/
Centrally Managed Lockdown Browser Exams

Centrally Managed Lockdown Browser Exams

Owned by Claudia Cox
Last updated: Jan 29, 2025
5 min read

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.

If you have any examinations which you would like to be included in the central provision in May 2025, then please notify Katherine Majid by Friday 8 November 2024 at the latest, indicating which of the above criteria apply for each exam. 

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 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 (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.

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.

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)

Important: it is critical to ensure that any whitelisted resources are tested prior to your examination to ensure there are no access issues. The Digital Assessment Team will assist you with this.

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).

  • File upload question (FLOWmulti only): Can allow students to upload up to 12 files per question (max file size 10MB). File formats can be limited and the question can be set up to allow for webcam capture. Files uploaded to this question type will need to be downloaded to view during marking.

If drawings, diagrams and handwritten work are a requirement for more than 5 questions in your exam, we would recommend that you run this as a paper based exam instead. This is because it may require significant time to capture, edit (e.g. crop and rotate the image) and include this many images at the relevant point of the submission.

Upload time will still be factored into examinations with this requirement as appropriate (see below) but limiting the number of images in this way ensures the best experience for students.

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 reupload 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 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.