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CBTF General Information for Instructors

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Instructor FAQ

The CBTF is not a generalized proctoring service. It is a facility and service enabling students to take computer-administered exams in a controlled proctored environment, under specific constraints and circumstances designed to enable operation at scale. You may find that these constraints do not fit your needs, though we’ll be happy to talk to you about it! This information is for instructors considering using the CBTF. If you’re already committed to using the CBTF, please read the more detailed Course Staff Guide for CBTF Usage.

The basics

  • Does my exam have to be machine-graded? No. Your assessment must be 100% administered online (see below for policies about turning in scratch paper) but does not have to be machine-graded. Various tools can be used to deliver it, though we have found PrairieLearn exceptionally useful. Gradescope and bCourses (Canvas) Quizzes may also be possible.
  • How long can an exam be? The CBTF schedules one-hour “sessions” (really 50 minutes with a 10-minute “shift change”). Longer exams can bridge across consecutive sessions. Therefore, the ideal exam is a 50-minute quiz (or shorter) that fits into one “slot” or a 110-minute exam that fits into two “slots”. A pessimal length is (for example) 120 minutes, since it requires a 3-slot reservation but the remaining 50 minutes of the third slot are wasted. (Below we discuss the effects of “extra time” accommodations.)
  • Do all students take the exam at once?  You’ll designate a window of 2-4 days (longer for a double-length exam or very large courses) over which several sessions will be available for student self-scheduling at fixed times to take the assessment. The assessment must be designed so that its integrity is not compromised by this fact.
  • What about DSP accommodations?  Most common DSP accommodations, including extra-time and reduced-distraction, are handled automatically with no action needed from you. Accommodations that cannot be met will still require you to make separate arrangements as has always been the case.
  • What is the capacity of the CBTF? We have several permanent and part-time spaces on campus. At any given time, between 30 and 150 seats are available; scheduling and operating hours are based on demand.

Uses of the CBTF

  • What software is available for authoring the exams?
    • We’re currently using PrairieLearn, but Gradescope and bCourses Quizzes may be possible.
  • What restrictions are there on software/network access on the CBTF computers?
    • We do not have “lockdown browsers” such as Respondus, but the firewalls limit Internet access only to the exam server itself.
  • Is there training and/or funding available to create computer-based assessments for my course?
  • Can I provide my own proctors, e.g. from my course staff, to staff a CBTF session dedicated to my course?
    • No. Our proctors on onboarded in the use of the software and are centrally hired, paid, scheduled, monitored, and trained on incident-reporting procedures. There are many advantages to proctors who are explicitly not course staff. For that matter, you cannot in general have a session dedicated to your course—the space may be shared with other course(s) whose exams overlap yours.
  • Can I “reserve” one or more CBTF sessions solely for my course or specify which room will be available for my exam??
    • No. Multiple courses share the CBTFs and students will self-schedule on a first-come basis, so you should assume your students will be mixed in with students from other courses. When students self-schedule, they can choose slots in any available center.
  • Given the modest room capacities, does this mean my students may not all take the exam at the same time?
    • Correct. You must design your exam so that its integrity is not compromised by being asynchronous. There are various ways to do this, including the use of randomization  for short-item exams, having different versions of the exam, or others. Reach out to us to discuss your situation!
  • Can your staff proctor my exams in my classroom, on Zoom, or somewhere other than the CBTF?
    • No. They work exclusively in the CBTF.

DSP-related considerations

  • What if I have students requiring extra-time accommodations and/or reduced-distraction accommodations?
    • Your TA staff will identify these needs at the beginning of the semester; the CBTFs are configured to support these accommodations automatically after one-time setup on your part.
  • What if I have students requiring special accommodations the CBTF cannot meet, such as a scribe, special assistive hardware or software, etc.?
    • Our goal is to eventually handle as many types of accommodations as possible so your staff doesn’t have to, but as has always been the case, your staff is ultimately responsible for proctoring those students’ exams outside the CBTF.

Exam environment and facilities

  • Can students bring their own computers (e.g. with special courseware on them) into the CBTF? Or can special software be installed on the CBTF computers?
    • No, all students in the CBTF use CBTF-configured computers, meaning your exam must be available via a Web browser.
  • Are tablets available for students to hand-draw/hand-enter responses that are too awkward to do with keyboard and mouse?
    • Not at this time; we’re working on it. But a lot of symbolic notation can be achieved with a keyboard and mouse. Talk to us about your assessment goals and we’ll help you brainstorm a solution that doesn’t require specialized hardware.
  • Can students bring cheatsheets or other study aids to the exam with them?
    • Outside paper, devices, books, notes, etc. are never allowed on the exam desk, since proctors can’t keep track of different rules for every course. Students can use the built-in Windows Calculator app if they wish. It is easy to embed a cheatsheet within most exam software, including PrairieLearn, that the students can access while taking the exam. You can either approve each student’s cheatsheet available only to that student, or provide a class-wide cheatsheet available to all.
  • What about scratch paper?
    • Proctors have a supply of scratch paper for student use that is color-coded to each exam room and session. Students may not bring their own. Absolutely no paper leaves the room that didn’t come in with the student.
  • Can students turn in their scratch paper for possible partial-credit or manual grading later?
    • You can choose to do this, but we don’t advise it. Ask us about the protocols. But keep in mind: someone from your course staff must ultimately collect the paper (remember that students from other courses may be taking their exams in the same room at the same time); proctors cannot enforce/remind students to turn in scratch paper, nor that everyone remember to put their identifying information on them, so you should place these instructions inside the exam itself; and if a student or your staff later reports an issue of any kind regarding student scratch paper, the responsibility for resolving it will be entirely on your staff, not on CBTF proctors or the CBTF manager.

Other

  • Who pays for/supports this?
    • At the moment, the operational costs of this effort, including paying the proctors, IT operations, etc., are funded as part of a larger research project on Mastery Learning. We are working with CITRIS, RTL and central campus to make it a permanent and fully supported service; at the moment, it is a pilot program and does not have the same level of institutional support as bCourses, for example.
Other questions? Email Armando Fox (ACELab PI) and we’ll add the answers here.