Virtual Exam Proctoring

Virtual proctoring is a standard practice used by leading organizations in professional education. The Institutes have virtual proctoring to maintain the integrity, value, and credibility of the designations you work hard to achieve and to ensure fairness for all students.

Virtual exam proctoring involves recording and reviewing your exam session. Exams are not monitored live, and are instead recorded by our partner, Talview, in compliance with strict data privacy and security standards. They are then reviewed by a member of The Institutes’ Assessments team, if necessary.

Virtual exam proctoring ensures designations are earned fairly, enhances the credibility of accomplishments, and provides continued flexibility for students to complete exams remotely without compromising security or fairness.

All designation exams now require virtual proctoring, with the following exceptions: CAS/iCAS, SOA, SM, CEBS, GRMI, and segmented exams.

We recommend using this link to test your equipment at least 48 hours before your exam, reviewing all FAQ questions to make sure you meet the exam proctoring guidelines, as well as ensuring your testing environment is quiet, well-lit, and free from interruptions. 

You will need:

• A laptop or desktop computer (mobile and tablet devices are not supported)
• A web camera and microphone
• Required operating system—Windows 10 or 11, or the latest two releases of MacOS
• A supported browser—latest versions of Chrome, Edge, or Firefox 

We recommend testing your equipment at least 48 hours before your exam. If you are a MacOS user and unsure if your settings are enabled correctly, try these steps on how to enable screensharing.

This message appears when your network doesn't meet minimum requirements for a secure and stable exam session. Possible causes could be that you're using a restricted or unstable connection (e.g., corporate VPN, school Wi-Fi, mobile hotspot), your internet speed is below the required threshold, or a high ping or jitter is degrading your session quality.

We recommend trying the following:

• Use a wired broadband connection.
• Use a personal device if possible, or speak with your manager about taking your exam when you are not on your company’s VPN.
• Visit https://speed.talview.com to test your internet. Minimum: 5 Mbps upload/download with low ping and jitter.
• Restart your modem/router for a stronger connection.

If you're using a work or school computer, your VPN may restrict exam platform access. We recommend:

• Using a personal device that is not connected to a VPN.
• If a VPN is required for work, speak to your manager about allowing access for exam-taking purposes.

If your company’s firewall is blocking your exam from launching, please try to launch your exam from a personal laptop or desktop that has a web-enabled camera.

This can happen due to camera conflicts or device permissions after the tech check.

Try this fix for Windows devices:

• Go to Settings > Bluetooth & Devices > Camera
• Select your camera and choose Edit Advanced Camera Options
• Enable “Allow multiple apps to use the camera at the same time”

If you encounter technical problems during your exam, The Institutes’ Customer Success team is available to assist Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-6 p.m. EST. We also recommend testing your setup well in advance to minimize potential issues.

No. Only laptops or desktops are supported. Tablets, Chromebooks, and mobile devices do not meet the security and software requirements for the virtual proctoring platform.

If your session is interrupted:

• Reconnect to a supported network immediately.
• Reopen your exam link or revisit the proctoring platform.
• If the session cannot be resumed, contact our Customer Success team for rescheduling support.

Yes. All recordings are handled by Talview in compliance with international data protection standards, including GDPR. You can learn more about Talview’s data security here.

Your face and your screen will be included in the recording. The information captured from the exam is stored in a separate database and follows the Talview privacy policy, which adheres to all GDPR and state regulations. You will not be asked to show your ID and your name, email address, address, company, and billing information is not shared with Talview.

The only data that we capture is the recording of the session. We do not ask for any personally identifiably information or collect anything from the student. The servers are hosted on Microsoft Azure cloud and located in Europe. You can read more about their data and privacy policies here. The data is kept for 90 days and then deleted. The Institutes does not collect any data from the Talview recordings or exam proctoring experience. 

Virtual exam proctoring is a requirement to maintain exam integrity, and you cannot opt out of being recorded.

You will be asked to consent to the recording prior to starting your exam and you must share your whole screen when prompted. If you select to share only one browser tab, you will be unable to launch your exam. Once you launch your exam, the recording will start and will end when you exit your browser or click to end the exam.

Yes, your webcam must stay on for the duration of the exam to ensure the integrity of the testing experience. If the camera is not used throughout the entire exam, you may be required to retake it.

Special accommodations will still be provided and the process to request accommodations remains the same. Please review the general exam FAQ for details on how to request accommodations.

Yes, you can speak out loud or read questions during the exam to help you better understand or process a question.

You may use a basic calculator or a business/financial calculator as long as it is not programmable, does not have alphabetic keys, and is not capable of storing words. You may not use the calculator on your phone or computer.

Yes, you can use scratch paper to write down notes or math problems during the exam. In accordance with the affidavit that you sign prior to starting your exam, you are prohibited from using study notes, course materials, websites, phones, and AI tools during your exam. You can view the full affidavit here.

You will be able to complete your exam and will receive your grade immediately after completion, just as you do now. If abnormalities are detected, just as was done prior to virtual proctoring, a member of The Institutes Assessments team will review the recording and will reach out directly to you if further information is needed. AI is not making any decisions about the recordings. 

You will be able to complete your exam and will receive your grade immediately after completion, just as you do now. If abnormalities are detected, just as was done prior to virtual proctoring, a member of The Institutes Assessments team will review the recording and will reach out directly to you if further information is needed. AI is not making any decisions about the recordings. 

If you have multiple monitors, you’ll need to select and use only one for the exam recording. This monitor must have a webcam and be the one where you’ll take the exam, and you should not have any other browser open during the exam.

Yes, virtual exam proctoring is still required, even if live proctoring is required for state CE.

A live proctor will still be required for exams that are submitted for state CE credit in addition to the virtual proctoring.

Please email our Customer Success team at CustomerSuccess@TheInstitutes.org or call (800) 644-2101 to discuss. 

Your live proctor will check your ID if your state requires in-person proctoring but the virtual proctoring option will not.