’s delay - If it is necessary to send an exam via express mail to meet a testing deadline and this is the result from an instructor’s delay in providing the exam documents to the LEC, those express mail charges will be passed on to the academic department that owns the course.
The Learning Enhancement Center Responsibility
- Requests for proctors tendered by students using the “Application for Examination by Proctor” form will be processed by the proctor specialist located within The Learning Enhancement Center.
- The proctor specialist will verify identification and authenticity of the proctor.
- Exams will be mailed to the approved proctor ten to 15 days prior to the examination date received from the instructor.
- Processing fees will be posted to student accounts at the end of each semester.
- When LEC receives the completed exam and the proctor verification from the proctor, a record will be made of its receipt. The exam will then be forwarded to the appropriate instructor.