Exams

You will need reliable access to Learnline for the duration of the exam. Make sure you have a stable internet connection and that your computer or laptop is running well.

We assume that most of you will sit your exam at home, but subject to the social distancing requirements in your state or territory, you could also arrange to sit your exam:

• at your workplace
• at a friend or family member’s house
• at a university campus library near you (check availability in advance).

You will be able to access your exam questions at the exam start time. Be ready to focus from the beginning and try to minimise any unnecessary breaks. Like other exams, you need to have finished and uploaded your questions by the end time, or your answers won’t count.

• Take some time before the exam begins to collect your thoughts.
• Think about how to organise your time.
• Spend time making sure you understand the question.
• Allow time to attempt all sections or questions.

Try and create an environment as close to exam-like conditions as you can. Create a clutter and distraction-free space, and make sure you have everything you need on hand. Sharpen those pencils and charge those devices – plug your laptop in so it doesn’t power down mid-exam.

If you need specific equipment or resources, your unit coordinator will let you know in advance.

Check with your unit coordinator to see if there is an opportunity to sit a practice exam online. Even if there’s not, run through your setup and preparations before the actual exam day to make sure you're as prepared as possible.

Your unit coordinator will be on hand throughout the exam if anything goes wrong, and our tech team will be on standby to make sure there are no issues with Learnline.

We know that despite excellent preparation, lots can happen to impact your ability to take the exam.  Just like other exams, we will still use the existing processes to:

• apply for a reasonable adjustment
• sit an alternate exam sitting at a later date.

Reasonable adjustments

A student who has specific needs or support requirements can apply for a reasonable adjustment.

Students who have an approved Access Plan, which refers specifically to examination conditions do not need to apply for Reasonable Adjustment and will have any conditions automatically applied by the Examinations and Timetabling team.

A request for a reasonable adjustment must be submitted at least twenty-one (21) working days prior to the date set for the examination and be supported by relevant evidence such as a medical certificate, external documentation, or statutory declaration.

Reasonable adjustment will only apply to the examination period you have applied for. Students seeking permanent reasonable adjustments should contact Access and Inclusion for further information.

Alternate exam sitting

If you cannot sit your exam on the set date due to circumstances out of your control, you can apply for an alternate exam sitting.

In this case, you must leave the examination within the first 30 minutes of the examination period. After 30 minutes, you will no longer be eligible for an alternate exam sitting and must apply for special consideration.

You will only be granted one alternate exam sitting for each unit attempt.

Students who are unable to attend an examination (online or on-campus) at the scheduled time may request an Alternate Exam Sitting in the following circumstances:

• medical or compassionate grounds;
• work commitments beyond their control; 
• religious and cultural obligations;
• sporting or cultural commitment; or
• volunteer community service activity. 

Special consideration 

Special consideration is an equity measure that may be applied in recognition that a short-term and/or unforeseen circumstances has impacted on a student’s performance in an examination. 

A student who leaves the examination within 30 minutes of commencement due to unforeseen circumstances or the sudden onset of an illness will not be given special consideration, and instead can apply for an Alternate Exam Sitting. 

Under what circumstances can you apply for special consideration? A person experiencing:

Illness of short duration (less than 6 weeks); 

• Accident or injury;
• Disability;
• Bereavement; 
• Compassionate grounds;
• Other unforeseen or extenuating circumstance. 

If you have a disability or a medical condition, reasonable adjustments may include:

• amanuensis/scribe
• specialised equipment
• additional writing and/or reading time
• speech synthesiser computer
• computer movement – permission to move about during examination
• rest breaks (maximum 10 minutes per hour).

To apply for an alternate exam sitting or reasonable adjustment, complete and submit the relevant eForm via the CDU Portal.

Reasonable adjustments - if you know in advance that you will have special requirements for your exam, you should apply for reasonable adjustments at least 21working days before the start of the exam period.

Alternate exam sitting - if you need to apply for an alternate exam sitting, this must be submitted within two (2) weeks of the publication of the examination timetable and be supported by documented evidence. After this time frame the portal will be closed. The portal will be reopened at the start of the examination period and the form must be submitted no more than five (5) days after the examination date.

Special Consideration -Requests for special consideration must be made in writing to the Examinations and Timetabling Team within five (5) calendar days after the scheduled examination. Applications must be accompanied by relevant supporting evidence (e.g., medical certificate, letter from employer, statutory declaration, copy of an accident report etc). 

