Proctor Information

Some distance education courses require students to take proctored exams. A proctored exam is taken off-campus and is supervised, just as it would be for a course taken on campus. Simply stated, a proctor supervises a student’s exam. It is up to each student to find a qualified proctor. Typically, a student schedules the exam with a proctor, and the exam is sent to the proctor to administer. The proctor then returns the completed exam to the instructor to grade. Generally, proctors do not charge for this service. In all cases the campus distance education center or academic department offering the course must approve of the choice of proctor.

Acceptable proctors for most courses include:

• professional student services staff, registrars, deans, counselors, or professors at a university or college
• high school principals or counselors
• directors of educational services at universities, correctional institutions, or the armed services
• certified librarians in a supervisory positions
• delegated officials of a university testing center

If you are taking an exam outside the United States, you may also request as your proctor the local director of educational services or an officer of the U.S. embassy or consulate.

If you reside in the Madison, WI area, UW Learning Innovations offers an exam room for students Monday-Friday. Please call 877-895-3276 to schedule a time.

Updated: April 26, 2006

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