Tens of thousands of students across the CUNY system have voiced their opposition to the egregious violations of privacy by their colleges. The rally behind this cause shows that proctoring software, whether through Respondus, Proctortrack, or Proctorio, cannot be the only solution for students to continue their education. Students have plentiful reasons to protest these companies, especially with past data breaches that have leaked the personal information of 440,000 students. (source)
The CUNY Office of Legal Affairs concluded “that faculty cannot compel students to accept the corresponding tools “Terms and Conditions” and that in the event students do not accept the terms, faculty must provide students reasonable assessment accommodations to demonstrate they meet the course learning requirements.” (Source) While some faculty members may accommodate a few students, it is imperative that CUNY administrators notify departments and employees from every college that they cannot force students to use proctoring software. Additionally, administrators must explicitly ask staff to shut off required proctoring software from already integrated programs, such as Proctorio on McGraw Hill’s Connect. Even students who do not actively voice their concerns to professors cannot have their privacy rights violated. It is the responsibility of CUNY to take an active role in providing ample alternatives to invasive proctoring software.
Further action must be taken by CUNY to protect student privacy and find alternative solutions to proctoring.