Last year, just 0.58% of Integrity Advocate learners required support during their exam. That’s less than one person for every hundred.  

Why is this number significant? In our conversations with clients and prospective customers, a resounding theme is the desire to keep support rates as low as possible. Learners require support for a number of reasons: device compatibility issues; download and installation issues; connectivity issues — each of these things takes time and effort to resolve, and leads to general frustration among participants. 

If you run online exams, qualifications or continuing education programming, ask yourself: what are these issues costing you? We break down some of these ‘hidden costs’ in a separate blog post, but we encourage all organizations to do an audit and really dig into the impact this is having on their bottom line. 

So, this begs the question: what are we doing differently? There isn’t any one answer — in reality, it’s a combination of multiple innovations, as well as an overarching commitment to the learner experience. That being said, here’s a look behind the scenes at the top five secrets to our industry-leading support. 

1. No installation, no plug-ins

Our number one secret to low support is to remove the biggest learner pain point: installation. Integrity Advocate is the only proctor that doesn’t require the learner to download and install an app or browser plug-in. This is particularly helpful in large organizations with device policies that may prohibit the installation of third-party software. Plus, it’s just easier for learners: simply log in, follow the instructions on screen and take their exam.  

2. Mobile device/tablet compatibility

Because Integrity Advocate works without plug-ins, it’s fully compatible with all mobile devices, tablets, Chromebooks and their operating systems. That’s great news for learners on the go; not only does it offer BYOD convenience, it eliminates panicked support calls from learners trying to get up and running on an unfamiliar device. Plus, Integrity Advocate has a low bandwidth protection for seamless operation in areas with poor wifi or mobile connectivity. 

3. No scheduling

Tech troubles aren’t the only frustration learners typically experience with online proctoring. There’s also scheduling. Requiring that participants complete their exam at a specific time negates the benefits of online learning — and creates additional admin hassles and support issues. Fortunately, Integrity Advocate’s services are all available on demand — any time, any place, with less stress for everyone. 

4. Privacy by design

Learners concerned about invasive proctoring systems will be happy to know that Integrity Advocate is built on Privacy by Design principles, which means we only collect the data we need, use it for its required purpose (ie — we don't sell it) and delete it as soon as possible. This leads to fewer support calls, data deletion requests and privacy issues. (As an added bonus, this greatly simplifies compliance with GDPR, CCPA and related legislation.)

5. Simple, easy to understand interface

By now it should be pretty clear that we’ve done a lot of backend work to make Integrity Advocate the easiest-to-use proctoring solution. But what does that look like in practice? Book a demo.

See? Simple. Easy. Secure. Our goal always has and always will be to provide the best service possible to our customers and we take great pride in leading the industry in terms of support rates.

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You know the moment. You're trying to join a time-sensitive meeting. Or launch something important. The link won’t open. The app wants a permissions update. Your camera’s off, your stress is on, and now you’re refreshing several tabs while watching those three little dots repeat over and over as a support agent finally starts typing back.

In most tech environments, that kind of chaos is expected. In online proctoring, it’s practically baked in. 

At Integrity Advocate, we pride ourselves on support needs under 1%, always. 

We built our platform to eliminate that moment - for learners, administrators, and anyone else touching an assessment. Because whether people are logging in from a job site or their kitchen table, a secure, seamless experience shouldn't come with unnecessary installs or support on speed dial. 

Online proctoring support volume is more than a technical metric

When the stakes are high, the experience matters. Delayed logins, install issues, forgotten passwords or confusing navigation create friction that can add stress and derail performance before the test even begins.

For learners, that anxiety isn't theoretical. According to the 2022 EDUCAUSE Student Technology Report, over three-quarters (77%) of students experienced at least one technology issue in the past academic year, with over half (51%) reporting that these issues caused them stress.

Imagine a construction worker attempting to complete a mandatory safety certification on a job site. Having to download unfamiliar software or navigate a complex user experience, leads to delays and mounting frustration. Each minute spent troubleshooting is a minute not spent ensuring workplace safety.

Support volume—how often users need help—is one of the clearest signals that something's wrong. A tech glitch is frustrating, but it also creates apprehension. When learners don't feel confident in the system, the entire assessment loses credibility.

In all industries, that has a ripple effect. A poor user experience can compromise participation and ultimately undermine the defensibility of any program.

When users aren’t constantly seeking help,

• The experience is working as intended
• Learners aren’t forced to install software on their devices
• Administrators aren’t drowning in tickets

And most importantly, the focus stays where it belongs: on learning, trust and outcomes.

Support design should be intentional

Support volume doesn’t spike because users are doing something wrong—it usually means the system is. Downloads, login issues, permissions prompts and device restrictions may seem small in isolation, but they add up fast when the stakes are high.

If a learner hits a wall during setup, or an admin has to walk every user through the same confusing step, that’s not helping anyone.

At Integrity Advocate, our support rate is just 0.58%—the industry’s lowest. That means fewer than 1 in 200 users ever need to contact us. For us that means support needs under 1%, always. 

