Remote invigilation

Supporting centres to deliver assessments with more flexibility and more integrity

City & Guilds’ newly developed remote invigilation service, which will be widely available in Autumn 2020, allows assessments on our E-volve platform to be taken from home or the workplace, removing the need to travel to a test centre, without compromising on security. We supply experienced invigilators ensuring the tests remain secure and result in reliable assessment decisions. Register your interest by completing the form at the end of the page.

Benefits of Remote Invigilation

  • candidates can fit testing around work and other commitments
  • reduced time and travel costs; exams can take place at home or in the workplace
  • reduced exam anxiety by performing test in a familiar environment.
  • continuity of testing in the event of disruptions; Covid-19, extreme weather conditions
  • reduced pressure on testing rooms on-site
  • reduced internal invigilator staff costs
  • increased delivery with more testing opportunities and potential to create new business opportunities
  • reduced overhead costs and time taken to administer tests; exam logistics such as sourcing, booking and timetabling computer suites for on-line tests and hiring, training and paying for invigilator time.
  • drives standardisation of invigilation and provides reviewable evidence of malpractice if required
  • eliminates instances of fraud or impersonation during assessments and acts as an effective deterrent to cheating.

Pre-test Checks

The candidate is welcomed to the test by the invigilator via live chat. Then the invigilator will validate the identity of the candidate through

  1. Name Check – confirmation that it is the correct candidate
  2. Photo ID captured / or soft copy uploaded
  3. Facial capture is taken for a) comparison with photo ID and b) continuing facial recognition at snapshots throughout the test
  4. Voice sample is taken for voice recognition throughout the test – candidate asked to repeat a simple phrase 3 times

An environment check will then be performed to check that the candidate isn’t accessing materials or support that they shouldn’t be, typically a scan of the room and under the desk.

Live remote invigilation online

We provide an online invigilator who supervises a candidate using audio-visual streams and is supported by Artificial Intelligence (AI) monitoring. The invigilator can warn, pause or terminate the assessment if they see suspicious behaviour.

Record & Review

We provide an online service, supported by AI, that observes and records the E-volve test taking place. The remote invigilation AI provides a detailed post-test log of any suspicious activity which is flagged and reviewed by a human invigilator post-test if required.

Whether a test is carried out by Live Remote Invigilation or Record and Review will depend on the stakes of the assessment and the appropriate regulatory approvals.

Frequently asked questions

How do I book a remote invigilation?

At the time of booking an e-volve online test centres can opt for remote invigilation as the delivery method. This will be done by selecting the installation ID that begins with RI or RR followed by your centre code. This will appear as an option once your centre is approved for remote invigilation. City & Guilds will provide the required level of invigilation required for the test in question. Once you have made your booking the candidate will receive a session confirmation email that will provide the link to be used by the candidate to join the live invigilation session and a verification code. Results are available in the usual way for all e-volve tests.

How do you authenticate candidates?

Candidates are welcomed by an invigilator at the start of the test, they will be asked for their name and a form of photo ID to establish their identity. Additionally, they will have a facial scan taken and be asked for a voice sample. The facial scan and voice recognition will be used to check identity throughout the test.

How does the invigilation work and are the tests still secure?

After the identity of the candidate has been established the invigilator will perform an environment check. They will scan the room with the candidate’s webcam device to ensure the candidate hasn’t got access to any unrequired materials or accessing additional help. Throughout the test the invigilator is supported by artificial intelligence (AI) to monitor a whole range of audio/visual clues and candidate behaviours, all of which are flagged for review.

What’s the difference between Live Remote Invigilation and Record and Review?

Live remote invigilation is where the invigilator observes the test experience in real time. For the record and review option the test is reviewed by an invigilator after the test has taken place on the basis of AI flagged events.