ScioLink is much more: it is a proctoring and testing application in one. Other
proctoring services merely provide remote supervision, which must then be paired
with a testing application or another Learning Management System (LMS).
This is currently not possible, for many reasons. Our main concern was to ensure that exams take place securely and without irregularities. For example, a standard LMS cannot deal with an internet outage. The exam then becomes irregular or must be repeated. If there are a large number of tests, the LMS often doesn’t fully cooperate with the proctoring application, resulting in data losses. Data transfer between the proctoring application and the LMS is also a vulnerable point for data leaks and hacker attacks. Last but not least, the testing application and the proctoring application are thoroughly debugged from both the technical and user experience aspects. Hence, ScioLink cannot be connected to an external LMS, and we have tried many times.
ScioLink can be used for any standardized testing system in any area, such as professional certification, industry and HR. The range of possibilities is endless. You will always get the same service that fully meets all security and integrity requirements.
Yes, it is. We’ve already carried out almost 100,000 high-stakes exams on-line. Based on this experience, we did an internal psychometric analysis as concerns this question. Some candidates prefer an on-line environment while others prefer classroom testing. Thus, on an individual level, candidates‘ results can differ slightly. However, from an overall perspective, the differences between both approaches are statistically insignificant and both types of testing are therefore comparable.
We know from experience that a fairly significant percent of candidates will
experience an internet outage during the course of a two-hour exam. In the case of normal LMS and proctoring applications, this outage will damage data integrity. The candidate’s testing app either crashes entirely, or the data and recording are incomplete. ScioLink, on the other hand, stores all data that has not yet been transmitted in the candidate’s system, even if their internet connection is interrupted. Once the connection is restored, the data is sent securely to the server and duly saved. An internet outage is therefore no reason for or cause of an exam irregularity.
AI will never decide if an exam is irregular on its own. It is only a tool that helps us to evaluate and detect non-standard moments during the exam. The exam is always evaluated by up to three independent human proctors. They are given your requirements for how the exam is to proceed, which can be configured for each exam individually. These are then followed when assessing irregularities.
Less than you would expect. In our experience, less than 1 % of candidates try to gain an unauthorized advantage. And in many cases, it’s simply a matter of failing to pay attention when reading the exam rules (for example, use of a calculator when it is forbidden). More often, we encounter unintentional failure to follow testing rules, for example the candidate failing to show their room and desktop properly. This usually involves roughly 3-4 % of candidates. It is then up to a common dialogue to decide upon how to deal with these situations.
We will assist you as much as possible in this area, using the experience we have gained from almost 100,000 evaluated exams. We’ll discuss with you how classroom exams are usually held. Based on this, we’ll configure the exam rules for you, so their stringency is comparable.
Firstly, we come to an agreement on the extent and dates of your exams. After signing a contract, you give us a list of candidates and the tests they are to take on precisely agreed-upon dates. We’ll agree on the testing conditions for the candidates. As soon as this part is complete, the rest is up to us.
We’ll contact the candidates, inform them of when and how the exam will take place, and send them invitations. Prior to the exam itself, the candidates will undergo an on- boarding process wherein they will try the system out on a sample test. This allows them to verify that their device is compatible and properly prepared. After the exam is taken, results are processed in a three-round evaluation by human proctors based on AI analysis. Trained proctors then decide whether there were any irregularities. Within 3-7 days you will receive the candidates‘ results including our decision about whether the individual candidates‘ tests contained any irregularities.
Although we try to take care of as much communication with candidates as we can, some do contact the client directly. We will prepare a FAQ for the client that contains the most frequent questions, but, if all else fails, everything can also be re-routed to us. While preparing for the exam, candidates have access to experienced customer support.
These recording are used by our trained employees. For various reasons, including keeping the candidates‘ personal information secure, we try to keep the number of people with access to the recordings to a minimum. We therefore usually only make recordings from exams accessible and store them for the time needed to process them. If there are any appeals, we can give you access to the recordings of those candidates who we have disqualified from the exam.
For us, the GDPR is not just a necessary evil, it’s a justified framework that guarantees the scope and shapes the processes of how we handle personal data. We place an emphasis on only collecting the absolute minimum of data from candidates in order to evaluate the tests. Candidates can, for example, blur part of their ID and only give us access to information such as their name, photo and date of birth. As the operator of a testing and proctoring application, we’re a personal data processor, from the perspective of the GDPR, and we duly fulfil this role. All the details are available in our Privacy Policy.
We don’t collect any biometric data from candidates. In our view, this is an unjustified encroachment on the rights of candidates that does not objectively provide any added value in the area of exam integrity. Although some proctoring applications do work like this, we’re convinced that it’s unnecessary and even unjustified.
We try to keep the number of people who access the exam to a minimum. A standard exam is evaluated by at most three independent individuals who are given access to the recording. Only very few Scio employees have access to all recordings, and if so, then it is for system management purposes. Customer service has no access to recordings and exam results. Our expectation is that, in the candidates‘ best interests, you too will minimize the number of people working with the data and results.
We try to collect the bare minimum needed to check for irregularities. This involves
data used to identify the candidate, such as name, surname, photo and date of birth. We store video and audio recordings of the exam for a longer period. We create a video recording of all the activity taking place on the candidate’s desktop. If a desktop extension is used, we collect data on processes running on the candidate’s device. However, we don’t block any applications, as we think that is an unjustified invasion
of the candidate’s personal space.
We use a secure application with two-phase identity verification for this.
We try to minimize hardware requirements. Candidates must meet the following minimum requirements:
This is currently a quite common configuration, met by devices even four or more years old. From our own experience we know that 99 % of candidates have no problem meeting these requirements. The rest are usually able to borrow an appropriate device.
This is the most widely used web browser in the world, hence, in the interests of compatibility, we require its use. For example, it is only through this browser that we can guarantee internet resilience (functionality even during an internet outage).
Data is stored through the Microsoft Azure services within the European Union.
All data (candidates‘ personal data, test questions) is transferred securely, with only a limited number of people having access. It is then imported internally into the ScioLink system and secured in the same way as other data in the system.
Yes, it is. Microsoft Azure services are also used by banks and government institutions. We emphasize the security of all the data we collect in the system.