Proctoring in the time of ANSI/ASSP Z490.1-2024

Organizations trying to meet testing compliance standards like ANSI/ASSP Z490.1-2024, system stability and defensibility matter more than ever. Regulators are increasingly focused on whether training was actually received and completed.

A pile of support tickets? That signals risk.

According to ANSI/ASSP Z490.1-2024, training programs must be able to demonstrate both delivery and participation. The standard emphasizes learner engagement, accessibility and defensibility, especially in high-risk industries where training directly impacts public and workplace safety. If learners are derailed by preventable technical issues, the integrity of the assessment can quickly unravel.

That’s why system stability shouldn’t just be a technical preference. It’s a compliance necessity.

Online proctoring that gets it right

Proctoring with Integrity Advocate was built to be as invisible as possible in the best way. 

• No installs means there are no permissions or administrative roadblocks.
• Browser-based means nothing to download and no guessing games.
• Integrated into the LMS means learners don’t have to remember a second login or bounce between tabs.
• Compatibility checks run automatically to flag issues before testing begins.
• Built-in accessibility (WCAG 2.1  AA compliant) ensures no one gets stuck due to ability, device, or bandwidth.

We designed out the chaos to help learners reduce test-taking anxiety and stay focused on demonstrating what they know—not wrestling with the testing platform.

When testing works, everyone thrives

Proctoring was designed to protect what the test is meant to measure. When the technology disappears into the background, learners can focus on proving what they know. And when we reduce friction and anxiety, we create space for achievement, fairness and growth.

At Integrity Advocate, we believe assessment should support people. That’s how we protect trust. That’s how we build a better future.

Want online proctoring that puts people first? We’d love to talk.

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Previously on the blog, we’ve made the case for treating online proctoring as an investment — in the safety of your learners, and the integrity of your testing. We’ve detailed some of the emerging threats against fair, secure online assessments, and we’ve shown what can happen when these threats aren’t taken seriously. 

But we haven’t done a deep dive into the actual cost of online proctoring. Different providers have different billing models; the specific features you need — ID verification, participation monitoring, recorded vs. live proctoring, etc. — as well as the anticipated volume of exams, will all determine your top-line numbers. And while those numbers are important, they don’t tell the whole story. To really understand the potential cost of remote proctoring, you need to understand the ‘shadow costs’ — hidden expenses that can crop up if you focus exclusively on pricing when making your decision. 

(ps. If you're looking for Integrity Advocate's pricing, we recommend contacting our sales team, as our services are generally customizable based on your needs.)

Hidden Cost #1: Support 

The number one complaint we hear from prospective customers coming to Integrity Advocate from a competitor is the high cost of support required to get learners set up and running with other solutions. When an online proctoring tool requires learners to install an application or browser plug-in, or make changes to system settings, support rates may be between 30-40%.

Let’s break that down and look at the numbers. If you run 1000 proctored exams a session, and approximately 30% of those require a support call, that’s 300 support calls/session. If each support call takes 10 minutes to resolve, that’s 3000 minutes, or 50 hours, of tech support required on top of the cost of your proctoring service.

Hidden Cost #2: Reviewing (and Re-reviewing)

Another hidden cost of online proctoring involves resolving disputes and correcting ‘false positive’ violation flags. Many of the cheapest online proctoring tools rely heavily on AI to identify rules violations. If these aren’t followed up with a human review, innocent test-takers can easily be penalized. Even putting aside the more insidious biases of AI facial recognition, the technology is still too unreliable to be the final arbiter of ethical behavior in an online exam. AI proctoring systems can — and have — mistakenly identified facial patterns in things like wallpaper and houseplants, leading to false positive rules violations. 

And what’s the cost of this? Some proctoring services charge for exam retakes, others don’t. Even if there is no additional fee involved, consider the admin time required to investigate learner complaints and clear violations that have been falsely flagged by low-cost, automated online proctoring tools. 

Hidden Cost #3: Accessibility

One underrated question worth asking when considering an online proctoring system is: ‘how easy is it to accommodate my learners’? Especially when running online testing, accommodation is about more than extra time or support: it’s about adapting a system — generally one built with one very specific user/use case in mind — to meet the unique needs of your program. 

Most online proctoring tools are built for a higher ed audience. But we’re seeing more and more clients come from food and alcohol server certification, skills trades/health and safety training, and professional certification. On everything from LMS integration, to rule sets, to participation monitoring, these systems may require extensive customization — and additional time and money — to accommodate the unique user base, environmental and technical requirements of a non-higher ed audience. 

Hidden Cost #4: Liability

All of the hidden costs we’ve spotlighted before involve, in one way or another, the effort required to get a remote proctoring system working perfectly.  But what about when things go wrong? Ultimately, the design and implementation of a proctoring system must take into consideration the worst case scenario. 

By this we mean, consider the potential cost of a nightmare scenario — say, for example, an employee on a construction site, who has received health and safety certification from your organization, causes an accident on the job. What are the legal, regulatory or reputation implications if you are unable to prove they participated in the training and completed the requirements fully? 

The bottom line is that, ultimately, online proctoring systems aren’t something to cheap out on. This doesn’t mean buying the most expensive option on the market, of course — it means doing your research, and considering the full costs and potential implications of your choice.

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