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Northern Essex Community College has a suite of various technologies to ensure that faculty provide students alternatives to in-person testing to maintain academic integrity. Faculty may use a variety of assessment strategies in their courses, and one option may be online proctoring through Honorlock.

Honorlock is an automated online remote proctoring service that allows students to take exams remotely. Honorlock is available 24/7 and it requires a computer with a Chrome browser, a webcam and microphone, and a stable Internet connection. A Chrome extension runs with a red indicator when it is on. After an exam session, the extension is not active and can be removed from the browser. Honorlock provides information on system requirements and also technical support to students and faculty.

Privacy and Security

Students’ Concerns about security are also our priority. For Honorlock, student privacy is incredibly important, especially in these uncertain times. While we are all struggling under this “new normal,” Honorlck created a video to address some unfounded fears that are making the rounds about privacy. Watch the video: Honorlock Protects Student Privacy.

Honorlock provides answers to questions about privacy and security. The information below is from their website and is subject to change. Please visit the web links for updated policies and information.

Does Honorlock access other computers, mobile devices, and equipment on the network and scan them for information?

Does Honorlock access other computers, mobile devices, and equipment on the network and scan them for information?

Honorlock does not scan other computers on your network or your phone or tablet and has no access to them. See Honorlock’s website for a detailed explanation.

Does Honorlock route traffic through your servers in order to analyze or monitor information from devices on the server?

Does Honorlock route traffic through your servers in order to analyze or monitor information from devices on the server?

No.

What can Honorlock do?

What can Honorlock do?

Honorlock acts at the request of your school to proctor your exam to help your school detect (and prevent) academic dishonesty. We collect basic information from your school’s LMS such as your email address, and your name. Before the exam starts you may also be asked to use your computer’s webcam to take a photo of yourself, your ID and do a 360-degree scan of the room you’re in. Honorlock also can, for example, log the websites you go to (or attempt to go to) from Chrome (which processes the request) when you are active in an exam and if enabled by your school, record you (using your device’s webcam) and record your desktop activity during the exam. See Honorlock’s website for a detailed explanation.

What actions can I take after the exam has ended to feel more comfortable about using Honorlock?

What actions can I take after the exam has ended to feel more comfortable about using Honorlock?

  1. Remove the Honorlock extension when the exam is over. Simply navigate to the extension in the toolbar of Chrome, right-click, and remove. You can reinstall the extension for your next exam. It takes less than 30 seconds to install the Honorlock extension.
  2. You can create a new Chrome person to complete your testing with Honorlock. Open Chrome, navigate to the People tab across the top of your screen, then click create a new user. This means any bookmarks, passwords, etc., that you have saved will not show up in the Chrome window when you are testing.
  3. If you have been asked to download the software described above (in addition to the Chrome extension), delete the software from the computer using your computer’s standard software uninstall process.
Does Honorlock sell your data?

Does Honorlock sell your data?

No. We are in the business of proctoring exams, not selling your data or using it to advertise to you. See Honorlock’s website for a detailed explanation.

What other measures does Honorlock take to protect my privacy?

What other measures does Honorlock take to protect my privacy?

  • Honorlock is hosted in the cloud through Amazon Web Services.
  • Data in transit is encrypted using TLS 1.2, with SHA-256 and RSA 2048-bit public key for ALL data transfers in and out of our system. All transmission of data to and from our network is handled using SSL. All data transmitted into our platform is received over SSL to our web servers and our APIs. Data is transmitted back to our customers through our web servers using SSL. Data in transmission is encrypted following up-to-date SSL protocols, as certified by our latest vulnerability scan.
  • Data stored on AWS is server-side encrypted using industry standards with AES-256 block encryption.
  • Honorlock is not the owner of the data but holds the data for the university. Honorlock employees do not have access to the data unless their job requires it (e.g. support or proctors).
  • Honorlock requires no account or password. We use your access to the LMS to give you access to your exam when proctoring is enabled.
  • Honorlock employees receive training on how to use our product, FERPA, Incident Response, and Data Protection. All support and proctoring employees also conduct job-specific training for supporting the product, supporting students, and how to proctor effectively.
  • Honorlock conducts routine vulnerability assessments, scans, and penetration testing to ensure we continue to protect all data at all costs. These tests are performed by independent third parties. Since 2019, it has also undergone annual independent, outside SOC 2 Type 1 data security-related audits.
  • If you’d like to have your data deleted or to get access to it (such as under the GDPR, CCPA, or other applicable law), please contact your school. We will then respond to any requests the school makes of us.

For additional questions on how Honorlock works, please consult with your instructor. Each instructor adopts proctoring and assessments according to course expectations. Instructors also make the final decision on suspected cheating during an exam session. If an instructor reviews the Honorlock video and concludes a student violated NECC’s Student Code of Conduct, the instructor will follow the appropriate grievance procedures. For other questions, take a moment to see student’s frequently asked questions on the Honorlock website.

Faculty needing support with Honorlock, please contact distance@necc.mass.edu.

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