Proctor Frequently Asked Questions

Terminology

We will use the following terminology to keep the FAQ more succinct:

  • Previous Proctor: The proctor for the session that happened before the current session.
  • Current Proctor: The proctor for the session currently happening.
  • Next Proctor: The proctor for the session starting at the next hour.

Schedule

What happens if the exam doesn’t start exactly “on time” (e.g., at YY:00)?

If the exam starts late, PrairieTest will automatically adjusts the end time of all students writing exams on PrairieLearn.

For example, if the exam duration is 50 minutes, and you clicked “Start Exam” at 14:02, it will automatically adjust end times so the exam duration is respected and students’ exams will end at 14:52.

Though there is a few minutes of buffer, you should give the proctors in the next session a heads up about this so they’re prepared and can try to get back on track. There is danger that even just a few minutes of delays in each session will propagate through to the end of the day and have unforeseen consequences.

Importantly, for non-PrairieLearn exams (for e.g., Canvas exams), the student’s “clock” starts when they begin their assessment. For that reason, it’s important to strictly adhere to the rule preventing students from starting their exams if they’re more than 10 minutes late to their session.

What should I do if I’m going to be late to a session?

As soon as you know you are likely going to be late to your scheduled session, please let the current proctor know that you will be a few minutes late on Slack by tagging them in the Proctors Private Channel.

Then, one of three things can happen:

  1. If the previous proctor can definitely stay until you arrive, they should check students in and start the exam.
  2. If the previous proctor can only stay for a few extra minutes, they should check students in and seat them but NOT start the exam until you arrive. It is possible to start the exam up to 7 minutes after the scheduled start time.
  3. If the previous proctor cannot stay even a few extra minutes and you will definitely not arrive in time, they should NOT check students into the CBTF (in case the session needs to be cancelled). This is now an urgent situation so please contact the CBTF coordinator for further guidance.

If you are scheduled to be the first proctor of the day and are going to be late, then you should notify the CBTF coordinator in the proctor channel on Slack ASAP. It is unlikely anything can be done about this, but do your best to arrive as soon as you can. At this point, every subsequent session for the day will be delayed!

It is YY:45 but the next proctor has not arrived

It’s important for everyone to know what’s happening so we can implement contingency plans to make sure students assessments aren’t unduly affected.

If the next proctor has not shown up 15 minutes before the start of the next session, and you haven’t heard from them on Slack, please post in the proctor’s channel to remind them of their shift (tag the next proctor and the CBTF coordinator).

How do I delete a student’s missed reservation?

Students can only cancel their reservations up to 30 minutes before their reservation start time. After this, the student will not be able to cancel their missed reservation, but a proctor or course staff member can.

  • Open the Students tab in PrairieTest and search for the student’s CWL. - Click on the student’s account and a list of the sessions they reserved will appear.
  • Click on the reservation you want to cancel.
  • Click the small dropdown arrow beside the reservation, and click Delete Reservation.

The student should now be able to register for a new session.

Click on the student's account and a list of the sessions they reserved will appear. Click on the reservation you want to cancel, click the small dropdown arrow beside the reservation, and click Delete Reservation.

Check-in

The ID reader page is not working

If you are having trouble checking students in with the ID reader, double‐check if the “reader page” is selected. You can manually check students in by clicking the “Check in” button next to their name if the ID reader isn’t working for you. If you cannot authorize the ID reader, contact the Computer Science IT Help Desk to add your CWL to the CBTF. In your email, include information on your role (e.g., “Invigilator and TA for course CPSC 217”) and cc a person who can confirm your position (e.g., the course instructor or the CBTF coordinator).

An error in the ID reader page says the student isn’t in the system

Ask the student to double-check which room and session (date and time) they booked for their exam and politely ask them to move to the back of the check-in line so they don’t hold up the line. Chances are they are either at the wrong room, or misremembered their session time.

You may need to cancel their reservation so they can rebook.

An error in the ID reader page says the user is not found

Look at the ID and manually check the student in. Tell the student that the UBC card may be deactivated or expired and that they need to replace it.

A student forgets their UBC card

Follow these escalation steps:

  1. Ask to see a government-issued photo ID instead.
  2. If they do not have a government-issued photo ID, ask to see a photo of a government-issued photo ID and their online UBC eCard. Once they have shown you both of these, ask for their CWL username and verify that it matches the one in PrairieTest. If it does, check the student in manually then warn them that you will be reporting the situation and that they will not be permitted to write without their student ID or a government-issued photo ID again. File a report using the CBTF Reporting Tool with the student’s information. To access the online UBC eCard, have the student use their own device to navigate to services.ubccard.ubc.ca, log in with their CWL, and click the “Digital Card” button, shown below. Log in to the digital UBC card website and open the Digital Card.
  3. If they are unable to produce a photo of a government-issued photo ID, unable to show you their online UBC eCard, or unable to provide the correct CWL username, gather as much identifying information as you can (Student number, faculty, department, course, CWL), then tell them that they are not allowed to write their exam without appropriate ID. However, they can reserve a spot in a later session as long as they can provide the right identification.
  4. Cancel their reservation and file a report using the CBTF Reporting Tool with their CWL.

