What You Need

Below are the system requirements for your virtually proctored exam. Honorlock provides a simple single-click test to check your system requirements.

  • Operating System: Windows 10, MacOSX 10.13 and higher, ChromeOS
  • Browser: Google Chrome (minimum version 84)
  • Internet Speed: 1.5 Mbps download, 750 Kbps upload

In addition to the system requirements above, you will also need:

  • a desktop or laptop (Mac, PC, or Chromebook),
  • a webcam,
  • a microphone,
  • a quiet, private location, and
  • the Honorlock extension.

Prior to taking an exam, you will need to download the Honorlock extension for Chrome. You can remove the Honorlock Chrome extension as soon as your exam is submitted. 

NOTE: Honorlock is not supported on mobile devices.

Quiet campus spaces for testing

You may have difficulty installing the Honorlock extension if you have taken virtually proctored exams with Proctorio. You will need to disable and/or remove the Proctorio extension. Other proctoring extensions can interfere with the installation of the Honorlock extension.

See the following article for step-by-step instructions: https://honorlock.kb.help/troubleshoot-unable-to-install-or-disabled-extension/

Getting Started

Taking a virtually proctored exam with Honorlock is simple. Here is a short video to walk you through the steps below.

  • Install Chrome and the Honorlock browser extension: Click here to download.
  • Locate the exam: Click on either the Honorlock link or the Quizzes link in your left side menu of ICON. Once you find the exam you wish to take, click on the exam to get started.
  • Pre-test checklist: Take the quick 60-second pre-test checklist to make sure you’re ready to go. It is available in the exam.
  • Scan your test room using the webcam: This ensures that no one else is in the room with you and that you’re not using any external resources like a cell phone, textbooks, or notes
  • Verify your identity: Using your webcam, take a picture of both yourself and your photo ID to verify that you are the student enrolled in the online course (this typically takes less than a minute)
  • Begin the exam: show what you know!

For troubleshooting tips when starting the exam, visit the following website: https://honorlock.kb.help/honorlock-best-practices-for-test-takers/

If you have a computer with Honorlock installed but need access to a quiet/private location, check the links below for locations across campus. Most locations are available on a first-come first-served basis. 

If you do not have access to a computer that works with Honorlock exams, contact us at test-centers@uiowa.edu or 319-467-4628 to schedule a space in the North Campus Test Center.

Practice Test

Exam Services highly recommends that you take the Practice Test before taking a graded exam. 

You should complete the Practice Test to:

  • experience what it is like to complete an exam that is monitored and recorded by artificial intelligence,
  • test your computer's compatibility with Honorlock, and
  • practice completing a room scan. 

Quality room scans are key to ensuring you have a private testing environment.

A good room scan allows the instructor to confirm whether or not you are consulting unacceptable sources. If the scan is poor, it is harder to determine whether or not academic misconduct has occurred. 

The room scan should: 

  • include a 360 degree view of the entire room 
  • include the work surface 
  • include what is behind the computer 

A poor room scan: 

  • is not 360 degrees 
  • moves too quickly or is blurry 
  • only shows the room at eye level 
  • doesn't show the work surface 
  • stops short of showing certain areas of the room 
  • has your face in the center for the entire room scan

Here is a sample of a good room scan: https://youtu.be/WBeh3ZSQptw

When taking an exam with Honorlock, you need to behave as you would in a test center or classroom, and you must abide by the guidelines below. Failure to follow these guidelines will result in a report of suspicious activity being triggered in the platform. Each quiz or exam is reviewed by the course instructor. Deviation from the guidelines may result in a report of academic misconduct and/or a punitive action. See this website for information about academic misconduct:  https://distance.uiowa.edu/policies 

A. No supplemental materials allowed – unless approved by the instructor. 

  • If approved by the instructor, Honorlock has a basic or scientific online-calculator. 
  • If other materials are allowed (scratch paper, personal calculators, notes, external websites, etc.), other materials will be listed in the Proctored Exams Portal in ICON and in the exam instructions in ICON. 

