Proctoring Guide
What a lockdown browser cannot see.
A lockdown browser is built to control the assessment browser environment, and it can do that job well. It is not the same as a complete view of the exam device or surrounding equipment. Understanding the boundary helps institutions keep useful controls while deciding what evidence reviewers need beyond the tab.
Timestamped observations support a fair review.
Your institution applies its own policy and considers context.
Evidence informs a decision. A person makes it.
What is a lockdown browser built to do?
The purpose of a lockdown browser is to restrict the exam browser environment and support the assessment rules applied there. It gives institutions a controlled route to an exam and helps manage activity within that scope. Those controls remain useful even when a program decides to add another review layer.
The procurement question is not whether a browser tool is good or bad. It is whether the institution understands what it covers and what it does not. Ask for current capabilities, confirm the enabled configuration and avoid assuming that a product name establishes visibility into everything a student might use.
What sits outside its view?
Desktop AI assistants can run beside the browser as separate applications. Invisible overlays can be built to evade screen capture. Remote access and virtual machines can change the surrounding assessment environment. Second devices can supply assistance while the assessment tab continues to look ordinary. These categories are outside a browser-only account of the exam.
They do not all produce the same evidence or require the same response. A permitted display, an approved application or an accessibility arrangement may be entirely legitimate. The institution needs a clear policy and a reviewable record, not a blanket assumption that anything beyond the browser constitutes misconduct.
Why does a webcam not close the gap?
A webcam provides a view of the student and room within its frame. It does not necessarily show a separate application, an overlay or a device outside that frame. Looking away from the screen is not a reliable verdict about why attention moved, and a reviewer should consider legitimate explanations.
Video can be supporting context where the institution explicitly enables it and informs students. It should not become a face-scoring or gaze-based decision about misconduct. The useful question is whether the evidence supports a fair review under the assessment policy, not whether an automated system labels a moment as suspicious.
Can a lockdown browser and device-level proctoring run together?
Yes. An institution can keep its existing browser controls and add device-level evidence for a human reviewer. ScreenComply works as a proctoring layer alongside the assessment workflow rather than requiring faculty to abandon the exam they already give. The institution retains the academic decision and the permitted-tool policy.
Review the combined student experience during a pilot. Confirm notice, setup, accommodations and how the report reaches the instructor. Evidence should be understandable to the integrity office and usable within its process; adding a layer is only worthwhile when it addresses an identified review need.
What should you ask before the next exam cycle?
Ask what the browser records, what the device-level layer adds and which optional checks are enabled. Confirm who sees a flag first, what students are told and how a decision is documented. Include privacy, accessibility and retention in the same conversation rather than treating them as tasks after deployment.
Request a walkthrough of the evidence report using an assessment relevant to your program. Ask how a legitimate exception is handled and how an ambiguous finding can be reviewed without penalizing a student automatically. A clear answer about limitations is more useful than a promise that every form of assistance will be caught.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Respondus LockDown Browser detect ChatGPT?
It restricts the browser and is not built to see applications outside it. Verify current capabilities and your enabled configuration with the vendor; do not assume browser control alone provides evidence about a separate desktop assistant.
Should we stop using a lockdown browser?
Not necessarily. Keep controls that meet an assessment need and consider additional evidence where the browser view is insufficient. A pilot can help the institution evaluate the combined workflow and review process.
Does a screen recording show every overlay?
An overlay may be designed to hide from screen capture, so a recording is not automatically a complete view. Review the limits of the enabled tools and avoid treating missing footage as proof that no assistance occurred.
Can a second monitor be legitimate?
Yes. The permitted-device policy and accommodations determine whether a display is allowed. A connected display should be reviewed in that context rather than treated as an automatic misconduct finding.
Who decides what a flagged event means?
The instructor and integrity office decide through their own process. Evidence supports that review, and students should have an opportunity to see the relevant record and explain a legitimate exception.
Evidence. Context. Human Review.
Bring your next exam to the conversation.
Review the assessment workflow, the evidence your team receives and the policy that guides a human decision.