Am I Eligible to Sit for a DEDP Course's Proctored Exam?
The Proctored Exam for a DEDP course occurs at the end of every course session. In order to be eligible to take a DEDP course's Proctored Exam, you must be enrolled as a Verified (Paid) learner.
This means that you must have enrolled in a course session before its Enrollment Deadline, and you must have submitted payment for the course session before its Payment Deadline (this includes those who are paying with a enrollment code). For a detailed description of how to determine whether you are eligible to take a DEDP course's Proctored Exam, please refer to this FAQ article.
Please Note: Fall 2022 changes to the DEDP Program have altered the eligibility criteria for DEDP Proctored Exams and Course Certificates, and changed how payment for DEDP courses functions. A brief summary of the changes relevant to this topic is included below. For more detailed information, please refer to this FAQ article.
Fall 2022 Changes: DEDP Proctored Exams Structure and Eligibility; Payments
From September 2022 onward, the Proctored Exam for DEDP courses will be part of the MITx Online course session, instead of separate from the online course session. All learners enrolled in a DEDP course session as Verified (Paid) learners will now be eligible to take the Proctored Exam at the end of the session.
However, payments for DEDP courses are now tied to specific course sessions. Learners must now submit payment for a specific course session enrollment, and they will then be eligible to take the Proctored Exam at the end of that course session. It is no longer possible to submit payment for a DEDP course, complete the coursework, and then choose to wait until a future course session to sit for the Proctored Exam. Exceptions can be made for extenuating circumstances, but you must contact us at dedp-micromasters-support@mit.edu and explain your need to defer your exam to a future term.
For more information about DEDP course and Proctored Exam availability, please refer to How often will the DEDP courses run? Where can I find a schedule for all upcoming course runs?
If you submitted payment for one or more DEDP courses prior to September 2022 but did not use all of your Proctored Exam attempts, or if you are unsure whether you have any Proctored Exam attempts remaining, please reach out to us at dedp-micromasters-support@mit.edu for assistance.
How Do I Take the Proctored Exam this Term?
If you are enrolled in a DEDP course session on the Verified (Paid) enrollment track, you will take the course's Proctored Exam at the end of the course session. In addition to completing the preceding coursework in order to prepare for the Proctored Exam, you will also need to complete an Onboarding step. The in-course documentation, as well as communications from your course team, will inform you of the important dates and deadlines for your course's Proctored Exam—including Onboarding—and your DEDP course's courseware will show you your Onboarding status on the home page, in the upper-right.
We strongly advise learners to complete the Onboarding process at least once in each term they plan to take a DEDP Proctored Exam. However, if you plan to take more than one DEDP course's Proctored Exam in the same term, you need only complete Onboarding for one of the courses: onboarding once will allow you to take any other DEDP Proctored Exams for which you are eligible in that term.
Please Note: In general, DEDP course dates and times are listed in UTC time. Please be sure to convert all deadlines to your local time zone to avoid confusion.
Important Proctored Exam Dates
For detailed information about the important dates and deadlines for upcoming DEDP semesters, please refer to the DEDP MicroMasters Upcoming Dates page, as well as the information contained within your course's courseware and your course team's update emails.
You will likely find important dates like the below presented:
- Onboarding Exam Period corresponds to the timeframe during which Onboarding can be completed
- Proctored Exam Period (or Testing Window) corresponds to the timeframe during which the exam will be available for learners to complete and submit
How to Prepare for a DEDP Course's Proctored Exam, Complete Onboarding, and Take the Proctored Exam
1. Enroll in a DEDP Course Session, Submit Payment to Upgrade to the Verified (Paid) track, and Prepare for the Proctored Exam
Follow the directions in either our guide for new DEDP learners, or our guide for existing DEDP learners to get enrolled in an upcoming DEDP course session. If you have not yet calculated your DEDP Personal Course Price, then you will either need to do so before submitting payment or pay full price for courses.
Follow our guide on how to submit payment for a DEDP course session to upgrade your enrollment to the Verified (Paid) enrollment track.
Complete the DEDP course—learning the course material and completing the coursework—to achieve as high a course score as possible and in order to prepare for the Proctored Exam.
2. Complete the Onboarding Exam process:
The Onboarding Exam will become available during the course session, opening and closing at times specified by your course team.
The Onboarding Exam is not a test! The Onboarding Exam is a short preparation process that will guide you through the necessary steps to set up your computer for the Proctored Exam. You must complete the Onboarding Exam at least five days before you plan to take your Proctored Exam.
The Onboarding Exam will help you ensure that your computer system is compatible with the online proctoring system. The Onboarding Exam will also walk you through completing ID Verification. The Onboarding Exam does not count as part of your proctored exam grade.
If you completed the Onboarding Exam in the past and your onboarding is still valid, you will see a notification on the right side of the Proctored Exam course page that says "Onboarding was approved in another course" or similar. In this case, you may not need to repeat the onboarding process, though we strongly recommend you complete onboarding again if you have updated or changed your computer or network in any way.
The best way to avoid technical issues during the exam is to complete onboarding with the exact setup you will use for the exam. Please also be aware that previous onboarding approval is valid for a finite period of time. Please be sure that your onboarding approval will not expire before you take the exam.
For a complete description of how to complete the Onboarding Exam, including screenshots, please refer to this FAQ article.
3. Take the Proctored Exam:
The exam will become available at the end of the course session, after all of the other course content, including the Comprehensive Review, have been completed. The Proctored Exam is generally available to complete for a period of one week.
During the Proctored Exam Period, you will be able to take your exam at any time. You will not need to schedule a specific time or date to complete the exam.
You will have 75 minutes in which to complete your proctored exam. Once you open (begin) an exam, you will have 75 minutes to finish it—you will not be able to stop the timer and come back to it later. All Proctored Exams will be automatically closed and submitted at the end of the Proctored Exam testing period, at 15:00 UTC on the last day of exam availability. Please ensure you begin the exam at least 75 minutes before the exam deadline or you will not have the full time to complete it!
Please be sure to fully and carefully read through all of your course's courseware documentation—especially information concerning the Proctored Exam, its times and deadlines, and its rules.
The courseware contains critical information about requirements, rules, and prohibitions for the Proctored Exam!
For more information, please refer to the DEDP MicroMasters site's Proctored Exams page or our helpful About Proctored Exams FAQ Section. The most current dates and times for upcoming DEDP events and deadlines are available on the Upcoming Dates page.