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Exam Proctoring

Responsible Party: Associate Dean for Academic Affairs

I. Policy and General Statement

The University of Texas School of Biomedical Informatics at Houston (school) is committed to the delivery of high-quality education to the appropriate student and assuring the academic integrity of the process.  This policy, in accordance with the UT-Houston Handbook of Operating Procedures 186 and 202, sets forth the procedures to be followed for exams and written papers to ensure quality.

II. Definitions and Applicability

This policy applies to SBMI certificate, Master of Science (M.S.) and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degrees.

Exam – Any test that contributes to a student’s grade regardless of length of the test, type of test, or percentage of overall grade to which the test contributes, e.g. quizzes, pop tests, exams, final exams, etc.  Inclusion of quizzes in a participation grade is not considered an exam under this policy.

Written paper – any student written product where the assignment requires it to be greater than 1,000 words and it contributes to the overall grade.

III. Procedure

A. Exam Proctoring

  1. Commencing with the Summer 2014 semester, all tests contributing to a student’s grade must be proctored.
  2. Tests must be proctored by individuals familiar with the students in a course (i.e., in-person), or a student’s identity must be confirmed by a qualified proctor by means of a photo ID. Qualified proctors are SBMI faculty, appointed SBMI staff, proctors employed at offsite testing centers, or representatives from a paid proctoring company, such as ProctorU or other company determined appropriate by SBMI. Take home tests can no longer be administered unless in the presence of a proctor.
  3. The SBMI is responsible for determining the appropriate number of proctors to insure the integrity of the exam process and meet any external requirements, e.g. Boards, Accreditation, or Certification Examination requirements.

B. Written Paper Monitoring

  1. Commencing with the Spring 2014 semester, all written papers greater than 1000 words in length and contributing to a student’s grade must be monitored for academic integrity.
  2. Faculty will utilize the Turnitin or similar feature, available in Canvas, to evaluate all written papers for academic integrity and to ensure written papers are not copied or plagiarized.