Overview

The Examinations team will begin supporting in-person digital examinations using the WISEflow lockdown browser in May 2025.  Moodle in-person digital exams will not be centrally managed in the 2024/ 25 academic year – but departmentally managed Moodle exams can still be factored into the timetable.

This Phase will be limited to five days of approximately 580 candidates per session.  Demand for this service is very likely to outstrip supply for this year, and with that in mind Examinations will be prioritising provision for:

1. MCQ examinations and exams including an element of MCQ (as we currently have a gap in the provision for MCQ exams due to the OMR service no longer being available)

2. Other exams where the content would be more appropriate in an online format – such as Computer Science exams where students are expected to use Code.

3. Exams where the preferred delivery method would be in-person digital, but the student numbers would make it difficult to accommodate in cluster rooms.

The Examinations team will aim to distribute provision as fairly as possible between the Faculties, whilst bearing in mind that points 1 and 2 above will take priority.  You will be notified whether your exam(s) can be accommodated before the end of term. If Portico shows that you have already indicated an intention to run an exam as in-person digital, you will be contacted separately to discuss your plans.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does my exam have to be 100% MCQ to be considered?

No. Examinations which contain some multiple choice questions and other interactive question types offered in FLOWmulti (e.g. short answer/ essay questions, fill in the blanks, etc.) will also be considered under point 1.

For more information:

See guidance on Authoring an online exam (FLOWmulti assignment)

See the complete list of question types available for use in FLOWmulti assignments

Exams which do not include any MCQ elements (FLOWlock exams) may still be considered under point 2 or 3.

Will there still be support for centrally managed exams using the lockdown browser during the Late Summer Assessment period (LSAs)?

Yes, cluster rooms will be used for these.

Is the content of my exam suitable to run using the lockdown browser?

If you are uncertain of whether your exam can be delivered using the lockdown browser, you can get advice by contacting the Digital Assessment Team at assessment-advisory@ucl.ac.uk.

The lockdown browser is not suitable for:

• exams which require candidates to have access to desktop applications (e.g. RStudio, MS Excel)

• exams which require candidates to have access to web-based applications that use MFA to log in (e.g. Jupyter notebook)

It may be suitable for exams which involve restricted access to specific web content, subject to testing.

Do central WISEflow exams still need to have a 20 minute upload window?

This depends on whether students need to upload anything as part of the exam or not.  It is not normally expected that the 20 minutes of upload time need to be applied for FLOWlock/ FLOWmulti unless students need to upload images of handwritten work as part of the exam.

Upload time will be factored into any exams that need it by the Examinations Team, so you do not need to include this when specifying the length of your exam.

What’s the difference in setup/ management for a centrally managed lockdown exam?

See information on Managing Centrally Managed Examinations on AssessmentUCL (WISEflow).

What if provision isn’t made for my exam?

Provision for centrally supported lockdown exams is limited for 2024/ 25. You will be notified whether your exam(s) can be accommodated before the end of term. If the Examinations Team are unable to accommodate your exam:

• You may still be able to run the exam using the lockdown browser by managing it departmentally, if resource allows for this. See the main WISEflow Lockdown Browser Guidance page for more information.

• You may have to adapt your exam to an alternative format for this year.

The Examinations Team is aiming to scale up the provision in May 2026 and you will be contacted at a later date to enable them to plan for the expected numbers.  Early expressions of interest for May 2026 are also more than welcome.

Are these exams BYOD (Bring Your Own Device)?

No. Centrally supported digital exams will take place at ExCeL London, with laptops provided by TEAMCo.