Two years or so after remote exams were put in place for advisers and planners, problems with logging on and taking exams still exist.
As recently as last month, advisers cited instances of having issues with accessing their exam remotely and others stated they were unable to book their R06 examination with the Chartered Insurance Institute.
Most recently, Kathryn Knowles, managing director at Cura Insurance, had troubles logging on for an exam.
“When I sat my CII exam the experience was not the smoothest I had hoped it would be,” she said. “It took 1 hour and 50 minutes to have my ID verified, and this involved a long process of downloading software onto phones, logging in and completing verification three times.”
While she did eventually manage to get through and sit her exam, she said she was also contacted by the CII who said they were looking into the procedures.
The CII said it brought forward its ability to offer remote invigilation in 2020 by more than a year to ensure individuals could sit examinations when they were unable to attend exam centres due to Covid.
However, since introducing this, it has faced tech issues. Last year, the CII faced exam glitches as candidates having taken exams in the past 48 hours were unable to view their results and certificates online.
During the pandemic, the CII also apologised to candidates for “unacceptable instances” including problems with accessing remote invigilation sessions and technical issues during sittings.
Candidates had experienced a delayed start to a remote invigilated exam in July 2020, followed by some candidates experiencing technical issues with a remote multiple choice exam in August.
Technical issues continued in test centres in October 2020, with candidates claiming their computer system froze or shut down hours into the exam.
These issues continued into 2021. In March, the CII was forced to issue its exam results a day early after it suffered a technical issue, causing confusion among candidates.
In dealing with these issues, the institute said it reviews feedback on sitting its assessments and has an action group to focus on improving candidate communications based on this feedback.
A spokesperson said: “Students can expect to see further guidance in the way we deliver exams in the coming months. We would remind candidates that we now have almost double the number of centres compared to pre-lockdown, available in the UK in addition to the remote invigilation options.”
However, despite this, some advisers have cited that they are looking to leave CII and move to CISI or LIBF as a result of some of the ongoing exam issues.
The CII told FTAdviser that the number of Personal Finance Society members stayed steady last year.
A spokesperson for the CII said: “Our qualifications are designed in consultation with experienced sector practitioners and are registered with Ofqual in the Regulated Qualifications Framework (RQF).
