Advisers sitting exams with the Chartered Insurance Institute have once again fallen foul of technical glitches, which yesterday prevented almost 10 per cent of candidates completing the test.
Gill White, learning and assessment director at the CII, told FTAdviser 23 of the 245 candidates due to sit remote multiple choice exams yesterday (August 21) experienced "technical issues".
Candidates took to Twitter to warn they were either unable to begin the exam or their sitting had been paused mid examination.
One candidate due to sit the R05 Financial Protection exam told FTAdviser he was unable to contact the CII using its online chat function, email or telephone throughout the day.
He said once he got hold of the exam's service provider he was told multiple other candidates had complained of the same technical issues.
Other candidates on Twitter dubbed the experience "very poor and stressful" and a "shambles".
Ms White said candidates who had not been able to sit the exam were due to be contacted by the CII today to rebook.
She added: "We are very sorry for the candidates who encountered issues yesterday.
"We are currently exploring a further 22 cases where the candidates might have had technical issues or might not have logged on for their exam at their booked time.
"These people will be contacted by close of play on Monday at the latest with an opportunity to re book their exam.
"We are in daily communications with our service provider who has now put extended dedicated support in place with additional agents to assist going forward, having rectified the issue and having undergone significant testing overnight."
But Ms White insisted remote invigilation still gave candidates the advantage of being able to sit exams "at any time 24 hours a day, 7 days a week", which she said extended accessibility to "valuable qualifications".
It is not the first time the CII has found itself plagued by technical glitches in recent months.
In July the exam system went down when candidates were due to sit the R06 financial planning exam, with advisers claiming they had been left in the dark with no communication from the professional body.
The glitch was dubbed an "absolute disgrace" as candidates faced uncertainty over whether the test had actually been submitted.
At the time the CII said any candidate who was unable to log-in to the exam and required a resit before October would not need to learn an "entirely new case study".
rachel.mortimer@ft.com
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