Instructor Use Policies

• Only medium to high-stakes assessments should be registered. Please do not register reading quizzes or other low-stakes assessments.
• We do not proctor paper-based assessments in our testing center locations.  We do not proctor open book or open note exams unless the book is an e-book and is linked in the exam.
• Assessments must be delivered through Canvas. 3rd party exam providers are allowed as long as they are linked through Canvas and are verified by the instructor.
• Multiple-attempt exams are capped at two attempts and students must have two separate appointments. Student notes are not allowed to leave the testing center.  Please make sure students know to have two sets of notes prepared for both of their attempts.

• Exams are approved on a 1st come, 1st served basis (this includes final exam requests).
  • Some exams may not be approved due to center capacity issues and/or non-conformity to the instructor use policies.
  • Instructors may be asked to move a requested time period to better align with testing center capacity.
  • The end date of an exam request is weighed heavily in determining capacity issues.
• Assessment length should be no longer than class length, unless otherwise arranged.
• Assessment length should be appropriate for the exam with no added time built in.
• Assessments must be uploaded or published and ready at least 2 business days before the assessment opens to allow Testing Center staff to complete a settings audit.
• Instructors will not have access to change information (except for student restrictions on pre-release and make-up exams) after an exam has been approved.  Any changes must be sent to testcenterhelp@iastate.edu and can be administratively adjusted.

Notes

• Open note exams are not proctored by the Testing Center
• A maximum of 2 pages (front and back) of notes are allowed.  If instructors want to allow notes, they must specify how many pages and what type (handwritten, typed, or both), but cannot exceed the maximum set by the Testing Center.
• If you allow multiple attempt exams with notes, please know that the Testing Center does not allow any notes to leave the facility.  Students will need a second set of notes for their second attempt.
• Notes are not allowed to be stapled, taped, or glued together.

Exam Window

• Assessments must be open anywhere from 2-5 business days.
• Assessments must be open for the full business day (during testing center operating hours).

LockDown Browser (LDB) Use

• Instructors must enable LDB link visibility on the Canvas navigation page if using LDB for an exam.
• If you are allowing simple or scientific calculators, you must also enable this function in LDB settings.
• It is highly recommended that instructors verify their exam works correctly before an exam opens, especially if using images, links to external content, or other media. Please let us know at testcenterhelp@iastate.edu if you would like to verify an exam works appropriately.

Accommodations

• Accommodations outside of extended time or low-distraction should be referred to the Exam Accommodation Center housed in Student Accessibility Services. The testing center is able to accommodate students with extended time or low-distraction accommodations.  The Testing Center does not manage the EAC.

Finals Week

•  The Testing Center has special extended hours, additional locations, and moves to a mostly walk-in only model with some limited appointments during Finals Week.  Please see our Finals Week webpage for additional information.
• Instructors are highly encouraged to have their exam available the Saturday and Sunday before finals week.
• Finals week exam requests are processed on a first-come/first-served basis.  Exam requests may not be approved or Testing Center staff may request you to move your the end date of your exam to balance capacity.
• Final exam requests must be submitted by the end of week 10. Exam requests submitted after week 10 will not be approved except for extenuating circumstances. If capacity has been reached prior to week 10, exam requests may be denied.
  

• For assessments being taken in a Testing Center location, the use of IP filtering is required. This limits assessment access to a testing center terminal.
• For assessments being proctored outside of a Testing Center location, the use of a password is required. This password will be provided to a student’s approved proctor.

Instructors can approve online students for off-campus proctors in courses registered with the testing center if a student:

• Resides outside of Ames (or lives in Ames but an exception is made by the instructor) OR has paper-based assessments

Students who are in Ames should use a testing center location for their assessment, unless their assessment is a written assessment, or they are unable to complete an assessment due to center hours of operation.  Instructors are responsible for arranging a time and location to proctor Ames-based online students if using a written exam.