Leading financial services education provider Kaplan Professional is adamant the use of online proctoring technology to conduct remote exams will have a significant positive impact on the industry, describing it as the ‘way of the future’. Kaplan Professional has engaged the global and market leader ProctorU as its supplier to deliver online proctored exams for their postgraduate financial planning qualifications and the Kaplan Adviser Practice Exam (KAPE), joining other leading education institutions and associations. The education provider has been exploring the use of the technology since early 2019 with a view to introduce it later this year, but the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic forced its implementation earlier than anticipated. Kaplan Professional CEO Brian Knight said one major benefit of online proctored exams was the freedom and flexibility it afforded already time-poor advisers. “We believe this is ultimately in advisers’ best interests – they are already faced with significant professional, personal and regulatory pressures, so we need to do what we can to support them to achieve the education requirements. “The world is rapidly changing, so it is more important than ever before education is accessible and achievable no matter the circumstances. “You can provide someone with a familiar and comfortable environment to perform at their best, while eliminating factors that heighten anxiety and nervousness such as travel and crowded exam centres. “It also removes any aspect of human error, where there can often be complications with sorting, marking and processing paper-based exams. “Over 2,000 advisers sat their first online proctored exam with Kaplan Professional earlier this month with a limited amount of technical issues – we were impressed with the convenience, safety, efficiency and security it provided everyone. “Online proctored exams are the way forward,” he said. Kaplan Professional has extensively performed its due diligence and is more than confident with ProctorU’s unblemished privacy and security record. A thorough supplier security assurance check was conducted, including a 23-page questionnaire and an in-depth review of ProctorU’s policies. Additional privacy and security requirements were also implemented into the agreement. “We did this to provide our clients and students with added peace of mind, while reinforcing the benefits of online proctored exams and the integral role they will play in the evolution of education,” Mr Knight said. “You have to eliminate any instances of cheating, so remote proctoring is essential to maintaining exam integrity and ensuring fairness to everyone sitting the exam. “It is unfortunate there has been some uniformed commentary, which has the potential to cause significant damage to the industry if left unchecked. “We strongly encourage all within the industry to embrace the benefits of online proctored exams.”