The evidence you need to provide in your application is dependant on your request for an alternate exam sitting or reasonable adjustment.

You need to provide enough information about your situation to allow an informed decision to be made.

Evidence may include:

• Medical – Certificate provided by a health professional such as a medical practitioner, psychiatrist or physiotherapist who is registered with a relevant professional regulatory authority.
• Compassionate reasons – Supporting letter from a psychologist, social worker, medical practitioner, religious leader, funeral director or a Statutory Declaration accompanied by evidence.
• Hardship/trauma – Supporting letter or report from a reg psychologist, social worker, medical practitioner, police officer or a Statutory Declaration accompanied by evidence.

If your situation is confidential or if you are not comfortable sharing it in your application, you can contact CDU's counselling service or Access and Inclusion. They can provide written confirmation that they have seen your evidence.

All applications for an alternate exam sitting for reasons other than medical are required to also provide a statutory declaration stating the facts of the application.

The University will not approach doctors, hospitals or police to obtain documentary evidence on your behalf. It's your responsibility to submit your requests on the appropriate form with documentary evidence to Student Central.

Please note: any information provided to the University is governed by the University's Privacy and Confidentiality Policy / Governance Document Library (cdu.edu.au).

The Access and Inclusion Team decides to grant or decline an application for reasonable adjustments. The decision to grant or decline an application for alternate exam sitting and reasonable adjustment is made by the Examination Team, and or PVC (or delegate).

Contact Student Central for advice about:

• examinations
• alternate exam sitting
• reasonable adjustments
• special consideration.

If you have a disability, CDU recommends you get in touch with Access and Inclusion for further support.

If you have personal issues that are adversely affecting your studies, you can make an appointment with a CDU counsellor.

If you are unsatisfied with the outcome of your application, you can lodge a complaint by visiting Student Complaints or emailing complaints@cdu.edu.au.

The complaint will need to be in accordance with the Complaints Policy - Students / Governance Document Library (cdu.edu.au).

You'll need to provide a summary of your complaint and evidence-based reasons to support your case.

We strongly recommended that you complete a practise exam through Respondus Lockdown Browser software, before your exam.
You should complete the practise exam using the same computer, webcam and microphone, and internet connection you will use for the actual exam.
Your lecturer will advise when you are able to complete your practise exam.

If you have issues with your practise exam, please contact the appropriate area as you will need to address these issues prior to the real exam.

• ITMS – Technical issues with your computer/webcam/microphone, call 08 7943 6600
• Respondus – Difficulties connecting to Respondus 24/7 chat is available.
• Learnline – Learnline related queries, call 1800 984057.
• Exams Team – General queries, call 1800 061963.

The Start Up Sequence (pre-exam steps) are completed before the student sees or starts the exam; the timer for the exam does not start until students complete these steps.

No. Do not use links to access your exams. You will need to log onto Learnline so you have direct access to the unit and its exam.

Yes. Please follow the Lockdown Browser link.

Or, open a standard web browser and type the following URL https://download.respondus.com/lockdown/download.php?id=674838253

An error message can occur during installation if you are running the High Sierra (10.13 to 10.13.6) version of OSX on your computer. To fix this error, ensure all updates have been actioned so your system is up to date.

View the system requirements for Respondus Lockdown Browser.

Yes. Any bluetooth devices that you have paired with your computer should work. Your equipment can be double checked when you complete the practice exam.

No, you will not require a password. If you are prompted to enter a password, you can safely ignore it.

When you run the Lockdown Browser, you may be prompted to perform a webcam check if your subject coordinator has activated this option. If the browser check fails to detect your webcam, you can try the following options:

• If you are using an external webcam, ensure that it is plugged in properly and working.
  • For Windows users: Run the Camera application to see if your webcam is operating.
  • For Mac users: Check that permission has been granted for the browser to access your microphone and webcam. Further troubleshooting information can be found on the Respondus website MAC webcam and microphone troubleshooting.
• Further troubleshooting information is available on the Respondus website Webcam troubleshooting

No, LockDown Browser is a required component of Respondus Monitor.

Other computer applications cannot be used while LockDown Browser is in use to complete a test.

This message indicates that your computer cannot establish the necessary connection to the Respondus media servers in order to record video for your test. There are several possible factors that can cause this connectivity problem.

Visit the knowledge base for a detailed solution addressing the problem.

