Institutions can designate approved Proctors, assign Proctors to in-person Assessment Sessions, and use Assessment Sessions to manage when and how students take assessments. 

Important: Proctoring for competency assessments in CertMaster is separate from Pearson VUE proctoring for CompTIA certification exams. CertMaster proctoring is designed for institution-delivered, in-person assessments and is not a remote-proctoring solution. 

About CertMaster Proctoring

What is a Proctor?

A Proctor is an institution-designated individual responsible for overseeing assessments within CertMaster.

Proctors are invited by Institution Administrators, and their access is focused on assessment administration. CertMaster Proctors are separate from Pearson VUE Proctors. 

How does proctoring improve assessment integrity?

Proctoring provides designated oversight and clearer responsibility for administering classroom-based assessments. Proctors oversee and manage assessments, helping institutions provide a more consistent and accountable assessment experience. 

Is Proctoring required for every assessment?

No. Proctoring is optional for competency assessments. An institution may choose to use proctoring for additional oversight or to meet institutional or applicable jurisdictional requirements. 

Is CertMaster Proctoring in person or remote?

CertMaster Proctoring is conducted in person. Proctored assessments using this workflow are administered at a physical location and are not remotely proctored. 

Proctor Roles and Onboarding

Who can invite someone to become a Proctor?

Only an Institution Administrator can invite a new Proctor or assign the Proctor role to an existing user. This ensures that Proctors are approved by someone responsible for the institution.

How do I add a Proctor?

An Institution Administrator can invite a new Proctor through the institution's staff invitation process or assign the Proctor role to an existing user.

The invited user receives an email and is guided through signing in or creating an account, completing onboarding, and accepting the required agreements before becoming an approved Proctor.

Proctor Invitation and Onboarding Process

The Staff page where an Institution Administrator begins the invitation process.

The invitation screen used to add the Proctor role.

The invitation email sent to the prospective Proctor.

The application completed as part of Proctor onboarding.

Confirmation of the approved Proctor application.

The Proctor Agreements and Policies available during onboarding.

Can someone who doesn't already have a CertMaster account become a Proctor?

Yes. Institution Administrators can invite existing CertMaster users as well as individuals who do not currently have an account.

Existing users have the Proctor role added to their current account. New users are guided through account creation before completing Proctor onboarding. 

Can someone have multiple roles, including the Proctor role?

Yes. A user can have multiple roles within CertMaster. For example, an Instructor, Adjunct Instructor, or Institution Administrator can also have the Proctor role after completing the required Proctor onboarding and agreements.

Institutions should verify any local or state requirements that may restrict who can proctor a particular assessment.

What access does the Proctor role provide?

The Proctor role is limited to assessment administration.

Proctors do not receive general access to student lists or other institution details solely because of their Proctor role. Their access is focused on assessments they are responsible for administering. 

What happens after someone is invited to become a Proctor?

The invited individual receives an email prompting them to sign in or create a CertMaster account.

After signing in, the individual must review and accept the required Proctor agreements before becoming an approved Proctor.

Does a Proctor need to accept the invitation before being assigned to an assessment?

Yes. A Proctor must complete the onboarding process and accept the required agreements before the Proctor can be assigned to an Assessment Session. 

What happens if a Proctor invitation expires?

Proctor invitations expire after 7 days. After an invitation expires, an Institution Administrator must invite the user again.

While an invitation is pending, an Institution Administrator can manage the invitation, including resending or canceling it. 

Managing Proctor Invitations

Admin View of Proctor Invite (Resend/Cancel)

Admin View of Accepted Proctor

Can Proctors review their agreements after they have been approved?

Yes. Approved Proctors can review their Proctor guidelines, agreements, and policies after completing onboarding. These are available from the Roles and Institutions tab in their account.

What happens when a Proctor is removed from an institution?

The Proctor receives an email notifying them that they have been removed.

If the Proctor role was that user's only role at the institution, the user will no longer have access to the platform through that institution.

What emails are sent as part of the Proctoring process?

Notifications can include:

• Proctor invitations
• Confirmation notifications for Institution Administrators
• Assessment assignment notifications for Proctors
• Proctor removal notifications
• Other assessment-related status notifications 

Assessment Sessions

What is an Assessment Session?

An Assessment Session is a scheduled instance of an assessment for one or more students.

Institutions can create multiple sessions for the same assessment. For example, a class might have a primary Assessment Session as well as separate makeup or accommodation sessions.

Can I create more than one session for the same assessment?

Yes. Multiple sessions can be created for the same assessment.

For example, most of a class could participate in the primary session while an individual student takes the assessment in a separate makeup or accommodation session.

What happens to existing scheduled assessments?

Existing scheduled assessments transition into the new Assessment Session format.

Existing sessions do not need to have a Proctor assigned. If Proctors are later added to the institution, an approved Proctor can be added to an already scheduled assessment.

