The cheapest option is never the cheapest option in the end.

"The barbecue that seats four”, as described by talk show host Johnny Carson, was the Ford Pinto - the first subcompact car produced in North America. This car sadly had a major problem.  If impacted from the rear, the Pinto’s doors could crumble and jam shut, the gas tank would rupture, and the car would burst into a ball of fire, usually killing those inside.

Despite this, the car (or “barbecue that seats four”) sold extremely well thanks to its ultra-low purchase price, space-efficient design, and above-average gas mileage.

Within a few years after continuing sales, the Ford Board of Directors faced both lawsuits and a recall of all 11 million cars with an associated cost of approximately $150,000,000.000.  

Doesn’t it make you wonder how much money was actually saved or generated after the losses that continued to snowball for years?

What can organizations delivering learning online learn from the Ford Pinto story?

Organizations that predominantly look for the cheapest option in the hopes that they can quickly solve a problem normally run into the same problem that Ford did.

Let’s say you are hosting thousands of online learning events with students who have seemingly endless device, browser, and operating system configurations.  

Let’s also say that the ultra-low-cost proctoring solution that you have selected to use restricts the types of devices and browsers that can be used, requires all students to install 3rd party software, and always demands a non-interrupted high speed internet connection, while offering little-to-no end user support or biometric privacy protection.  Sound familiar?

The combination of these variables creates thousands of potential support scenarios while undoubtedly ensuring unnecessary end user anxiety and stress on top of potential class action lawsuits as recently seen in the state of Illinois.

Integrity Advocate’s hybrid technology and service combines the best of both automated and live proctoring to offer an innovative solution that removes the burden of end-user support and the reviewing of session data by the utilizing organizations, while protecting user privacy and personal information from start to finish.

Get in touch today to learn more about our best-in-class online participation monitoring and proctoring software solution. 

‍