The LockDown Browser automatically detects applications that are not allowed and you will be notified to close these applications (‘close the process’ in Windows and ‘kill the application’ in Mac). This may be required several times depending on the number of applications open.

If there are still active applications, you will need to exit the Lockdown Browser and manually close the applications prior to attempting to access the exam again.

If you receive this error you should first contact your lecturer as they may need to ‘open the LockDown Browser dashboard for the course’.

If the lecturer has opened the dashboard but the error persists, please access - problem with settings- to the Respondus website for troubleshooting tips

Depending on the type of problem you are experiencing, there are several troubleshooting steps you can take. If the issue is related to:

Connectivity issues:

• Your computer should be positioned as close as possible to the wireless router to ensure the best connectivity or use a wired network to connect with the best strength and speed.
• Close down other applications that may be running in the background as these will slow down your connection.
• To get the best possible connectivity, close all other home network connections that may cause the internet to run slow.
• Respondus internet connectivity Tips.

Nothing happens or there are error messages:

• Check that you are running the latest version of the Lockdown Browser. Follow the link for instructions on how to perform this check and run any necessary updates.
• Temporarily disable any anti-virus applications running on your computer and reactivate once the Lockdown Browser isn’t in use.
• Close any other communication or cloud storage programs running in the background (e.g. Spotify, Facebook, Skype, Dropbox).
• Uninstall and reinstall the LockDown Browser on your computer.

Once you have reached your time limit, the program will automatically close and the work you have done so far will be submitted.

There is a timer on the bottom left-hand side of the screen which indicates the remaining exam time.

The time at the bottom right-hand side indicates when the exam was last automatically saved.

This may be an issue with your security settings. If you have a security/anti virus program installed, it would be recommended to allow temporary access to Lockdown Browser. If you are using a MAC you may need to run in Safe Mode.

Your exam will save at regular intervals when using lockdown browser and monitor. If you experience a power outage during your exam and are unable to gain access back into your exam, please contact Respondus 24/7 chat.

Alternatively:

• Reboot your computer.
• Close all applications except for Respondus Lockdown Browser. This will help reduce the bandwith being used by other applications running in the background
• Use a high bandwith internet connection. If possible, plug an Ethernet cable into the computer to ensure the best possible network connection/speed. Otherwise, be as close to the WIFI router as possible.
• Request that other members of your household refrain from using the internet for high bandwith activities like gaming or movie streaming.
• Save your answers every 10-15 minutes.

You will need to sit your exam under exam conditions which means you need to undertake your exam in a space where you will not be interrupted. A coffee shop, park or a public space in a library would not be suitable.

Suitable spaces would be:

• at home, in a room where you will not be disturbed.
• at work, in a quiet area where you will not be disturbed.
• in a library, in a private room where you will not be disturbed.
• at a friend’s house, in a location where you will not be disturbed

The equipment that you intend using for your exam will need to be tested first during your practice exam. Some public and workplace computers do not allow you to install software or have firewalls which may prevent you from accessing your exam online.

If you have exhausted all options and still think you will be unable to complete your exam online, please email examinations@cdu.edu.au.

Students with an access and inclusion plan should contact their advisor for further information on how Respondus fits into their plan.

The Exams team, the unit lecturer and unit coordinator have access and can view the recording of your exam. No other CDU staff member or Respondus staff will have access.

Please dress appropriately as you will be recorded and the recording may be viewed by CDU exams staff. However, pajamas and other comfy attire is acceptable.

Please do not wear hats or sunglasses during the online exam. If you are required to wear dark prescription glasses that could be mistaken for sunglasses, please let us know in advance so we can make arrangements for you prior to the exam.

Respondus Inc has created a statement to explain their commitment to your privacy. They seek to protect your private information so that you have an enjoyable experience on their website. They will not sell, rent, trade or disclose your personally identifiable information to anyone except as explained in the policy.

Additional details on privacy can be viewed in the Respondus Privacy Policy and Students Terms of Use.

Please also see CDU Privacy and Confidential Policy.

When opening up Respondus LockDown Browser you get the message as per the image below:

There can be a number of causes for this error. In the first instance of getting this message, please contact your lecturer, in case they can see an error on their end that can be easily fixed. If there is no visible error on the lecturers view of the exam then see if the below helps fix your issue.

