Good Proctor or “Big Brother”? Ethics of Online Exam Supervision Technologies

Abstract

Online exam supervision technologies have recently generated significant controversy and concern. Their use is now booming due to growing demand for online courses and for off-campus assessment options amid COVID-19 lockdowns. Online proctoring technologies purport to effectively oversee students sitting online exams by using artificial intelligence (AI) systems supplemented by human invigilators. Such technologies have alarmed some students who see them as a “Big Brother-like” threat to liberty and privacy, and as potentially unfair and discriminatory. However, some universities and educators defend their judicious use. Critical ethical appraisal of online proctoring technologies is overdue. This essay provides one of the first sustained moral philosophical analyses of these technologies, focusing on ethical notions of academic integrity, fairness, non-maleficence, transparency, privacy, autonomy, liberty, and trust. Most of these concepts are prominent in the new field of AI ethics, and all are relevant to education. The essay discusses these ethical issues. It also offers suggestions for educational institutions and educators interested in the technologies about the kinds of inquiries they need to make and the governance and review processes they might need to adopt to justify and remain accountable for using online proctoring technologies. The rapid and contentious rise of proctoring software provides a fruitful ethical case study of how AI is infiltrating all areas of life. The social impacts and moral consequences of this digital technology warrant ongoing scrutiny and study.

COVID-19-Driven Improvements and Innovations in Pharmacy Education: A Scoping Review

“…Cheating on exams is well known to be a challenge associated with online delivery of any higher education course or experience, and this has been reported in both pre-and post-COVID-19 studies [5][6][7][8]. None of the studies included in this scoping review specifically focused on this aspect or how to address it; however, there are many opinion pieces and commentaries available describing potential solutions, and an increasing number of studies relating to this topic have been published in other areas of higher education, including other professional programs [60][61][62][63][64]. Further research on this topic would be beneficial to help support the continued usage of online delivery of didactic and lab-based courses as well as virtual rotation experiences in pharmacy education.…”

Online exam proctoring technologies: Educational innovation or deterioration?

“…Online proctoring software, which first emerged in 2008, has now become extremely common in institutions of higher learning (ProctorU, 2020), particularly since the Covid‐19 pandemic caused many courses to shift instruction from F2F to online modes of instruction (Coghlan et al., 2021). Whilst some online proctoring software works by restricting the number of applications a computer can run during the exam period (Safe Exam Browser, 2020), other proctoring software utilizes AI and machine learning algorithms to identify suspicious behaviours when examining recordings of online exams (Coghlan et al., 2021). Although universities find such benefits to online proctoring highly attractive, students have sometimes complained about an uncomfortable sense of being watched and having their privacy violated (Hubler, 2020).…”

“…Consequently, several areas of pedagogical concern emerged regarding teaching and learning quality during the Covid‐19 pandemic. Amongst these areas, fair and accurate assessment of student learning performance became a focal point (Coghlan et al., 2021).…”

Reframing Assessment to Center Equity: A Resource to Inform Practice

“…Failure to engage in an equitable and holistic approach to student learning means that institutions may implement systems that perpetuate inequities or provide questionable data on students’ learning under stress. In the face of reported enrollment declines, particularly among Black men (National Student Clearinghouse Research Center 2021), concerns regarding mental health for all involved in higher education (Carrasco 2022), conversations on the role of standardized tests in admissions (Hoover 2021; 2022), the need for multiple measures in placements (Barnett, Kopko, Cullinan, and Belfield 2020), and ethical considerations of proctoring software (Coghlan, Miller, and Paterson 2021), equity and assessment conversations are key.…”