Overview

The Examinations team began supporting in-person digital examinations using the WISEflow lockdown browser in May 2025, followed by Jan 2026 exam week. Moodle in-person digital exams are not centrally managed in the 2025/6 academic year – but departmentally managed Moodle exams can still be factored into the timetable.

Demand for this service is very likely to outstrip supply for this year, and with that in mind Examinations will be prioritising provision for:

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)
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.
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 is scalling up the provision for May 2026 and for 2026/7. You have the opportunity express your interest on the assessment change spreadsheet open until 28th Nov and during the Curriculum Data Management task using assessment code EC04 (main exam period) or EC04 (Jan exam period) for centrally managed in-person digital exams.

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 can contain multiple choice questions or other interactive question types offered in FLOWmulti , including essay type questions (e.g. short answer/ essay questions, fill in the blanks, etc.) will also be considered.

For more information:

See guidance on Creating an exam paper or assignment

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

Exams which do not include any MCQ elements will still be considered under point 2 or 3, or for FlowMulti if there are multiple essay type questions for students to answer or select from.

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

Yes, provision will be made 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 from a Digital Assessment specialist by contacting the examinations@ucl.ac.uk (your query will be passed to a specialist) or via MyServices.

Access to the internet and desktop applications

It is possible to whitelist URLs/ webpages to give students access if this is required during a lockdown exam. Content that requires multifactor authentication (MFA) to access is not suitable as it will be disruptive and risk the integrity of the assessment if students need to use their phones throughout the exams.

Note that some websites now contain AI tools, either directly embedded or via links to other pages. It is important to make sure that students have an appropriate level of access to only permitted materials in their exam.

Websites are whitelisted by domain and a more specific link will result in more restricted access. For example: whitelisting the URL https://www.youtube.com/ will allow users to access any content on Youtube, whereas whitelisting the URL https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdFbe0Fo75Y will only allow users to access this particular video on Youtube.

Websites can be whitelisted for the entire cohort and for individual students. Where links that are unique to each student need to be used, we strongly recommend that this is only done for cohorts of 30 students or fewer as it can become labour intensive to implement. For cohorts larger than 30 students, individual resources should be supplied via hard copy where possible.

The lockdown browser is not suitable for:

exams which require candidates to have access to desktop applications (e.g. RStudio or the desktop version of MS Excel)
exams which require candidates to have access to web-based applications that use MFA to log in (e.g. Jupyter notebook)

Important: it is critical to ensure that any whitelisted resources are tested prior to your examination to ensure there are no access issues. Digital Assessment specialists can assist with this. Contact via the examinations@ucl.ac.uk (your query will be passed to a Digital Assessment Advisor) or via MyServices for an assessment specialist.

Drawings, diagrams and handwritten work

There are several ways that students can capture drawings or work produced on paper in a lockdown browser exam:

Drawing tool: A very basic MS-Paint like tool that can be used to create simple diagrams and drawings.
Webcam capture: Allows students to capture photos of drawings made on paper, offers basic editing (i.e. crop image, adjust brightness/ contrast).
Practice: Students should be given guidance and the opportuntiy to practice uploading a document via the inbuilt webcam to the appendix manager to ensure they are well prepared for any exam requiring this.

It is recommend that no more than 3 sheets of handwritten response are uploaded via webcam.
Limiting the number of images in this way ensures the best experience for students. Any required time for upload can be factored into the standard exam time set by the Module Leads.
If there is a requirement for more then you may want to consider running your exam as paper based exam instead.

Writing code

WISEflow’s appendix manager includes a code editor which allows students to write non-executable code that can be included with their submissions. The code editor will check the syntax and highlight inconsistencies.

Supported languages: Javascript, Go, Typescript, CSS, C++, C#, Python, XML, Markdown, Java, Ruby, Sass, JSON, HTML, SQL and PHP.

In addition to syntax highlighting the following also includes a structure error checker: HTML, CSS, Javascript, JSON and XML

Editor themes: Xcode, Monokai, Terminal, Github, Solarized Dark and Solarized Light.

Alternatively, you could whitelist an online compiler such as OneCompiler to allow students to write code (see Access to the internet and desktop applications). In this instance they would need to export their code from the compiler and re upload this to WISEflow, either through a file upload question (FLOWmulti only) or via the appendix manager.

It is recommended that you use the appendix manager in this instance as there are no restrictions on the file formats that can be uploaded. Note: file uploads are not permitted on the appendix manager by default, you will need to ask a programme administrator or exam liason officer (ELO) to enable this setting for you.

Do central WISEflow in-person digital exams still need to have a 20 minute upload window?

Upload of handwritten responses is expected to be minimal on in-person digital exams*, any required time for upload should be factored into the standard exam time set by the Module Leads.

*It is recommend that no more 3 webcam uploadsof handwritten response is made via webcam.

Students should be given guidance and the opportunity to practice uploading a document via the inbuilt webcam to the appendix manager to ensure they are well prepared for any exam requiring this.

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

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

What if provision isn’t made for my exam?

Provision for centrally supported lockdown exams is limited for 2025/26. You will be notified whether your exam(s) can be accommodated. 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.

Are these exams BYOD (Bring Your Own Device)?

No. Centrally supported digital exams will take place at ExCeL London, with laptops provided by TEAMCo. During the LSA period, these may take place at another venue or on campus in cluster rooms with desktop PCs. TBC

Centrally Managed Lockdown Browser Exams