SDG 4: Quality education
The Exam Monitoring Program Saves Students’ Time and Effort
UOB: The Exam Monitoring Program Saves Students’ Time and Effort
25 November 2020
The University of Bahrain (UOB) confirmed that using the "LockDown" browser to monitor the exams is in the interest of students, as it saves students’ time and effort if any defect in the device or an interruption in the Internet service occurs, as the time is calculated after fixing the defect or reconnecting to the internet.
During a direct meeting with the students, the Director of the E-Learning Center at UOB, Dr. Fay Abdulla Al Khalifa, and a number of university officials reviewed the features of the browser, how to use it, terms of use, and she answered students' questions and inquiries through visual communication technology.
The meeting that was attended by more than three thousand students and a number of professors and officials at the University, during which the Director of the E-Learning Center explained that most of the problems that some students faced were because of their lack of knowledge of how the program works, and that can be easily fixed by looking at the instructions on the E-Learning Center page or through the instructions provided by the Respondus exams monitoring platform, which is the owner of the LockDown browser.
Also, Dr. Fay Al Khalifa indicated that many students did not face any problems in using the browser, calling on students who complained about obstacles to see the instruction manuals, and to contact the student service center at the University or to message the technical team of the company providing the system about their problem through live chat or by opening a technical support card.
Furthermore, she stated that the Respondus is one of the globally trusted and tested platforms, noting that the LockDown browser has been used for more than 120 million examinations annually by about 1500 institutions, a number that is increasing annually.
And she continued "Before using the Lockdown Browser to monitor the exams, we studied the available options, and found that LockDown enhances safety and reliability during exams," noting that "the Secretariat of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries encouraged its use, and several universities in the region approved it, including King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, King Saud University in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and University of Kuwait, in addition to its adoption in all universities in the United Arab Emirates by a decision from the UAE Ministry of Education.
For her part, the Dean of Student Affairs at UOB, Dr. Fatima Moahmmed Al-Maliki, explained that the University administration is keen to create a reliable educational system, especially in light of the exceptional circumstances imposed by the Corona virus pandemic.
Also, Dr. Al-Maliki stated that the Deanship of Student Affairs seeks to help students who face difficulties, giving a number of examples in which, the Deanship was able to facilitate for students the obstacles they faced in all respects, and that the Deanship will continue to do so in its work so that the experience of studying at UOB is always smooth and exciting.
On her part, Director of the Quality Assurance and Academic Accreditation Center at the University, Dr. Luisla Paolo Federico, stressed the importance of relying on sound practices in conducting exams, through an internationally accredited monitoring program to achieve the reliability and quality sought by academic accreditation institutions in the world, noting that the browser increases the levels of safety and honesty in the electronic examination environment.
The meeting witnessed a positive interaction with more than 900 questions and remarks, in which the Director of the E-Learning Center denied that the program had a negative impact on the anti-viruses, and she denied what is said about the browser disconnecting the student of the pairing mode if they lower their heads when answering the questions, noting that the exams have different requirements, as some of which require writing mathematical equations, doing engineering drawings or others, and some are written, so the courses’ instructors decide on that.
Furthermore, Dr. Fay Al Khalifa said that the University allows downloading the browser for its students for free, and it encourages students to download their study materials via the cloud, to have enough space on the device generally and to work more efficiently.
While on the damage that got to some devices when downloading the program, she confirmed that some students were under the illusion that their devices had been damaged, but as soon as they followed the instructions they found that the solutions were very simple, indicating that if the devices were actually damaged, then it is necessary to contact the student service center to document these cases and take the necessary measures to compensate these students through the Deanship of Student Affairs.
Sustainable Development Goals
4 Quality education
17 Partnerships for the goals
Key Words
Respondus, LockDown, E-Learning Center at the University of Bahrain, Quality Assurance and Academic Accreditation Center,

