B. No collaboration of any kind – unless approved by the instructor. 

  • No electronic communication devices (phones, other computers, tablets, watches, etc.,) unless approved by the instructor. 
  • No access to resources either in print or on a device during the exam unless approved by the instructor. 
  • No personal calculators unless approved by the instructor. 
  • No headphones, earbuds, or any other listening devices may be used or worn during the test unless approved by the instructor. 
  • No music, television shows, movies, or podcasts should be playing in the background. 
  • No persons other than the test taker should be in the testing environment. The presence of others will be detected by Honorlock and will generate a report of suspicious activity. 
  • Face and eyes of the test taker must be visible for the duration of the exam. 
  • No leaving the exam or the room for any reason until the exam is completed and submitted. 

C. Room Scan required at the start of the test and/or at random times during the test. 

  • Room must be shown at workstation level. Test takers should show the area on the desk, under the desk, and a 360-degree view of the entire room. Don't show the room at ceiling level. Don't be in the center of the room scan. 
  • Move the camera slowly and thoroughly enough to provide a clear view of the test environment. 
  • An incomplete or poor room scan can result in a lower grade or suspicion of academic misconduct. 
  • A new room scan is required for every proctored quiz or exam. 
  • Complete the proctored quiz or exam in the same room shown in the room scan. 

D. Honorlock offers 24/7 live support via chat. 

  • Technical problems which prevent successful proctoring may affect the score. Notify the instructor of any issue. 
  • Honorlock support is available by clicking the blue question mark in the bottom right corner of the screen. Chat is particularly helpful as the representative can see the test taker's screen to better assist with problems. 

E. Academic Misconduct 

  • If the test taker deviates from these guidelines, the test taker must explain the incident to the instructor in writing as soon as possible. 
  • If the test taker's explanation and the instructor's review reveal a reasonably innocent explanation, the instructor may choose to allow the test taker to modify the behavior and comply with the guidelines to prevent future punitive action. 
  • If the test taker's explanation is unsatisfactory, the instructor may choose to impose a punitive action. 
  • If the test taker does not report a deviation and the instructor suspects a violation of these guidelines, the instructor will contact the test taker and punitive action may be taken. 
  • If the test taker has questions or concerns about academic misconduct or a punitive action, the test taker should consult the following site: https://distance.uiowa.edu/policies 

Student Privacy

Honorlock acts at the request of your school to virtually proctor your exam to help your school detect (and prevent) academic dishonesty. We collect basic information from ICON such as your email address, and your name. During the virtually proctored exam, the following data is captured, analyzed, and stored:

  • Webcam video, including audio
  • Recording of desktop activity
  • Your information in ICON, such as your name, course number, exam name, etc.
  • Pages visited during the exam session
  • Specific behavior that may indicate academic dishonesty, such as copy/paste into search engines

The extension records the data above when you begin the exam. When the extension is active, there is a flashing red indicator on the extension that indicates whether the extension is recording. The extension is no longer active once the exam is submitted. Click for more information about how Honorlock protects privacy

Honorlock does not employ any technologies to allow the detection of secondary devices connected to a student’s local/home network used during the online test proctoring session. No agents or applications are downloaded to these secondary devices to initiate any type of surveillance activities. Other users connected to the local/home network during your Honorlock online exam can process personal or confidential information at the same time without fear of the Honorlock session monitoring or eavesdropping on secondary device activities. In addition, our software is not capable of intercepting local/home network communications from devices connected during your session.

Only appropriate school personnel have access to your data. The information recorded can only be viewed while in ICON. Key staff within Honorlock will have access, if needed, in order to provide quality control and support for your instructors. Honorlock employees are likewise bound to FERPA and privacy requirements.

The standard retention period for your data is 365 days. Schools can customize the data retention period – shorter or longer – based on their privacy and accessibility policies and needs. Your data is deleted after this retention period. Only a request by your educational institution will extend the retention period.

Support

Honorlock support is on-demand. US-based, trained support agents are available 24/7 via live chat. Support access is built into the platform in real time.

As you navigate through your exam, a link to live chat and support services is just a click away; no need to leave the test session or question how to find technical help when you run into a problem. You can either click on the bubble in the bottom right corner of the exam or click on the words "Live Chat" found directly underneath the exam timer.

Still have questions about using Honorlock? Visit the Honorlock website for additional information:

 

Some issues arise so frequently during a virtually proctored exam that they deserve to be mentioned. Below is a list of frequently asked questions and their solutions:

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

If you are unable to locate a proctored online exam in ICON this usually means you have opened the Proctored Exams Portal in ICON and are clicking on the exam name. If you click on the exam name in the Proctored Exams Portal, a pop-up window will appear with exam details. The Proctored Exams Portal does not have a link to the actual online exam content in ICON.

