Proctor
Proctor (a variant of procurator) is a person who takes charge of, or acts for, another.[1]
The title is used in England and some other English-speaking countries in three principal contexts:[1]
- In law, a proctor is a historical class of lawyers, and the King's (or Queen's) Proctor is a senior government lawyer.
- In religion, a proctor represents the clergy in Church of England dioceses.
- In education, proctor is the name of university officials in certain universities.
In the United States and some other countries, the word "proctor" is frequently used to describe someone who supervises an
Law
England
A proctor was a legal practitioner in the
King/Queen’s Proctor
The King/Queen's Proctor is the historical name for an official who acted for the Crown in certain courts in England. The modern name of the office is HM Procurator-General, and this office has for many years been combined with that of the
In the admiralty courts, the King/Queen's Proctor historically acted in all causes concerning the King or Queen. A proctor or procurator was an officer who, in conjunction with the King/Queen's Proctor, acted as the attorney or solicitor in all causes concerning the
In
Sri Lanka
In
Australia
Proctor is a term that survives in Western Australia and in South Australia.[5] Until it was amended in 1992 and later superseded by the Legal Profession Act in 2008, the Legal Practitioners Act 1893 (WA) provided for legal practitioners in Western Australia to be admitted and entitled to practice as "practitioners". That term was then defined as "a person admitted and entitled to practice as a barrister, solicitor, attorney and proctor of the Supreme Court of Western Australia, or in any one or more of these capacities". Whilst it was theoretically possible to apply for admission in any of these capacities, as there was no separate qualification for such separate admissions, the standard practice (pre 1992) was for all persons to be admitted as barristers, solicitors and proctors of the Supreme Court of Western Australia. Many survive today. South Australian legislation still provides as of December 2019 that a person admitted as a Solicitor to the Supreme Court of South Australia is also both a Proctor, and an Attorney, of that court.[5]
United States
The American colonies continued the British use of the term proctor in admiralty for attorneys who were admitted to specialized admiralty and patent bars. With the unification of the federal Admiralty Rules with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure in 1966, attorneys practicing admiralty law before the federal courts ceased to be formally called proctors, though the term remains in unofficial use.[6]
Ecclesiastical
In the context of the Church of England, a proctor represents clergy in
Education
High university official
In some universities, a proctor is a high official.
Cambridge University
The early history of the office at Cambridge is obscure, but it seems that the Proctors have always represented the colleges in University proceedings.[1] In the past the Proctors administered the university's finances, acted as examiners for all candidates for the degree of Bachelor of Arts, prosecuted anyone suspected of unfair trading, and had a multitude of other tasks. At present their functions are twofold: (1) taking part in all university ceremonials, and (2) enforcing discipline in the case of members of the university who are in statu pupillari (undergraduates, Bachelors of Arts and Bachelors of Laws).[1]
Election
At Cambridge University the Proctors are nominated every May by colleges identified in a predetermined cycle. They then serve for one year from 1 October, assisted by their Deputy Proctors and two Pro-Proctors. They must have been a member of the Senate for three years, and must have resided two years at the university. The two Pro-Proctors are not, as at Oxford, nominated by the Proctors, but are also elected by the Regent House on the nomination of the colleges, each college having the right to nominate a Pro-Proctor for the year next before that in which it nominates the Proctor (Grace of 26 February 1863). Two additional Pro-Proctors are also elected by the Senate each year, on the nomination of the Vice-Chancellor and Proctors, to assist the latter in the maintenance of discipline (Grace of 6 June 1878).[1]
The Proctors for 2020–2021 are Dr Karen Ottewell (Senior Proctor) of Emmanuel College and Dr Annamaria Motrescu-Mayes (Junior Proctor) of Clare Hall.
The Deputies to the Proctors are Dr Gemma Burgess (Deputy to the Senior Proctor) of St Edmund's College and Mr Francis Knights (Deputy to the Junior Proctor) of Fitzwilliam College.
The Pro-Proctors are Dr John Fawcett (Senior Pro-Proctor) of Churchill College and Rev'd Dr Mark Smith (Junior Pro-Proctor) of Clare College.
Mr Timothy Milner of Darwin College is additional Pro-Proctor for Ceremonial.
Mr Gordon Chesterman of St Edmund's College is additional Pro-Proctor (2020–21).
The first hundred years of Proctorial records are mostly lost, but the Proctors' Office web site has a more or less complete list of the Proctors since 1314.
Ceremonial functions
The Proctors are
Disciplinary functions
The proctors' powers as to discipline have a very long history. As far as concerns members of the university they have authority to impose certain fines for minor offences, such as not wearing academic dress on occasions when it is ordered, and also to order a student not to be out of their college after a certain hour for a certain number of days ("gating"). For more serious offences, the proctor generally reports the matter to the authorities of the offender's college to be dealt with by them, or as a last resort brings the offender before the university court of discipline, which has power to
The Junior Proctor has special responsibility for university societies and for resolving disputes arising from the Cambridge Students' Union.
The Special Pro-Proctor for Motor Vehicles is responsible for licensing the keeping and using of motor vehicles (other than mopeds) within 10 miles (16 km) of Great St Mary's Church by University students who have not yet reached MA status and are in residence in term or in the Long Vacation period of residence. The Motor Proctor also has the power to impose a fine of up to £175 on students breaching the regulations on the keeping and using of motor vehicles.
