Student Data Privacy in Proctorio

Proctorio is a new tool at Georgetown, and it’s raised some questions among faculty and students around the issue of privacy. Georgetown selected Proctorio as our vendor for secure online testing after a thorough vetting of alternatives to ensure that we are offering our students and faculty the best in secure assessment, with the right privacy protections while ensuring students of equity and rigor in the Georgetown assessment environment. 

Here are some of the things you may want to know about what Proctorio does (and does not do):

  • Proctorio works only when a student is accessing a specific quiz or exam within Canvas that requires the use of Proctorio. This is the only time that the Proctorio extension is enabled.
  • Depending on the settings the faculty has set for your exam, Proctorio may ask for access to a student’s webcam, microphone, browser, and/or desktop, and may ask permission to scan the test taker’s surroundings in order to ensure academic integrity. While in use, Proctorio may take screenshots, identify the number of active monitors, and record web traffic.
  • Proctorio will NOT access, or ask for access to, personal files, browsing history, or anything outside the minimum it requires to do its job in monitoring the test experience. 

Here are more on the assurances Proctorio provides:

  • No one will be watching you – Proctorio promises that only your course instructor will be able to access any recorded exam data. 
  • Your information is completely safe – Proctorio uses double-encryption, zero-knowledge technology to scramble your personal data during transfer to ensure your exam data is kept safe and private.
  • No personal information is sold – Proctorio cannot and will not sell any of your private data.

Also see this UIS page on Privacy, Security, and Intellectual Property in the Virtual Learning Environment.

If you’re looking for alternatives to Proctorio, see our Academic Integrity Alternatives to Proctoring Software page.

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