Annika Pokorny

During the switch to emergency remote teaching, many instructors have relied on remote proctoring services to maintain academic integrity in their science courses. Emergency remote teaching differs from standard online instruction because instructors must quickly adapt to a different teaching style, and students are subjected to an unexpected learning environment. Maintaining academic integrity during remote instruction, especially during examinations, is difficult without restructuring assessments or relying on third-party proctoring services to watch students for suspicious activity. While these services may reduce the incidence of academic dishonesty, students are subjected to new stressors that add to performance anxiety. However, the exact stressors and concerns about remote proctoring services and the nature of students' remote testing environments are unknown. Using a survey distributed to ten undergraduate science courses across three public, research-focused institutions, the majority of students reported testing in suboptimal environments characterized by noise, distractions, and poor internet quality. Students were most concerned about technological difficulties, being wrongfully accused of cheating, and emotional distress when using remote proctoring software. Based on these results, it is important to recognize that remote proctoring services may perpetuate and exacerbate inequities in students’ learning and testing environments. In order for higher-education institutions to continue to provide relevant education, further research is needed to identify and implement better assessment strategies in the virtual world.