For our online exams, we run digital invigilation to ensure the Academic integrity of the online exams. If you have chosen to participate in ICB Online exams, there are a few technical settings and requirements that are compulsory.  

Please read the full technical requirements document to ensure that you are fully prepared for your online exam. Contents of this document are:


1. General Technical requirements
2. If you are writing at an external venue and using their device / connectivity 

3. System checks before and on exam day

4. Troubleshooting connectivity

5. Webcam and browser settings

6. Clearing cookies before the exam




1. General Technical requirements

  1. The exam can be taken at home, office or college, but the student must take the responsibility to ensure that unforeseen disruptions will not adversely impact them. 
  2. Booking for an online exam means that students agree that they have the listed requirements available at their disposal in order to participate in the ICB online exams.
  3. Technical Specifications are subject to change as processes are refined and updated after every exam session.
  4. It is the student's responsibility to ensure that all the listed specified technical and connection requirements are met. 
  5. Should a student still be disrupted and unable to complete the exam, they may only apply for a mitigating postponement for circumstances beyond the scope of the technical specifications. Please see the ICB Exam Postponement Policies for details.
  6. If a student completes an exam but has technical difficulties during the exam, these can be reported in the post-exam survey for the assessor to be aware of.  


In order to meet the requirements below you must match the following:


A fixed line connection + ADSL/FIBRE/DSL network + 5Mbps line speed. These are further explained in the table below. 

If you do not meet ALL of these, then you are not using the recommended specifications and will have issues on exam day.


TECHNOLOGY REQUIREMENTS FOR ONLINE EXAMS

SPECIFICATIONS

Connection

Connectivity requirements

FIXED LINE 
Wired connectivity is required. This refers to a DSL/ADSL/Fibre connection where your device is connected directly to your router via network cable and you are using this connectivity for the exam.



WIRELESS: NOT RECOMMENDED 
*Wifi connections - the use of a wifi / wireless connection is not recommended as the network is not reliable. Used at your own risk

MOBILE DATA: CANNOT BE USED
*Mobile data connectivity of any kind cannot be used for online exam. This includes LTE connectivity. Used at your own risk



Click here for a more detailed explanation of network connections

Internet line speed

5 Mbps minimum download speed for the duration of the exam PER PERSON.  Do a speed test or Check in with your ISP if you are unsure of your speed. (ISP = Internet Service Provider)

Data requirementsAt least between 3 - 5 gb of data for the exam duration.

Device security / firewalls / permissions

The online exam requires access to camera / mic / pop-ups / screen sharing and 3rd party cookies. The browser, device  and network being used must have access to all of these.

Hardware

Desktop or Laptop

Fully charged if laptop - (Tablets and mobile phones are not permitted)

Screens

Only ONE screen allowed

Microphone

No headphones (Unless this is your only working mic)

Webcam

1280x720 resolution

Ram

4GB   

Calculator   

Basic or Scientific calculator  (Not Financial)

Software

PC users

Windows 8 or 10

PC user browser

Chrome

  

Mac users

Mac OSX Sierra

Mac user  browser

Chrome 

   

Recommended scanning app

Adobe Scan 

Software 

MS Office - Word, PowerPoint, Excel   

PDF documents   

Must be capable of downloading and opening PDF documents. A PDF reader can be used   



2. If you are writing at an external venue and using their device / connectivity


The Technical Specifications for Connection, Hardware and Software must be met for each individual student writing an online exam. If the venue is unable to provide or confirm that these specifications can be met per student for the duration of a online exam, an alternative source must be found. 


Use the technical specifications table provided to confirm these with the external venue prior to writing the online exam. 



3. Technical System checks - before and on exam day

In order to enter the online exam room on exam day, you will need to pass two system checks to ensure that we can digitally invigilate your exam.  You will not be allowed access to the online exam if your system does not pass the online exam system checks.  This is an automatic process and cannot be bypassed.  


