Important update regarding Safe Exam Browser in cluster rooms

Staff have reported that students are prompted to download the SEB configuration file on managed PCs in cluster rooms.  Once downloaded, and with the launch of the SEB quiz, students are currently prompted to complete Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA).

This is ordinarily not required.  This is currently being investigated.  Status updates shall be posted on our Moodle Known Issues page.

URGENT Moodle Safe Exam Browser update

We want to make you aware of an issue affecting Safe Exam Browser (SEB) on Desktop@UCL computers:

• SEB will not launch if the Windows cursor has been customised using the new accessibility settings (for example, if the cursor has been made larger or set to a different colour).

• These cursor settings are part of a recent Desktop@UCL accessibility update, and students may be using them for visibility or ease of use.

What this means

If a student has customised cursor settings on a Desktop@UCL PC, SEB will show an error and refuse to start the exam.

What to do

Until we find a permanent solution, to avoid disruption, please consider the following options ahead of your exam.

1. Instruct students to revert cursor settings to the Windows default if it is reasonably possible for them to work without this accessibility setting. This option is not suitable for students who rely on larger or high-contrast cursors for accessibility:

   1. Open Settings → Bluetooth & devices → Mouse → Additional Mouse Settings → Pointers tab

   2. You will see a Scheme applied. You may even see that the 'Default' is used. Do not be fooled by that - even though 'Default' is what we want, it won't be fully applied until we un-select it and then re-select it again.

      Open

      

   3. To re-set the Default theme, select 'None' in the Scheme and then select 'Default' again:

      Open

      

   4. Click OK or Apply.

2. Provide a non-SEB version of the quiz for affected students.

   1. Create a duplicate of the quiz without SEB enabled and restrict it to the affected student(s.) If this occurs during the exam, the update must be carried out by your Faculty Learning Technologist, as editing permissions are restricted by Exam Guard.

   2. Increase invigilation arrangements as appropriate.

3. Allow the student to sit the exam on their own laptop (if reasonably possible to do so).

   1. The student will have to have SEB downloaded and installed from: https://safeexambrowser.org/download_en.html

   2. Their cursor settings will have to be set to default.

If you have an upcoming SEB exam

Please identify any students who may need cursor accessibility settings. If you are unsure, plan for options 2 or 3 so that students are not disadvantaged or delayed at the start of the exam. We will share further updates once we have more information from Desktop@UCL and the SEB development team.

Key reminders

Please be reminded that Exam Guard is in effect for quizzes open for less than 5 hours, so course editing will be disabled from 10 minutes before the quiz starts until 10 minutes after it ends. To avoid any disruptions, we recommend setting the "Open the quiz" time to match the exam start time when creating the quiz, as well as leaving the quiz availability setting on 'Show on course page' rather than 'Hide on course page'. 

At least four weeks before the exam is scheduled to take place, it is vital you complete the Exam Notification Form so that the Digital Education team and ISD can complete any necessary checks on your Moodle quiz settings and/or room.

If this is the first time you are running an online exam please state this in the Exam Notification Form in 'Additional Info' and a member of our team may be able to assist you on the day (given enough notice). Please note: These members of staff are not a replacement for invigilators.

DO NOT schedule your exam during a planned Moodle outage or maintenance window - see Maintenance updates. Currently, the window for Moodle maintenance is weekdays midnight - 8am, currently the primary slot used is 6am - 8am Thursday mornings. 

AVOID scheduling your exam within the UCL transition window of 5mins to or 5mins past the hour. Where possible, we recommend to adjust the start time of timed quizzes to 10 or 15 minutes past the hour (e.g. 11:10am, 12:15pm etc.) especially where the quiz is being taken by a large number of students.  

AVOID editing the settings of the Moodle course or its activities while students are actively undertaking a quiz on the same Moodle course.  Editing course content while a quiz is underway may impact the performance of your Moodle course and its activities.

AVOID editing the settings of the Moodle course or its activities while students are actively undertaking a quiz on the same Moodle course.  Editing course content while a quiz is underway may impact the performance of your Moodle course and its activities.

Moodle Quiz Safe Exam browser is not recommended for non-invigilated online exams, as a student could easily have multiple computer devices and thus locking down one will be ineffective. 

Moodle Quiz Safe Exam browser is not recommended for Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) exams. The browser requires installation and is not guaranteed to work on different student devices. For example, it does not currently work on Chromebook. Instead, it should only be used in cluster rooms where it is pre-installed.