Cameras curb cheating, academic misconduct in Kelley classrooms

In about six Kelley School of Business classrooms, students can now be remotely monitored during midterms, finals and other examinations.

Although the Kelley School is not the first to utilize video proctoring, the use of the cameras was tested in the school during the spring 2012 semester and was
officially offered to faculty this fall, Kelley School’s Manager of Emergency, Safety and Security Planning Ryan Bassett said.

More cameras are scheduled to be installed as construction at the Kelley School is completed.

Interim Dean Idalene Kesner said the cameras are used only for test-taking purposes and serve as an extra precaution to curb academic misconduct.

“They’re not used to record any regular class sessions, professors or the students, even if the students are giving a presentation,” she said.

Students are notified either in the syllabus, on OnCourse or in class about potential use of the cameras, she said.

Kelley School officials have taken the extra precaution of placing signs at the main entrances of each classroom to notify students of the potential use of the cameras.
Legally, the school is not required to notify students, Student Legal Services Director Randall Frykberg said.

To the best of his knowledge, Frykberg said, the use of video proctoring does not infringe on students’ right to privacy because a classroom setting isn’t one in which a student has a “reasonable expectation of privacy.”

The cameras were installed in response to a shortage of test proctors, Kesner said.

“We searched many places to find an adequate number of proctors,” she said. “We’ve come up short every time.”

At the opposite end of the camera, Kesner said, a proctor trained to operate the camera sits in a different room, watching students taking an exam.

The training consists not only of camera operation but also guidelines for treating the students fairly, she said.

If the remote proctor suspects a student may have engaged in academic misconduct during a test, Kesner said, the points of concern are brought to faculty members.

Despite the use of video proctoring, an instructor is required to be present during the exam.

“The faculty member has complete discretion whether to pursue any issues raised from the video tape,” Kesner said. “The faculty member makes the decision solely.”

Bassett said he has received positive feedback from Kelley students since the installation of the cameras.

All Kelley students pay the same amount of money to attend classes and work toward a Kelley School degree, he said, and students like to know they are not being shortchanged by classmates engaging in academic misconduct.

“They’re happy that Kelley ... is taking an extra step to prosecute students engaging in academic misconduct,” he said.