Technical System check prior to the Exam: 

  • Must be completed on the same device and network that you will be using for your online exam.
  • Can be done as many times as is needed (doing this again on the morning of the exam is a good idea)
  • Step by Step instructions can be found in this article: How to do Technical checks before exam day
  • Checks for the following functionality for online exams at the time of the system check

1. Are your camera and mic permissions allowed and functional at the time of the system check.

2. Is your camera able to record an image at the time of the system check.

3. Do you have an internet connection at the time of the system check

4. Does your device have the ability to stream a recording at the time of the system check.

  • Does not check for the following:
  1. Whether you are using the recommended network connectivity with the required internet speed to stream the recording of the exam on exam day as per the Technical specifications provided.
  2. Whether you have enough data to complete the online exam as per the Technical specifications provided.
  •  Even if these checks are passed, it does not guarantee that you will be able to run the exam on exam day. The student needs to make sure that the network type, connectivity and speed meet the requirements for exam day. Adequate streaming capability cannot be checked by the Technical System Check as this check is only a few minutes and the exam is a few hours.
  • If you are unable to complete the Technical System check prior to the exam on the device you will be using for the exam, an indemnity form has been provided on the PoE that can be completed.  This is only to be used in exceptional cases where students cannot run this check prior to the exam.  Please make sure you read the terms and conditions provided in the indemnity


Technical System check on Exam Day:

  • Our exam papers are set for 3 hours.  But, the exam session is opened 1/2 hour early at 1pm so that the first 30 minutes can be used for setup.  The exam session is therefore 3.5hrs long in total (ie 1pm to 4.30pm) The first 30 minutes are provided for technical checks and reading of instructions.
  • The Technical System Check completed on exam day to participate in the online exam on checks the following:
  1. Are your camera and mic permissions allowed and functional on exam day.
  2. Is your camera able to record an image on exam day.
  3. Do you have the recommended internet network connection and speed as per the Technical specifications on exam day. (This has to meet all the requirements as per the Technical Specifications)
  4. Does your device have the ability to stream a recording using the recommended connectivity type as per the Technical specifications on exam day.
  • The ICB exam does not have a threshold on the number of students who are able to participate in an online exam on any given exam day. The system is stress tested prior to every online exam. 
  • If a student is unable to connect to the exam or is disconnected from the exam they need ensure they are using the recommended network connectivity as per the Technical specifications. 
  • Remember, even if you pass the system checks at the beginning, it does not guarantee that you will not have dips in the connection. And just because your connection has worked previously, it does not guarantee that it will work under these conditions for the full exam session.
  • Students must contact the ICB Support team via the CHAT function on Macci if they are struggling for more than a few minutes.



4. Troubleshooting connectivity


One of the biggest obstacles with Digital invigilation is maintaining the right level of connectivity to stream the exam. If you are having any issues with connectivity, these tips may help:

  1. Restart your device and router before the exam session.
  2. Double check that all other applications on your device are completely closed. Some of these run in the background and use bandwidth. (ie email, WhatApp etc)
  3. Close all other tabs in your browser.
  4. If you are at home, make sure no-one else in the house is using the connection during your exam session.


NB: Save this link: Instructions on how to do troubleshooting on exam day:  



5. Webcam and browser settings

There are additional security requirements to ensure exam authenticity. If these are not met, students will not be granted access to the exam.

  1. Students must ensure that their webcam is set up correctly. Please see the document below to assist with the set up.
  2. Students need to be aware of and accept that proctoring methods have been incorporated into the PoE and the online exam to detect irregular activities. In order to enable these, students must allow certain browser permissions. Please watch the video's for instructions.
  3. Students agree that irregularities identified by the proctoring methods will be grounds for academic disciplinary as per ICB's exam policy.
  4. Students agree and understand that this exam is protected by copyright law. Recording in any form, including screenshots of any part of the PoE or the exam, is prohibited.  Any such acts could lead to expulsion from the ICB and from registering for future courses (or writing any exams) and notification to the relevant authorities.
  5. Students also agree and understand that the recording of the questions asked and/or sharing these with anyone is seen as cheating and may result in disqualification from the programme.



6. Clearing of cookies and global Chrome settings BEFORE THE EXAM


Students must ensure that the cookies in the Chrome browser are cleared and that their global Chrome third party settings are allowed before they enter the exam on exam day.


This will ensure that there are no permission blocks in the back end of their browser that could block the entry to the exam room at any stage during the exam session.


Please see instructions below on how to clear cookies.





Other resources:


Please remember to visit our help videos which will help you setup and prepare for the online exam.


Click below to access videos on YouTube