Hardware

A computer is not working

Try following the troubleshooting steps. If the computer still doesn’t work or the troubleshooting is taking a long time and the session is not full, move the student to a different seat and set the affected seat as inactive:

  1. Record the non-working computer seat number.
  2. Find the student’s name on the roster and assign them a new available seat number.
  3. Assign them an unassigned seat of the same kind (RD or regular).
  4. Navigate to the locations tab > room number > seats > deactivate the non-working seat.
  5. Report the seat number with the malfunctioning computer with the CBTF Reporting Tool.

A student says the computer cannot connect to the internet

Ask the student to use the provided desktop shortcut to open PrairieTest or Canvas depending on their course.

A student says the exam page won’t load

Tell the student to be patient and to not close the page. Sometimes the exam pages are slow to load the exam or login, but this slow loading speed does not persist after accessing the exam.

A keyboard stops working

Take note of what the student was doing when the keyboard stopped working. Move the student to a different computer to continue their exam, and adjust their end time to account for the physical moving and logging in to the different computer. Restart the computer with the problematic keyboard and check if the problem persists. Report the situaiton using the CBTF Reporting Tool and include all the information you have.

Exam

Students ask about a formula sheet

If the exam includes a formula sheet, it will be linked from the exam page.

Students are not permitted to bring in physical formula sheets for their exams in the CBTF.

A Respondus Lockdown browser exam says the IP is not authorized

Note which computer this happened on. Move the student to a different computer. Ensure they are using the desktop shortcut for Canvas to access their exam. Report the situation using the CBTF Reporting Tool.

An exam is not showing up or is otherwise inaccessible

Ensure that the student is using the correct website (PrairieTest, Canvas, etc) for their exam. Ensure that they are in the correct session. If everything seems it should work, check if other students writing the same exam are facing the same problem. Once you have determined whether the problem affects all students writing the exam or only a subset, send a message in the #general channel of the CBTF Slack reporting the problem. Monitor Slack closely until the issue is resolved as the instructor or other CBTF staff may be able to help quickly. If the problem is not resolved quickly, tell the student they will unfortunately have to reschedule their exam, that they can reach out to their instructor in case that is infeasible for them, and delete their reservation so they can do so. If you can resolve the problem in a few minutes, adjust the exam end time for all affected students to accommodate any lost time.

An image on the exam is not loading

Ask the student to save their answers and refresh the page. If the problem persists, send a message in the #general channel of the CBTF Slack reporting the problem, and tag the appropriate course instructor or coordinator.

What if a student has to reset their password to log in to their exam?

Check the student “out” and send them outside the CBTF rooms with their personal device to reset their CWL password. Once they have reset their password, check them in again.

In case they are not prompted to do this on their personal device, ask them to clear their browser’s cookies or use a private browsing window and try again. If they are still not prompted to do this, they should change their CWL password using the CWL myAccount page.

The Windows calculator immediately closes after opening it

Click the Windows search bar and search for the calculator. Right-click the calculator icon, select “App Settings” and choose “Terminate” and “Reset.” Finally, try opening the calculator again.

Other

Someone spills something or otherwise creates a mess in the CBTF

Email help@cs.ubc.ca and report the problem.

Someone leaves an item in the CBTF

If the item is small, such as a student ID card, a phone, or earbuds, store it in the top drawer of the drawer unit beside the proctor desk. If the item is too large for the drawer but very valuable, store it near the proctor desk. Otherwise, store the item in the CBTF lost and found box near the shelves.

A student asks if they can use their own calculator

No, students cannot use any devices other than the provided computer. The only exception is students with reduced distractions accommodations, who are permitted to use noise cancelling headphones as long as they are not connected to another device.

All students writing exams in the CBTF, from any course, are permitted to use the software-based calculator installed on the computers and linked from the desktop.

A student believes there is an error with a question on their exam

Students may report issues due to errors with question rendering, ambiguities in question wording, or many other reasons. You may not help students with their exams, for example by attempting to clarify question wording, or even providing synonyms or definitions for English words. For definitions of common words, CBTF computers have an installed dictionary.

For PrairieLearn exams, tell the student to report any issues they find using the button that says “Report an error in this question” in the question status box on the right side of the webpage.

For Canvas exams, proctors will need to file a report on behalf of the student. A screenshot of the question status box in PrairieLearn with an arrow pointing to and box surrounding a button for reporting errors with the question.

The CBTF rooms are too warm

At any time, proctors can call the service center for support (604 822 2173) to ask them to help with temperature and ventilation issues. The phone is monitored 24/7 and Building Operations have Operating Engineers working 24/7 to address concerns.