UIUC dumps Proctorio over 'significant accessibility concerns'

A US university contract with automated proctoring company Proctorio was terminated due to concerns about the company's remote cheat-prevention software's accessibility, privacy, and security.

A memo from university adminstrators to faculty members announcing the decision by the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign cited 'significant accessibility concerns' associated with Proctorio. 'For some students with physical disabilities, students with low vision or are blind, students with psychiatric disabilities including anxiety or ADD/ADHD, Proctorio may be inaccessible,' it said.

The decision followed an outcry by students over the service, which uses machine learning and facial detection to monitor and record students taking exams. Over 1,000 students signed an online petition alleging that 'Proctorio is not only inefficient, it is also unsafe and a complete violation of a student’s privacy,' and called for the university to stop using the service.