Exam FAQs

All written examinations will be undertaken online via the Learning Management System (LMS) using proctoring software 'Respondus LockDown Browser and Monitor'.

Respondus develops assessment applications for the education training and certification markets. Each year over 100 million assessments are created delivered proctored or analysed using Respondus technology. Respondus is an education company at its core, with a deep understanding of online testing. For 20 years Respondus has partnered with universities and other education companies to develop world class educational technologies end proctoring software. For more information about them, visit their website.

LockDown Browser is a custom browser that locks down the examination environment within the Learning Management System (LMS). The browser restricts a student’s ability to print, copy and access other programs/applications or websites while completing an online quiz or examination.

Respondus Monitor is a webcam feature used in conjunction with LockDown Browser, which will record students during an online, non-proctored exam. This footage is stored centrally and reviewed by the lecturers.

Students are required to install the Respondus LockDown Browser software onto the computer that they will be using to complete examinations. This software is provided by the College.

To download and install the Endeavour College of Natural Health edition of the Respondus LockDown Browser please see the ‘Online Exam Training Module’ located in the Learning resources Tab within the LMS.

For Students using Windows devices:

• Windows: 10, 8 or 7 latest version of a web browser (Firefox or Chrome Recommended)
• Webcam and microphone (internal or external)
• Reliable internet connection

For Students using Mac devices:

• Mac: MacOS 10.15 to 10.12, OSX 10.11, OSX 10.10 latest version of a web browser (Firefox or Chrome Recommended)
• Webcam and microphone (internal or external)
• Reliable internet connection

Note: The College does not currently support the use of Tablets (including iPads and Chromebooks) for examinations conducted via the Respondus Software.

The College does not conduct supervised examinations on campus.

Students who are unable, or do not wish, to use the Respondus software can apply to have their examination invigilated by an external invigilator.

Students applying to sit an examination with an external invigilator must submit the Nomination of External Exam Invigilation Form – HE to the Examination Department (examination@endeavour.edu.au) at least one month prior to the final exam period. These applications will be assessed on a case-by-case basis by the College and students will be notified of the approval or otherwise within 10 working days.

Students applying to sit an examination with an external invigilator must submit the Nomination of External Exam Invigilation Form – HE to the Examination Department (examination@endeavour.edu.au) at least one month prior to the final exam period. These applications will be assessed on a case-by-case basis by the College and students will be notified of the approval or otherwise within 10 working days.

External invigilation can be overseen by a qualified medical practitioner, librarian, or professional (e.g. lawyer, banker), or professional examination invigilator (e.g. exam centre or at another higher education institution). External invigilation cannot be overseen by a family member, friend or work colleague.

External invigilators must agree to undertake this role in a voluntary capacity with no expectation of payment of any kind. The exception to this is if a student chooses to engage a professional examination invigilator (e.g. at an exam centre or another higher education institution), in which case the student will be responsible for any payments or outgoings to the invigilator. The College does not accept or pay any remittance advices for external examination invigilation.

External Examinations are to be sat on the same day and time as advertised on the Notice Board and The Loop, in the LMS.

All online examination links are accessible via the Assessment tab within the subject module in the LMS.

The Examination Timetables are published via a notice on the LMS (via the Student Notice Board and the Loop forums within the subject’s communication tab).

• Respondus LockDown Browser installed
• Functioning web camera (internal or external) & microphone
• A reliable internet connection
• Student ID card

All students are permitted to use a blank piece of paper and pen, during an online exam, to assist with responding to questions.

Respondus will detect an auto-reconnect within 30 seconds of the event and allow you to re-enter your exam.

If this occurs, students should exit the Respondus program and re-launch the browser through the exam link in the LMS.

Students will be required to go through the ID check again after a disconnection but will be able to continue their exam where they were disconnected.

If students are unable to reconnect to the exam, they must take a photo of what they are seeing and raise a Special Consideration Application via the Student Portal, with the attached evidence as documentation. The College will assess the Special Consideration Application and support students in completing the examination.

Students are not required to alert the College to disconnections, the Software will report the events and the College will be in contact if we require further clarification or explanation.

While this is possible it is not recommended as the internet connection may time out and it would not be possible to pick up the examination at the point where you lost the internet connection. If you have limited internet connection, you may consider the External Invigilation option. Some students have also been given the recommendation to book a meeting room at the local library, as this allows the use of a Wi-Fi connection and a private meeting room area to complete the examination. Refer to your local library for details of their meeting room terms and conditions and opening hours.

The results release schedule remains the same for all examinations. Please refer to the semester-based student calendar and the online study calendar. Refer to the college website > Current Students > Re-enrolments > Timetables and Calendars Section

Students ID cards are required for all exams.

In certain circumstances, where it has not been possible for students to obtain one prior to their exam, presenting a current form of photo ID will be accepted.

Yes. The reading time is included into the overall exam time.

This means that, although we recommend that you use this time to plan and map out your answers before commencing the exam, you are permitted to commence your exam straight away.

Yes. There is a countdown clock in the top left-hand corner.

Please refer to the online exam training module 2020, which is located in the LMS > Learning Resources > Online Exam Training Module 2020 under Section 4: ‘Toilet breaks’.

The software will detect movement or unusual activity, and this may flag as high risk. An invigilator will review the recordings and ascertain that this is a health-related consideration, and therefore not an academic integrity issue. The examination will then be marked.

Health related circumstances may include the use of an inhaler or medication. It is recommended that the student is registered for the Access & Equity Program, to support the reasonable adjustments and to inform the Examinations Department prior to the exam so this is already on record and can be taken into consideration.