• The error is often caused by the student accessing the exam through a "reminder" entry in a toolbar or calendar. It's important for the student to access the exam by first navigating to the course and then going to the appropriate test area or content area.
• If the student is going first to the course, then to the content area, but the problem persists, the error could be caused by security settings on the computer, ISP, or network. In most cases, the problematic settings are on the computer itself. Please do the following steps one at a time and afterwards verify if the problem persists.
• Your computer, ISP, or network might be blocking access to the Respondus servers. Temporarily shut down all anti-virus and firewall software on the computer and try the exam again. If the problem persists, try using the computer on a different network, or using a different computer on your main network. Keep in mind that the block could be in the router itself. Bypassing the router and plugging straight into the modem may help.
• If the error persists, reset your computer's internet options.  For Windows users, go to control panel and select "Network and Internet." Once there, click on "Internet Options".  On the "Security" tab, ensure that your settings are not higher than "Medium". On the Advanced tab, click "Reset" located under the header "Reset Internet Explorer Settings". In the window that opens, select "Delete Personal Settings" and then click on the Reset button. Doing this will impact all client browsers, not just Internet Explorer.
• After resetting the internet options, restart your computer and try to access your exam again.

Ensure that you have the correct time and time zone set for your computer.

On submitting your exam within Respondus you receive an error: ‘Unexpected error. Please contact the system administrator’

If this occurs:

• Close down Respondus Monitor and go back into your unit in which the quiz was taken.

Go to the quiz tool and check that your attempt was submitted. You can do this by selecting the Submissions option from the drop-down next to the quiz name. You will see all your attempts in a list here.

For more information on the attempt - such as the date and time submitted, as well as any score and feedback released by your lecturer can be found by pressing on the attempt link.

These error codes indicate a problem with your network, not with LockDown Browser. They will often be accompanied by a message that says 'Failed to load page. Please check network connection.'

If you receive any of these errors, we suggest that you use a different network to take your exam.

Errors that indicate a network problem include:

• The network changed. (-21)
• The host name could not be resolved. (-105)
• The Internet connection has been lost. (-106)
• The proxy requested authentication (for tunnel establishment) with an unsupported method. (-115)
• A connection attempt timed out. (-118)

This error indicates the Respondus Monitor start-up cannot access the Respondus servers to retrieve certain settings established by the instructor. Sometimes, you will see various error codes accompany the error, such as: 0x0002.

1. The error is often caused by accessing the exam through a "reminder" entry in a toolbar or calendar. It's important for you to access the exam by first navigating to the course and then going to the appropriate test area or content area.
2. If you are sure that you are accessing the quiz following the instructions in step #1 above, the problem could be caused by security settings on your computer, ISP, or network. In most cases, the problematic settings are on the computer itself. Please do the following steps one at a time and afterwards verify if the problem persists.
3. Your computer, ISP, or network might be blocking access to the Respondus servers. Temporarily shut down all anti-virus and firewall software on the computer and try the exam again. If the problem persists, try using the computer on a different network, or using a different computer on your main network. Keep in mind that the block could be in the router itself. Bypassing the router and plugging straight into the modem may help.
4. If the error persists, reset your computer's internet options.  For Windows users, go to control panel and select "Network and Internet." Once there, click on "Internet Options".  On the "Security" tab, ensure that your settings are not higher than "Medium". On the Advanced tab, click "Reset" located under the header "Reset Internet Explorer Settings". In the window that opens, select "Delete Personal Settings" and then click on the Reset button. Doing this will impact all client browsers, not just Internet Explorer.

After resetting the internet options, restart your computer and try to access your exam again.

1. Ensure that you have the correct time and time zone set for your computer.
2. Sometimes a slow network connection can cause a timeout to occur, resulting in the error. Using a faster connection might help.

If you start an Exam using Respondus LockDown Browser and you find the font too small to read, you can increase the zoom level in your browser. Just click on the “i” icon in the toolbar at the top of the screen.

This will open a new window (titled “Respondus LockDown Browser – Information”), where you can adjust the zoom level. Select your preferred zoom level, and then click “Apply,” and click “OK” to close the information window.

Font size is too small during LockDown Browser exam - Powered by Kayako Help Desk Software (respondus.com)

• Respondus troubleshooting tips
• Respondus internet connectivity tips
• Respondus Knowledgebase
• Resources on Lockdown browser
• Resources on Respondus Monitor
• Link to download Respondus LockDown Browser
• Respondus student guide to installing LockDown Browser
• Respondus Student Quick Start Guide