Online Proctoring Solutions for Online Degree Programs and Universities

Every university offering exams beyond its own classrooms runs into the same question: how do you know the person completing the work is the person enrolled in the course? Answering it well means combining two things, student identity verification and online proctoring, and then matching the right combination to each exam's stakes. This guide breaks down each solution on its own terms, so you can see what fits a testing center exam, what fits a new online degree program, and where they overlap.

Why Higher Education Identity Verification Comes First for Online Degree Programs and Proctoring

Online degree programs removed the one thing campus exams always had: a front desk to check a physical ID. That's why higher education identity verification now sits at the start of the process rather than as an afterthought bundled into proctoring. As more universities launch or expand online degree programs, institutions need a defensible process to confirm that the enrolled student, not someone else, completes the assessment. That's the shift driving demand for online proctoring: it's no longer just about catching cheating during an exam; it's about establishing identity before the exam even starts.

Every solution below builds on this same foundation, whether the exam happens in a testing center or a thousand miles from campus.

Student Identity Verification: The Foundation Layer

ID Verification: Face-Photo ID Matching for Every Exam

Best for: any exam where you need to confirm the test-taker is who they claim to be, before proctoring even begins.

Talview's ID Verification matches a government-issued ID against a live photo of the test-taker, adds two-factor authentication and a confidence score, and runs a 360° environment check before the exam starts. This is the layer that most directly supports a distance education program's identity requirements, and it's also what speeds up check-in at a physical testing center. Same process, two different settings.

Choose this when: you're standing up identity verification for a new online degree program, or replacing a manual ID-check process at a testing center.

Best Online Proctoring Software for Universities: Compare Every Proctoring Mode

Not every exam carries the same stakes, so the best online proctoring software for universities isn't one single mode. It's the ability to match coverage to the exam in front of you. Here's what's available and who each one is actually built for.

Alvy: AI Proctoring Agent for High-Stakes, High-Volume Exams

Best for: licensure exams, high-stakes finals, or any assessment where you need the most advanced monitoring available, at scale.

Alvy is an Agentic AI Proctor It reasons about context and behavior rather than just flagging movement against fixed rules, which means it can surface more genuine infractions while producing fewer false alarms than rule-based AI proctoring. It can run in autopilot for fully automated monitoring, or copilot mode to support a live human proctor on the highest-stakes sessions.

Choose this when: exam integrity risk is high, volume is high, or both, and you want the strongest AI coverage available without adding proctor headcount.

Automated Proctoring for Everyday Scalable Remote Exams

Best for: the bulk of everyday remote coursework and exams, where AI monitoring is sufficient and cost-efficiency matters.

Automated Proctoring uses a secondary camera, face-to-photo ID and voice matching, and multiple-face detection, producing a comprehensive integrity score for every test-taker within 24 hours of the exam. All without staffing live proctors.

Choose this when: you're running high-volume, moderate-stakes exams (weekly quizzes, midterms, standard coursework assessments) and want AI-only coverage without the cost of human invigilators.

Live Proctoring for High-Stakes or Accommodation-Sensitive Exams

Best for: exams where a human needs to be watching in real time, and able to step in.

Live Remote Proctoring puts a trained, Talview-certified invigilator on the session, guiding test-takers through launch and identity verification, running a 360° environment check, and intervening in real time. Invigilators can send warnings, message test-takers directly, or end a session for serious violations.

Choose this when: the exam is high-stakes enough to warrant a human presence, or when accommodations and edge cases mean an AI-only approach isn't the right fit.

Record & Review Proctoring for Large Cohorts on a Budget

Best for: large-scale exams where a full audit trail matters more than real-time intervention.

Record & Review records video, audio, and screen activity during the exam, then has trained proctors review the recordings afterward to confirm flags and catch anything AI monitoring alone might miss, typically with a 24 to 48 hour turnaround.

Choose this when: you're proctoring a large cohort and want a documented, human-reviewed audit trail without the cost of live invigilation for every session.

Universities Remote Proctoring Software: Securing the Exam Environment

Identity and proctoring cover who is taking the exam and how they behave during it. The pieces below cover the environment the exam happens in, the part of universities remote proctoring software that's easy to overlook until something goes wrong.

Secure Browser: Lockdown Browser for Test Integrity

Best for: any exam where you need to prevent access to unauthorized resources, not just detect misuse after the fact.

Secure Browser lockdown technology on the test-taking device. It disables copy and paste and window-minimizing shortcuts, restricts navigation to only whitelisted sites and applications, and blocks screen recording or screenshots to protect exam content from unauthorized distribution.

Choose this when: exam content itself needs protecting (proprietary questions, licensure content), or when you want to prevent cheating rather than only flag it after the exam.

Exam Solutions: The Online Exam Platform Powering It All

Best for: institutions that need to build, deliver, and secure the exam itself, not just monitor it.

Exam Solutions is the underlying online exam platform. It supports multiple-choice, essay, and complex STEM question formats across devices, secured by Secure Browser and whichever proctoring mode fits the exam.

Choose this when: you're building out exam content and delivery from scratch, alongside your identity verification and proctoring stack.

See Which Combination Fits Your Institution

Talview's Higher Education solutions walk through how these pieces come together for universities running both testing centers and online degree programs, and the team can help map the right combination to your specific exam mix.

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Exam Bookings & Payments: Scheduling and Payments for Testing Centers

Best for: testing centers and certification-style programs that charge exam fees and manage scheduling at volume.

Exam Bookings & Payments handles self-service slot booking, global payment processing and tax compliance, configurable reschedule and cancellation policies, and abandoned-cart recovery. This is the operational layer around the exam itself.

Choose this when: your testing center or program charges for exams and needs to automate scheduling, payment collection, and policy enforcement instead of handling it manually.

Which Solution Fits Your Exam? A Quick Decision Guide

Most universities end up combining several of these rather than picking just one. The point isn't choosing a single tool, it's matching the right combination to each exam.

Compliance Built Into Every Mode

Whichever combination fits, the compliance layer stays consistent: global data protection compliance (GDPR), WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility standards, SOC 2 and ISO 27001 security certifications, and detailed, time-stamped audit logs of every authentication event and proctoring action. That's the record your compliance office needs if a case is challenged or an accreditation review asks for evidence.