What is Identity Authentication?

Do I need to do it? How?

What is Identity Authentication?

Put simply, it means verifying that the student who enrolled for the class is the same student who is completing and submitting work online.

Do I need to do it?

Confirming the identity of each student in an online course is required:

The U.S. Department of Education states that: Institutions must have processes in place to establish that the student earning credit is the same student who participates in and completes the course.
Coast District and GWC Policies state that: Faculty are responsible for ensuring that grades assigned are indicative of the knowledge and skill level of each student.
Coast District and GWC Policies also state that: Faculty are expected to conduct their classes in a way that makes cheating, plagiarism and other dishonest conduct nearly impossible.
GWC is committed to assuring that the student who registers is the same student who participates in and receives the academic credit.

All of these standards require that online faculty verify the identity of a student who participates in a Distance Education class.

How do I do it?

There are a variety of ways that faculty may authenticate student identity, which includes using methods such as:

Proctored Exams, showing an ID and using a webcam with an automated proctoring service, such as the Respondus Monitor Authentication System or Proctorio.
Proctored Exams, showing an ID in person at a secure location, such as DSPS.
Oral Exams, with live video conferencing, where the student shows their ID before beginning the exam (such as a Spanish class).
Proctored Writing Assignments (such as an English class) where students submit an ‘in class’ type of writing assignment with an automated proctoring service, such as the Respondus Monitor Authentication System.
Class Presentations, where the student submits a video of their presentation and also submits a picture of their ID to faculty separately.
Video Discussion Assignments, where students post a video of themselves (with a tool such as Flipgrid) and also submits a picture of their ID to faculty separately.

Why is this important?

Without a concerted effort to authenticate a student's identity in an online course, it is impossible to meet the standards as set by the U.S. Department of Education, and by the College and Coast District.

If the person completing coursework is never identified in any meaningful way that clearly connects them to the coursework being submitted, that course is out of compliance with Federal, District, and GWC standards.

Unfortunately, paying others to take online exams, or even complete an entire online course, is a fast-growing industry and faculty are required to take measures against this form of academic dishonesty.

What are my options?

For faculty who are interested in giving proctored exams, GWC provides the Respondus Monitor Authentication System:

Uses a webcam to record students while taking a Quiz.
No cost to students (if they have a webcam already).
The authentication process is completely automated, is fully integrated with Canvas, can be configured to work with other testing websites, is available to students 24-7.
Faculty control all of the parameters within Canvas.

Faculty who do use identity authentication tools in their classes should accept a variety of IDs, including: a State ID, Driver's License, Passport, GWC Student ID, and may also accept a Student ID from another college or high school.