Given these difficult times, many of the people who administer (proctor) HVACR industry exams, are unable to meet face-to-face with those needing to take these closed-book examinations. Many of these examinations, such as the Section 608 EPA Certification, and the HVAC Excellence Employment Ready Certifications are often required for entry in the HVACR industry.

ESCO Institute has solutions that provide options for registered proctors to conduct closed-book exams remotely. These options allow test takers who have a computer, web camera, and microphone, to take closed-book exams from the comfort and safety of their home or office.

Remote Proctored: Registered proctors can use a business conferencing platform such as WebEx or Zoom to administer exams online, one-on-one. In using this option, proctors must follow the strict guidelines posted under important notices in the proctor login area.

Third-Party Online Proctoring: Third-party online proctoring handles everything. This service not only verifies the person’s identity, monitors and records the session, but gives the ability to let people take the test 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Registered proctors can use this option by purchasing third-party online proctoring exam credits. These credits are assigned to those needing to test. Once the credit has been assigned, they then make a testing appointment with our online proctoring service. For schools, although a third party is testing your students, their exam results will populate seamlessly into your proctor reports.

For those who want to accommodate a student or customer, but do not want any detailed involvement, this is a great option. Simply have the person in need of testing visit www.escogroup.org and click take the exam here.

With all remote testing options, the person taking the exam will still need resources to prepare for it. In the case of the EPA Section 608 Certification Exam, the Preparatory Manual is available to purchase or rent in the ESCO Institute elearning center. To further assist in preparing for the exam, a four-part webinar series is available in the ESCO Institute elearning center, and practice exams are posted on our home page. Both are available free of charge and can be accessed by visiting www.escogroup.org.

It is our goal to provide our proctors with many options in how they chose to administer exams; paper, online, remote, third party, or direct. This enables them to select a program that uniquely meets their individual testing needs. As we continue to innovate, we will keep everyone apprised of more options as they are made available.

Registered proctors in need of assistance with remote proctoring, are encouraged to call ESCO Institute at 1-800-726-9696.