The examination is housed in our LMS, and it will read 'attempt submitted'. This is the same as the current process with the online quiz submission for current assessments and subjects.

Yes. The extra time will already be included in the examination time, and you will be allocated the extra exam time as outlined on the RAP (Reasonable Adjustment Program).

• Respondus has achieved SOC 2 Type 1 certification, which is formal evidence that its systems and processes are properly designed to keep its clients’ sensitive data secure. The most recent certification occurred in December 2019.
• Respondus is a HECVAT participant, which is an EDUCAUSE initiative where vendors provide detailed information on security and data protection as it relates to cloud services and software applications. Respondus’ HECVAT is available upon request by filling out this form.
• Over 600 universities have implemented Respondus Monitor (over 1,500 for LockDown Browser). The architecture and security have been closely vetted by hundreds of institutions, including some of the largest online learning programs in the world. For example, in Australia, the following institutions have been using Respondus Lockdown Browser even prior to the COVID-19: Monash University, James Cook University, University of Tasmania and University of Adelaide.

Respondus takes data privacy seriously. Additional information is available via the Respondus Privacy Center, and FAQ PDF.

We are also aware of the previous media attention around universities using various software solutions for exams. However, we have done our research into these reports and found that the Respondus software was not part of those media concerns and, in fact, every concern raised by the media is alleviated by the Respondus software.

We absolutely understand that you may be concerned about your privacy when introducing new software onto your personal devices; as you should be. We are proud that we have students who take these matters as seriously as we do.

Rest assured we have carefully reviewed the Respondus privacy policy and terms and find them to align with the requirements of the Australian Privacy Principles, as required by Principle 8 (cross-border disclosure of personal information). In particular, Respondus’ alignment with Principle 3 (collection of solicited personal information) and Principle 11 (security of personal information) were key to the College entering into a licensing agreement with them. Respondus’ privacy policy also ensures that no information shared with them will be passed on to any party other than Endeavour, the licensee of the software.

Yes. The Respondus privacy policy and terms align as required with:

• Principle 3 (collection of solicited personal information)
• Principle 8 (cross-border disclosure of personal information)
• Principle 11 (security of personal information) were key to the College entering into a licensing agreement with them
• Respondus’ privacy policy also ensures that no information shared with them will be passed on to any party other than Endeavour, the licensee of the software

No, you're not expected to keep the software on your computer, and you are welcome to uninstall and delete it as soon as your exam has been completed. The software is only required for you to complete your exams and you can install it and uninstall it as many times as you need for different exams. Uninstalling this program from your computer is easy, and instructions are on the LMS > Learning Resources > Online Exam Training Module 2020>Endeavour Student Manual > Uninstalling Respondus Lockdown Browser and Monitor.

Respondus holds all electronic data collected by its software in a secure cloud-based environment which is regularly security checked using ‘third party penetration testing’.

Under Australian record retention requirements, the College is required to hold your actual examinations for 6 – 12 months. Because of this requirement, the Endeavour College policy states that we will hold completed examination papers for 12 months, after which time they are destroyed securely. Respondus’ current policy meets the US requirements to hold examination answers for up to five years. As part of our licensing agreement with Respondus, we have requested this holding time to be reduced to 12 months to align with our policy.

Respondus records and saves video of the student sitting the examination for monitoring purposes – this is considered the ‘completed exam paper’ for the College record retention purposes. It highlights still images which are accessible by the relevant academic staff member only (marker), where it has marked a possible concern around academic integrity (e.g. that you may be looking at a book). The staff member can click on these images (which are part of the video) and it will play video from that point onwards to track integrity issues. These recordings are held at Respondus servers and kept for one year as part of our request in alignment with our record retention requirements.

This tool allows identification prior to commencement of the exam: monitoring of a student's physical surrounding as well as shut down of all online communications, platforms and software for the duration of the final exam. This online tool will monitor a student's behaviour during the exam. This means that any cheating that is detected during the exam will be considered under the Academic Integrity Policy. This will maintain the academic integrity in the online examination space.

The recording lasts only for the duration of the exam.

The software will be able to detect this movement, and as this is reviewed by the exam invigilator, it will be clear that a child or family member in the frame. Each marker will review this report prior to marking of the exam and report any suspicious behaviour to the Head of Department for investigation. It is likely that this will only be for a short period of time, so it will not constitute cheating.

I am a registered ESL student. I need to use a translation dictionary and may need to refer to this dictionary when completing the exams. Will this affect the examination process?

A student that is registered for ESL can send a picture of the dictionary to the Examination Department for approval. At the time of examination, ensure that that dictionary is part of the environment scan prior to attempting the exam.

All students are required to complete the Online Exam Training Module on the LMS to ensure training and understanding of academic integrity issues and detection when using Respondus LockDown Browser. Completion of this module will give students an Online Exams Badge. Students will not be able to access any examinations conducted via respondus if they have not received this Badge.

You can find the Online Exam Training Module within the Learning Resources tab in the LMS.

It is recommend you work through the module within business hours so you have access to the IT and LMS assistance if needed.

• Ed-tech support hotline: Operational during normal business hours and can be reached on 1300 051 429.
• Submit a ticket: via the help desk https://help.endeavour.edu.au, then select the ‘LMS Assistance > Online exams’ category.

If you encounter technical problems, you can contact the LMS team on 1300 051 429, submit a ticket via the help link on the LMS or via the Student Portal.

As stated in the Inherent Course Requirements all students are required to have access to a computer, in order to be successful in completing their studies.