How does auto-enroll work with Assessment Sessions?

The first session created for an assessment is designed to serve as the primary Assessment Session and has auto-enroll enabled by default.

Students who join the class after the assessment is scheduled are automatically added to that session, while students who leave the class are removed.

Only one Assessment Session for an assessment can have auto-enroll enabled at a time.

Can I move a student into a different Assessment Session?

Yes. An administrator can remove a student from the primary session and create or use another session for that student, such as a makeup or accommodation session held at another time.

How are students selected for an Assessment Session?

When creating a session, users can select all students or search for individual students.

For classes with more than 50 students, users can use Select All or search for specific students rather than viewing the entire roster at once. 

Will Instructors need to change how they schedule assessments?

Yes. The assessment scheduling workflow has been updated to support Assessment Sessions, Proctor assignments, notifications, and additional assessment administration capabilities.

Who can create an Assessment Session?

Institution Administrators, Instructors, and Proctors can create Assessment Sessions based on their applicable access.

For a proctored session, an approved Proctor must be assigned. The assigned Proctor is responsible for running the proctored assessment.

Assigning Proctors

Why don't I see any Proctors when I create a proctored session?

Proctors must first be invited to the institution by an Institution Administrator and complete the required onboarding and agreements.

If no approved Proctors are available, contact an Institution Administrator to have Proctors added to the institution. 

Can I schedule an assessment before my institution has Proctors?

Yes. You can create an Assessment Session without proctoring.

However, if you enable proctoring for the session, an approved Proctor must be available for assignment. Institutions planning to use proctoring should consider inviting and approving Proctors before creating proctored sessions.

Can multiple Proctors be assigned to the same session?

Yes. Multiple approved Proctors can be assigned to the same Assessment Session. 

Proctored Assessments

Does enabling Proctoring change the Assessment Session settings?

Yes. When Proctoring is enabled, additional requirements apply to the session.

These include:

• Selecting an approved Proctor
• Providing a physical location
• Limiting the assessment to one attempt
• Additional scheduling restrictions that may apply depending on the assessment type 

Scheduling an Assessment Session with a Proctor

Auto-Enroll Option (First session will default to auto-enroll)

 

 

Assessment Schedule Confirmation

 

 

 

Assessment Schedule Confirmation

 

Assessment Dashboard Access Log (Student Ready Status)

Who can start a proctored assessment?

The assigned Proctor is responsible for running and starting the proctored Assessment Session.

Students can complete the preparation process and reach the Ready state before the scheduled assessment, but the Proctor controls when the session begins.

How early can students access a scheduled proctored assessment?

Students can access the assessment experience up to one hour before the scheduled start time.

This gives students time to sign in and complete the required preparation steps. Students cannot begin the assessment until the Proctor starts the session.

What does a Proctor need to do before starting the assessment?

The Assessment Dashboard contains an Access Log showing the steps that must be completed before the assessment begins.

For an in-person proctored assessment, this includes:

• Verifying the student's identification
• Confirming that the student has signed in
• Confirming that the student has reached the Ready state

After these requirements have been met, the Proctor can start the session. 

What can the Proctor see while an assessment is in progress?

The Proctor's in-progress view provides visibility into students participating in the session, including:

• Assessment progress
• The question each student is working on
• Remaining assessment time

Remaining time may differ for students with approved extra-time accommodations.

Are student accommodations supported during proctored assessments?

Yes. Existing time accommodations continue to apply to proctored Assessment Sessions.

For example, additional assessment time is reflected for students who have an applicable extra-time accommodation. 

Will students see any changes?

Yes. Students participating in a proctored session see readiness and assessment-access steps associated with that session.

After successfully completing a competency assessment attempt, the corresponding completion certificate also indicates that the assessment was completed as a proctored session. 

Pearson VUE and Certification Exams

Is this the same as Pearson VUE proctoring?

No. CertMaster Proctoring is separate from Pearson VUE certification exam delivery and proctoring services. 

Does this replace Pearson VUE testing?

No. These capabilities support institution-delivered assessments within CertMaster and are not a replacement for Pearson VUE certification testing. 

Which certification experiences use this workflow?

The immediate rollout focuses on institution-delivered competency assessments within CertMaster.

Tech+ is the lower-stakes certification experience expected to use a related required-proctoring workflow. 

Additional Questions

What are the benefits for institutions?

The updated assessment administration experience provides:

• Improved assessment oversight
• Greater accountability
• Clearer roles and responsibilities
• Structured Proctor onboarding
• Improved notification and communication
• More consistent assessment administration processes 

Where can I learn more?

For step-by-step instructions for setting up Proctors, scheduling proctored Assessment Sessions, and administering an assessment, see:

[RELATED ARTICLE LINK: Set Up and Administer Proctored Competency Assessments in CertMaster]