Proctorio Customer Service: Practical, Professional Guide

Proctorio customer service supports two audiences: institutional administrators (IT teams, instructional designers, registrars) and end users (students and proctors). This guide explains exactly how to interact with Proctorio support, what documentation and diagnostic data to gather, typical response expectations, common technical fixes, escalation pathways, privacy and retention considerations, and realistic pricing/contract models. The goal is to give you an actionable playbook you can apply immediately during onboarding, test runs, or live exams.

Throughout this document, “support” refers to the vendor support channel (Proctorio’s help center and vendor-facing contacts) and the internal campus support chain that most institutions provide. The most successful deployments pair a vendor SLA with clear campus-level triage procedures so the first phone or ticket does not flood the vendor with avoidable issues.

Support Channels, Hours, and Typical Response Times

Proctorio’s primary public support entry points are the customer help portal (https://support.proctorio.com) and the general product website (https://proctorio.com). Most institutions also have a designated account manager and may receive a single-sign-on (SSO) enterprise support path for high-priority incidents; request account-manager contact details during contracting. For students, the usual first step is the institution’s IT help desk, which then escalates to Proctorio if needed.

Expect tiered response times: industry-standard first-response SLAs are approximately 1 business day for standard tickets and 2–4 hours for priority incidents during business hours. For critical exam-day outages, escalation to a vendor Level 2/3 engineer is common; ensure your contract defines “critical” and the vendor’s 24/7 coverage if you run exams outside normal business hours. Documented response targets and escalation email aliases are essential in the Statement of Work.

What to Provide When Contacting Support

Providing precise diagnostic data on first contact cuts average handling time in half. Below is a checklist of the items Proctorio or any remote proctoring support team will need to resolve technical or exam-content issues quickly. Collect these before opening a ticket or calling the help line.

• Exam identifier and course code (e.g., “BIO-101 Midterm, Exam ID 2025-04-12-M1”), exact time/date of incident (with time zone).
• User device details: OS and version (Windows 10/11, macOS 12+), browser and version (Chrome 120+, Microsoft Edge Chromium), and extension version number if shown.
• Screenshot(s) or short screen recordings showing the error, plus browser console logs when possible (press F12 → Console); attach network test results (speed test: download/upload in Mbps).
• Network environment: student on-campus wired/Wi‑Fi, VPN in use, institution firewall/NAT restrictions, and any proxy servers.
• Student identifiers: student ID, email, and proctoring session ID or session URL; note whether accommodation settings (extended time, approved breaks) were active.

Including the above shortens time-to-resolution and reduces back-and-forth email. If you operate at scale (hundreds to thousands of seats), provide a CSV roster and a representative reproducible failure case for faster root-cause analysis.

Top Technical Issues and Step-by-Step Troubleshooting

The most frequent student-side problems are camera/microphone permission errors, browser-extension conflicts, network bandwidth limitations, and corporate/educational firewall blocks. Campus IT and help-desk staff should be trained on a concise troubleshooting flow so that most cases never reach vendor engineering. Train staff to perform a “system check” before exam windows; Proctorio provides a self-check tool in the support portal.

Below is a prioritized, repeatable checklist for front-line support when a student reports inability to start or stay connected during an exam. Use it verbatim to resolve 75–90% of common incidents before vendor escalation.

• Confirm browser: require latest Google Chrome or Chromium-based Edge. Close all other tabs and extensions except the Proctorio extension. Disable ad-blockers and privacy extensions temporarily.
• Verify permissions: instruct the user to go to chrome://settings/content/camera and microphone and ensure the exam site is allowed; re-launch the browser after changes.
• Hardware and resolution: confirm webcam and mic are detected by the OS; prefer 720p (1280×720) webcams. Run a 10-second recording to test audio levels and clarity.
• Network: run a speed test (e.g., speedtest.net)—recommend minimum 3 Mbps upload and download; 10 Mbps or higher for shared campus Wi‑Fi. Ask users to switch from VPN to direct ISP when possible.
• System updates: ensure OS and browser updates are installed; clear browser cache, restart machine. Reproduce the issue with one other test account or machine to isolate user vs. system problem.
• When escalating, include console logs (F12), timestamped session ID, and a short video of the failure to speed vendor analysis.

Service Levels, Escalation Paths, and Training

Effective customer service depends on defined SLAs, an escalation matrix, and comprehensive training. Best practice is to negotiate a written SLA that includes first-response times, mean time to recovery (MTTR) targets for critical incidents (e.g., target MTTR 2–6 hours during an active exam period), and a clear procedure to notify institutional contacts by SMS/email in the event of platform-wide outages.

Onboarding should include: 1) a technical integration session with your LMS (Canvas, Blackboard, Moodle) that confirms LTI and grade-sync settings; 2) an exam-creation workshop for faculty to configure rules (recording, ID verification, lockdown settings); and 3) a proctor and help-desk training session that covers the troubleshooting checklist and escalation steps. Maintain an internal runbook with screenshots and a direct link to your vendor account manager’s contact information.

Privacy, Data Retention, Reporting, and Disputes

Proctoring services operate in sensitive regulatory environments (FERPA in the U.S., GDPR in the EU). Confirm compliance requirements in your contract, including data storage location, subprocessors, and breach-notification timelines. Recordings and logs are typically configurable: many institutions allow retention windows from 30 days up to 365 days; your contract should state the default and options for longer archival or permanent deletion on request.

If a student disputes an integrity finding, follow this process: 1) collect the session ID and case report generated by the vendor (audit trail and video), 2) review by a trained human reviewer or faculty member, 3) allow the student to upload any exculpatory evidence, and 4) use the institution’s academic misconduct policy for adjudication. Ensure your contract allows timely export of all student data in a machine-readable format to satisfy legal requests.

Pricing, Contracts, and Practical Procurement Tips

Pricing models for remote proctoring generally fall into three categories: per-exam per-student fees, per-seat subscriptions, or enterprise/annual flat-fee contracts. Typical per-exam per-student market ranges are roughly $1–$8 per exam, depending on exam length, AI vs. live proctoring components, and volume discounts. Institutions running thousands of exams annually usually negotiate a blended enterprise rate and minimums; always request a detailed pricing sheet that breaks down AI-review fees vs. human-review time and storage costs.

Procurement tips: require a pilot phase (30–90 days) with performance metrics (uptime > 99.5%, successful launch rate > 98%), insist on a clear termination clause with data export within 30 days, and specify security controls (SOC 2 Type II or equivalent). For budgeting, include projected support hours for your help desk and the vendor’s account-management hours—these are commonly omitted but materially affect total cost of ownership.