We are all very aware that school exams — GCSEs, A Levels, and equivalent qualifications — have been cancelled this year.
But where does that leave people studying for professional qualifications?
Since the lockdown, The London Institute of Banking & Finance has been working hard to make its regulatory qualifications — such as its Diploma in Financial Advice and the Certificate in Mortgage Advice and Practice — available remotely.
At LIBF our professional courses and qualifications are delivered predominantly online, so remote invigilation was something we had been exploring and piloting for some time. Covid-19 prompted an escalation of that timetable.
Key Points
- Lockdown has made many people worried about taking their exams
- Most professional bodies have had to adapt to the new circumstances
- Sometimes taking exams remotely can cause technical issues
With physical exams being cancelled, we knew we had to look at making remote invigilation available more widely — and quickly. This is particularly important where exams form the licence to practise, as is the case with regulated advice.
As anyone who was due to take an exam in the weeks following the nationwide lockdown will know, exam centres were forced to close their doors in March.
Thousands of exams were delayed, leaving lots of people worried about how they were going to get their licence to practise, or finish a professional qualification, and what it would mean for their income.
So how do you take exams in a lockdown? Well you can do a lot of things remotely these days, as we have all recently discovered, and this includes taking exams.
Remote invigilation
Developing remote invigilation is not a straightforward process, particularly at significant volumes. There have been a number of challenges that LIBF — and students taking part in the pilots — have faced.
Like many people, we had to make some significant changes to our systems, especially in terms of secure data flow between us and provider, both for eligibility to take an examination and delivering results. This requires almost real-time updates.
And do not forget these are Ofqual-regulated qualifications, which means keeping Ofqual up to date with the changes and ensuring the approach was fully compliant with its guidance.
Like many people, we had to make some significant changes to our systems, especially in terms of secure data flowThe immediate focus was to support those students whose livelihoods were at stake, namely those who take regulatory advice qualifications. But the LIBF has lots of other students waiting to complete qualifications around the world, for example, in banking and trade finance.
We have prioritised the high-volume regulatory advice qualifications as these were the most urgent.
But in setting that priority we did not want to lose sight of all the others who are seeking to progress in their careers. It has been a careful balancing act between those priorities: our own capacity to deliver, and the availability within the remote invigilation systems.
Underpinning all the technical work behind the scenes was the need to ensure students are well supported by staff who understand the system and can help them, should things go wrong.
And where technology is involved, things do inevitably go wrong.
We developed FAQs and troubleshooting guides for our customer services teams, but it was inevitable that there would be issues for students in the early pilot phases.
Most of the problems that emerged were around students getting to grips with a different system.
In a centre environment, it is obvious what is going on. When students are at home, if there is even a slight delay in the invigilator coming online, exam stress kicks in and students are naturally worried.
Technical issues are always difficult.
A small number of exams froze midway through, but sometimes that is out of anyone’s control.
I am sure we all understand internet connection issues —people freezing in Zoom calls, for example. Sitting an exam via remote invigilation is no different.
The key thing is to remind students not to panic, but obviously that is a difficult ask in such an environment.
Invigilators are available via webchat, so once the connection is re-established, they are on hand to support and advise. Examining boards are mindful that these are timed examinations, and any delay due to technical issues is stressful.
The lessons we learned enabled us to improve our student guidance, and our customer service teams have also sat exams using the system to help them get a feel for the student experience.
Doing your homework
A big lesson learned so far is to ensure that students take the time before their exam to read the guidance and do all the necessary pre-exam checks. Having the right technical set-up and an environment without distraction is crucial.
Firewalls can also cause problems — some students who sat their examination at their place of business experienced issues because of firewalls and other security features in that environment. This is why we would strongly recommend students to take the examination at home.
LIBF has been piloting remote invigilation since April, working with its e-assessment delivery partners, and has successfully delivered around 300 exams.
It is now rolling out remote invigilation more widely to the broader communities and has published a timetable on its website that will be updated as more exams become available.
It is still early days, but — the odd technical hitch aside — we are confident this will prove to be a convenient choice for a lot more students from now on.
Giving students a choice
So what are the next steps for remote exams, and what does it mean for the future?
As we progressed and learned lessons along the way, it became apparent that students would benefit from multi-channel delivery in the long term. So even once centres reopen, we will continue to offer remote invigilation as an alternative, to give students a choice.
And choice is important — sitting exams remotely is not for everyone. It depends on personal circumstances related to the testing environment and technical set-up. And many people prefer to sit exams at a centre because it helps to focus the mind.
In current circumstances, when everyone is trying to work from home, trying to carve out the time and space to sit an exam at home is more challenging.
Imagine trying to sit an exam with your children pestering you — either for home schooling lessons, or just because they want your attention — and with your partner on a conference call in the next room.
In fact, some centres are starting to reopen, albeit with reduced capacity due to social distancing.
However, it is clear that Covid-19 has changed the landscape forever. Even when all exam centres are fully open, we expect more students to take advantage of remote options.
So for LIBF it is clear this is not just a contingency arrangement. It will retain the remote invigilation option alongside centre-based delivery for the long term, to give students a choice about how and where to sit their examinations.
Linden Muirhead is director of learning provision at the London Institute of Banking & Finance