Oxford University
The Proctors of
The reform of the university statutes in 2002 reorganised the disciplinary system of the university and reduced the powers of the Proctors. However, they still act as
Prior to 2003, the Proctors were aided in disciplinary matters by the Oxford University Police (who wore bowler hats and were generally known as "Bulldogs"); the University Police were a private constabulary with full powers of arrest within the precincts of the university and within four miles (6 km) of any University building.[11][12] However, after receiving public criticism in 2002 for their exercise of authority over citizens of Oxford who were not members of the university,[13] the force was disbanded by the University Council in 2003, due partly to the excessive expense of complying with new Government requirements on police training and complaints procedures.[14][15] Today, the Constables have been redesignated as "Proctors' Officers" and continue to serve under the Proctors, but no longer have the powers of police constables.
Examination supervisor
In the
Online proctoring
Online proctoring is the monitoring or invigilation of assessments taken remotely.
Online proctors verify test-taker identity and monitor to prevent cheating using a variety of methods, including live, record-and-review, and automated proctoring. Online proctoring services work with colleges, universities, corporations, and other certification providers to offer identity verification services and assessment monitoring.[16][17]
Demand for online proctoring has expanded in recent years as a result of rapid expansions in online learning. In 2006, the Department of Education waived[18] the so-called “50 percent rule,” which stipulated that U.S. students in online degree programs could only receive federal student aid if half of their programs were campus-based. As of 2017, one in three students take[19] at least one course online during their college career. In addition, instructors in face-to-face classes can also administer exams online.
Higher education institutions around the world make use of online proctoring for tens of thousands of exams. The 17 campuses of the University of North Carolina proctor[20] between 30,000 and 40,000 exams online per year. At the fully online Western Governors University, 30,000 exams are proctored online each month. Recent estimates suggest[20] that there are about fifteen providers of online proctoring.
Research on online proctoring
Research suggests that students are equally likely to cheat online as they are in person.[21][22][23] However, one study found that nearly three-quarters of college students hold the perception that cheating online is easier than cheating in person.[24] In 2016, USA Today reported on research by Examity which suggests that 6% of students violate rules for proctored online exams.[25] There is clear evidence to that it is easily possible to circumvent e-proctoring software. A scientific test of the Proctorio software at the Dutch University of Twente showed that the software was not able to detect any of the cases of examination fraud it was subjected to. The conclusion was that the sensitivity of Proctorio is disastrous and should be considered at very close to zero.[26]
Some online proctoring providers give colleges and universities access to anonymized, aggregated data on proctoring and cheating rates.[27] These analytics tools allow institutions to measure their violation rates against other schools, as well as to track incidents by time of year and type of course, among other metrics.
See also
- Lector
- Procurator (Catholic Church)
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 22 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 421–422.
- ^ "Definition of PROCTOR". www.merriam-webster.com. 22 March 2024.
- ^ "The Family Proceedings Rules 1991".
- ISBN 9788120613355.
- ^ a b "LEGAL PRACTITIONERS ACT 1981 - SECT 5".
- ^ "Proctor in Admiralty". Lawyer Legion. 31 December 2019. Archived from the original on 28 January 2021. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
- ^ Canons of the Church of England, Canon H 2.
- ^ General Synod Elections 2015 (GS 1975).
- ^ About the Proctors' Office, University of Oxford website
- ^ Oration by the Senior Proctor, Oxford University Gazette, 23 March 2005
- ISBN 0-304-36201-8
- ^ Oration by the Senior Proctor, Oxford University Gazette, 23 March 2000
- ^ University police branded 'too powerful' Archived 2 April 2015 at the Wayback Machine, Oxford Times, 22 May 2002
- ^ Straw rejoices as Oxford's Bulldogs are put down, The Daily Telegraph, 15 October 2002
- ^ Oration by the Senior Proctor Archived 5 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine, Oxford University Gazette, 27 March 2003
- ^ "Mass. tech firm that thwarts cheaters of online tests is in 'super growth mode'" (PDF). Boston Business Journal. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 November 2018. Retrieved 15 October 2017.
- ^ "What is Proctortrack?". rutgersonline.desk. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
- ^ "Down with the 50 Percent Rule: Up with Online Education Financial Aid". World Wide Learn. Retrieved 16 October 2017.
- ^ "Promises and pitfalls of online education". Brookings. 9 June 2017. Retrieved 17 October 2017.
- ^ a b "Online Exam Proctoring Catches Cheaters, Raises Concerns". Insde Higher Ed. 10 May 2017. Retrieved 16 October 2017.
- ^ "Think Twice Before Cheating in Online Courses". U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved 16 October 2017.
- ^ "Do Online Students Cheat More on Tests?". Faculty Focus. 6 November 2015. Retrieved 16 October 2017.
- ^ "Online Cheating". Inside Higher Ed. 6 February 2017. Retrieved 15 October 2017.
- ^ Watson, George; Sottile, James (15 March 2010). "Cheating in the Digital Age: Do Students Cheat More in Online Courses?". Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration. 13 (1). Retrieved 16 October 2017.
- ^ "Cheating on Finals". USA Today. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
- ^ On the Efficacy of Online Proctoring using Proctorio
- ^ "Universities Use Analytics, Authentication to Prevent Cheating in Online Courses". EdTech: Focus on Higher Education. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
"How does online proctoring work?" - Examus