To find your exam:

  1. Open the Quizzes page or the Honorlock page in your ICON site
  2. Click on the name of the exam you wish to take
  3. Click on the “Take the Quiz” button

Access codes are not needed to start an exam. If you get this message, please try the following.

Try any of the following solutions: 

  1. Log out of all tabs that have ICON open, then log back into ICON.
  2. Update to the latest version of Chrome
  3. Close Chrome and all associated tabs and then re-open Chrome. 
  4. Clear the cache in Chrome. 
  5. Un-install Honorlock and then re-install Honorlock to catch any updates. 
  6. Restart the computer. 
  7. Contact Honorlock's live chat. They can walk you through other possible solutions. Here is a link: https://honorlock.com/students/

This type of error is related to permission issues. Either Google Chrome is unable to access your webcam or your webcam is not working correctly. You can visit https://webcammictest.com/ to verify whether your webcam is working correctly.

If your webcam is working, then you will need to verify the webcam's access. Webcam access can be restricted at multiple levels: the entire system, your browser, on a specific website, or for a specific Chrome extension. Honorlock support provides hardware troubleshooting steps on Windows and Mac.

To start an exam or a quiz in ICON, click on the “Take the Quiz” button that appears underneath the quiz description.

There are multiple reasons why the "Take the Quiz" button could be missing: 

  1. Exam deadline has passed in ICON. Contact the instructor for an extension. 
  2. Not using Chrome to open the quiz or exam. 
  3. Problem with Honorlock installation. Uninstall and then re-install Honorlock. Remove any other proctoring extensions. 

If none of the these solutions work, contact Honorlock support. 

Updates happen in the background when you close and reopen your computer’s browser. If your browser has been left open for an extended period you may have a pending update. 

To update Chrome: 

  1. On your computer, open Chrome. 
  2. At the top right, click the three vertical dots. 
  3. Scroll down to "Help" and a pop-up menu appears. 
  4. Select "About Google Chrome."  
  5. A new page appears with information about the version of Chrome you are running. It will begin an update if one is needed. 
  6. After updating Chrome, make sure to close Chrome and all associated tabs. Then, re-open. 

More information about updating Chrome can be found here: 

https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/95414?co=GENIE.Platform%3DDesktop&hl=en 

While browsing the internet, Chrome tries to keep some items in its “short-term memory.” This makes it easier to load the next time. This “memory” can get in the way when a page has been updated or changed.

Clearing the cache can solve problems in both ICON and Honorlock:  

  1. Open Chrome. 
  2. In the top right-hand corner, click on the three vertical dots. 
  3. Select “More tools” and then click on “Clear browsing data.” 
  4. Choose a time range. (Exam Services recommends selecting “All time.”) 
  5. Check only the boxes next to “Cached images and files” and “Cookies and other site data.” 
  6. Click “Clear data.” 
  7. When complete -- and it will only take a few moments -- close Chrome and all associated tabs. Then, re-open Chrome. 

More information about cache and cookies can be found here: 

https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/32050?co=GENIE.Platform%3DDesktop&hl=en 

To stop email reminders about scheduling your exam, do the following:

  1. Open your course in ICON.
  2. Click on the Proctored Exams Portal.
  3. If you plan to complete your exam at the test center, click on the button Schedule at Test Center.
  4. If you plan to complete your exam with the virtual proctor, click on the button Schedule with Virtual Proctor.

If you have used Proctorio for online proctored exams in a previous semester, we recommend removing the extension completely.

You may have difficulty installing or using the Honorlock extension if you have taken virtually proctored exams with Proctorio. You will need to remove the Proctorio extension. Other proctoring extensions can interfere with the installation of the Honorlock extension.

To remove the Proctorio extension:

  1. Click the three vertical dots in the top right hand corner of Chrome. 
  2. In the menu that appears, look for More Tools. 
  3. In the More Tools menu, click to open Extensions. 
  4. Locate the Proctorio extension and press the Remove button to completely remove the extension from Chrome.
  5. Restart Chrome and attempt to open the exam again.

See the following article for step-by-step instructions: https://honorlock.kb.help/troubleshoot-unable-to-install-or-disabled-extension/