Instructional Technology: Student Identity Verification

Chris Porter
Dean of Learning Resources & Online Learning
Email: cporter@virginiawestern.edu
Phone: (540) 857-6697
Carrie Halpin
Instructional Designer & Technologist
Email: chalpin@virginiawestern.edu
Phone: (540) 857-6636
Erin Leftwich
Instructional Technologist & Canvas Administrator
Email: eleftwich@virginiawestern.edu
Phone: (540) 857-6687

The identity verification assignment is located in the Canvas Commons.  You can access the assignment using this direct link or search the Commons for "VWCC Identity Verification Assignment".

Use the following instructions for importing the assignment into your distance learning course. 

• How do I import and view a Commons resource in Canvas?

• Student Recording Assignment - Student Assignment to record a video showing government issued photo ID that is verified by the instructor.  OLIT team has created a model assignment that can be downloaded from Canvas Commons. This can be a graded assignment but does not have to be.  But it must be a required assignment that all students complete in order to pass the course. (See Sample Syllabus Statement in the box below.)
• Web Conferencing Verification using live video conferencing session (Zoom or other) in which the instructor verifies the identity of the student by viewing a government issued photo ID during a live session. These sessions must be done individually either in a breakout room or in a separate meeting.  The student showing their credential must not be visible to other students.
• Web Conferencing Proctored Assignment - Instructors can proctor a student test using a web-conferencing system such as Zoom but must include an identity verification check with a government issued photo ID. It is strongly recommended that only one student be proctored at a time because most web conferencing technology does not support adequate multi-student proctoring capabilities. Using this option is only recommended in special circumstances when other options are not feasible.
• Online test proctoring using Respondus Monitor: Require Respondus Monitor on a graded test or exam from Canvas with the ID check feature turned on. Instructors must then use the "Class Results" option from the LockDown Browser Dashboard to view each student’s ID capture and compare it to the student snapshot. Visit the Online Testing page in the Instructional Technology InfoGuide for detailed instructions.
• Virginia Western Testing Center: Have students complete a proctored activity or test in the Testing Center. All students using the Testing Center must present a government issued photo ID upon arrival. Staff verify the person completing the test or activity is the person registered for the course.
• Alternative Proctored Testing Location: Students that reside outside of Virginia Western’s service region or have other special circumstances may select an instructor approved alternative proctored testing location that must include an identity check. I-61 Proctored Testing Policy
• Other: If you have another idea for verifying your students’ identities, please contact the Dean of Learning Resources and Online Learning to discuss.  It is possible that working with your School Dean, we can approve other satisfactory methods.

Note: All options need to include a record that the identity of each student has been verified.  This can be the gradebook in Canvas for an assignment or some other method, such as a spreadsheet, that documents each student successfully completed the identity check.

To make identity verification a requirement for the course, a syllabus statement such as the one below is necessary.

This is an online course and requires each student to complete an identity verification assignment.  This assignment is a requirement to pass this course. If the identity verification assignment is not completed the student will fail the course. The identity verification assignment for this course is ……