AAT Remote Invigilation for Selected Assessments

Key Takeaways

Introduction: As more and more industries move towards digitalization, remote invigilation is becoming increasingly popular as an exam format. In light of recent developments, remote invigilation is now available for AAT exams. This article explains remote invigilation, how it works, and what you can expect from the experience.

What is Remote Invigilation? Remote invigilation allows candidates to take exams from a location of their choice while being monitored remotely by a qualified invigilator. This eliminates the need to travel to an exam center, providing candidates with the convenience of taking their exams from their homes.

How Does Remote Invigilation Work? Remote invigilation requires a reliable internet connection, a computer with a webcam and microphone, and a private space to take the exam. Candidates will log in to a secure online platform to take their exams and will be monitored by an invigilator through their webcam throughout the exam.

What to Expect from the Remote Invigilation Experience? The experience is designed to be as close to an in-person exam as possible, with the added convenience of taking the exam from home. Remote invigilation offers many benefits, such as taking exams from any location, including overseas. It also provides flexibility, as exams can be scheduled at a time that suits the candidate.

Conclusion: Remote invigilation offers a convenient and flexible way for AAT candidates to take their exams without the need to travel to an exam center. With the growing digitalization trend, remote invigilation is likely to become a more popular exam format.

AAT Remote invigilation is the method by which the assessment is monitored over the Internet. Instead of going to an approved assessment center, students can take their assessment at home or in another safe place. Students will be recorded during their assessment, and all recordings will be reviewed.

Following the successful delivery of AAT remote invigilation on our assessments, we're pleased to confirm that AAT remote invigilation will be made widely available for a selected number of AQ2022 AAT assessments via roll-out from May 24, 2021. The performance of all assessments conducted via AAT remote invigilation will continue to be carefully monitored.

The table below indicates our current plans to roll out AAT remote invigilation across several of our assessments. All dates and selected reviews remain subject to change at AQ2022 AAT's sole discretion.

We will continue to work on making other assessments available through ATT remote invigilation in the future. We will keep you updated if there is any change in the timetable mentioned above.

What You Need To Know

When scheduling the AQ2022 assessment, there will be an option to schedule the standard assessment or the remotely invigilated assessment. To support the requirements of remotely invigilated assessments, there will be an additional fee of £35.00, only if students opt to sit their examination via AAT remote invigilation. If remote invigilation is selected, the associated fee will be invoiced.

To accommodate AAT remote invigilation functionality and meet necessary regulatory and security requirements, we have adjusted the structure and formatted some assessments.

AAT AQ2022 has created an AAT Remote invigilation user guide (PDF) containing the full details of how remotely invigilated assessments work. Limitations and advantages of how to install the required software, and how students should prepare and what they need to do.

Training providers should ensure that any student who intends to sit a remotely invigilated assessment has read and understood the relevant section of this document to familiarize themselves with the requirements in advance. Training providers should discuss the assessment format with the student prior to their assessment.

Externally marked assessment results release within six weeks. For computer marked assessment, the results release within 15 working days. By the end of any required investigation, it may be necessary to hold the result longer if a flag is raised against your invigilation video.

Accessing The Assessment

Follow these five steps to access and sit your assessment.

1. Download and install the PSI secure browser and Surpass Viewer software.
2. Open the PSI secure browser, enter your exam and personal details (remember to enter your keycode in the phone number field) and complete the ID photo, room scan and photo checks. You will then be shown an AAT webpage with a link to open Surpass Viewer.
3. Click on the Switch to Surpass Viewer link to open the assessment keycode screen within Surpass Viewer (if it does not work, ensure that you have Surpass Viewer installed. If it still does not work, open Surpass Viewer manually and enter the following aat URL into the address bar).
4. Enter your keycode (this will have been emailed to you).
5. When you take your assessment, ensure that you keep the PSI secure browser running in the background and only close it after you have submitted your assessment.

AQ2022 Practice Assessments

The AAT remote invigilation versions of assessments contain some additional features. A calculator tool and a dedicated area for rough workings. These have been added within tasks, where required, as physical calculators and blank paper are not permitted for remotely invigilated assessments. Any remotely invigilated assessment over two hours will have a 15-minute break halfway through.

The AAT remote invigilation version of the assessments includes some additional features. A calculator and a dedicated area for rough work, these are included within the assessment portal. For physical assessment calculators and blank papers are not permitted. Any exam conducted for more than two hours will have a break of 15 minutes halfway through.

You can read more about these features on page 20 of the Remote invigilation user guide (PDF).

Practice assessments are not available to take via the remote invigilation software; however, students can access one practice assessment for each assessment via AAT Lifelong Learning Portal.

• ATBK, ABSK, BTRN, BKCL, MMAC: will be available in the week of 3 May.
• FSYA, ITAF, AVBK, FAPR, IDRX: will be available on 10 May.
• ELCO will be available in June.

If Surpass Viewer doesn't automatically open, please uninstall and reinstall it. Instructions on how to reinstall can be found on the Surpass Viewer page.

Troubleshooting

To maintain the validity and security of the assessment AQ2022, students will not be allowed to take blank paper into the assessment (only a single piece of paper containing the student's keycode), and they will not be able to access websites.

Students should download this Remote invigilation live assessment troubleshooting guide (PDF) and ensure that it's on their PC and accessible from their desktop before starting their assessment, so they can easily and quickly refer to it if needed.

Submitting An Incident Report

All incidents, such as technical problems, fire alarms, etc., must be recorded in an incident report and emailed to cba@aat.org.uk by the end of the next working day after the assessment.

During remotely invigilated assessments, students themselves will need to complete and submit incident reports to AAT whenever an issue occurs. A student's incident report form should contain as much information as possible about the problem, when it happened, what impact it had and what steps were taken to rectify it.

Incident reports will only be accepted if they are completed by the student and submitted on time. No one else should complete an incident report on their behalf.

If AAT's investigation of the incident confirms that, through no fault of the student, they were unfairly disadvantaged, AAT will consider this when their performance in the assessment is reviewed.

Download an incident report form (PDF)

Suppose you're unable to submit your AQ2022 assessment. In that case, AAT will, wherever possible, issue a valid result instead of a void, but only where the invigilation video covers the full duration of the sitting up to the point of submission.

However, suppose the vigilance video through the AQ2022 assessment has stopped due to a loss of internet connectivity. In this case, the AAT will cancel the attempt and issue a credit note, costing the AAT assessment fee, and return it to the AQ2022 assessment centre.