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Privacy Education

University Can't Scan Students' Rooms During Remote Tests, Judge Rules (theverge.com) 84

Posted by msmash from the win-for-privacy dept.
An Ohio judge has ruled that a Cleveland State University's virtual scan of a student's room prior to an online test was unconstitutional. The ruling marks a victory for digital privacy advocates around the country, who have spoken loudly against the practices of online test proctoring for many years. From a report: Chemistry student Aaron Ogletree sat for an online test in the spring 2021 semester. Ogletree was asked to show the virtual proctor his bedroom through his webcam prior to the beginning of the test. A recording of the room scan as well as the testing process that followed was retained by Honorlock, the university's third-party vendor. Ogletree sued the university on the grounds that the practice violated his rights under the Fourth Amendment, which protects US citizens against "unreasonable searches and seizures." The university, in defense, argues that "room scans are 'standard industry wide practice,'" and that "students frequently acquiesce in their use." Federal Judge J. Philip Calabrese sided with Ogletree yesterday, determining that the university's room scan did constitute an unreasonable search. "Mr. Ogletree's subjective expectation of privacy at issue is one that society views as reasonable and that lies at the core of the Fourth Amendment's protections against governmental intrusion," Calabrese wrote in the decision.
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University Can't Scan Students' Rooms During Remote Tests, Judge Rules More

University Can't Scan Students' Rooms During Remote Tests, Judge Rules

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  • Say goodbye to at-home academic tests (Score:5, Insightful)

    by davidwr ( 791652 ) on Tuesday August 23, 2022 @12:50PM (#62814665) Homepage Journal

    Say hello to having to go to an authorized testing center if you can't make it to campus.

    • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

      by backslashdot ( 95548 )

      We can't have nice things because of idiots.

      • Re:Say goodbye to at-home academic tests (Score:5, Insightful)

        by drinkypoo ( 153816 ) <drink@hyperlogos.org> on Tuesday August 23, 2022 @12:58PM (#62814687) Homepage Journal

        Yeah, and the idiots are the ones who think a room scan is going to defeat cheaters. What a stupid fucking idea.

      • Re:Say goodbye to at-home academic tests (Score:5, Insightful)

        by torkus ( 1133985 ) on Tuesday August 23, 2022 @01:11PM (#62814731)

        Some (most...practically all) digital proctor systems are incredibly invasive and often equally wonky in what they consider cheating or not.

        If your test can easily be aced by having simple reference material, it's a bad fucking test.

        Unless you're using biometrics to verify a person is who they claim, the whole point is moot. Grab another kid who looks like your ID and aced the course last semester...and some money of course.

        • If your test can easily be aced by having simple reference material, it's a bad fucking test.

          That's completely wrong. It depends on what you are testing and simple, low-level first year and some second year courses need to test recall of facts and basic concepts. See Bloom's taxonomy of knowledge [vanderbilt.edu]. Yes, for higher-level courses you are testing material at a level well beyond simple recall where access to material is not much use and neither are the online "rent-a-cheat" sites since the people on them are not smart enough to answer the questions either.

          However, for low-level university courses it

          • It unreasonable because its their room, their house, their private space. As the court ruled, there is the expectation of privacy in your own home: "Mr. Ogletree's subjective expectation of privacy at issue is one that society views as reasonable and that lies at the core of the Fourth Amendment's protections against governmental intrusion," Calabrese wrote in the decision.

            • It unreasonable because its their room, their house, their private space. As the court ruled, there is the expectation of privacy in your own home

              Did the university require them to use their home? Normally we just require a quiet space to take an exam. Some students during the pandemic rented hotel rooms for a day to take the exam to ensure they had a quiet space.

              Did the university require them to take an online course? If you choose to sign up to take a course that has remote exams and you then choose to take them at home then surely that's your choice.

              Are US courts going to apply this rule to themselves too? There are numerous clips on YouTu

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by torkus ( 1133985 )

            If your test can easily be aced by having simple reference material, it's a bad fucking test.

            That's completely wrong. It depends on what you are testing and simple, low-level first year and some second year courses need to test recall of facts and basic concepts. See Bloom's taxonomy of knowledge [vanderbilt.edu]. Yes, for higher-level courses you are testing material at a level well beyond simple recall where access to material is not much use and neither are the online "rent-a-cheat" sites since the people on them are not smart enough to answer the questions either.

            However, for low-level university courses it is entirely reasonable and sensible to have some testing of basic facts and concepts. While I could easily write a first-year physics exam that only tested the higher level skills it would be an impossibly hard exam for most of the students in the course - indeed as it is I am pretty certain most students think I put too many of those higher level questions in when I teach such courses!

            While I appreciate the reference to Blooms, you ignore the context: this is university level testing, not elementary school where rote memorization "Remember" is all you can expect from a student. If all a university level test addresses is memorization, well, that's a bad fucking test AND a bad fucking class. (of which there are many) You might as well read the textbook at home.

            Physics is actually a great counterpoint - you can (in context of the class level) give a plenty hard test using only a few ba

            • While I appreciate the reference to Blooms, you ignore the context: this is university level testing

              ...which is exactly what I am referring to. Almost all low-level university courses have some degree of learning basic facts and concepts. Indeed, I am talking about my own experience as a professor teaching university courses in a subject, physics, that has much less of learning facts and concepts than most subjects. However, even in physics low-level courses have a reasonable amount of questions that basic memorization can answer...and the questions which really do require students to apply what they kno

    • Say hello to having to go to an authorized testing center if you can't make it to campus.

      Exactly. If schools can't ensure the integrity of remote exams then they will go back to in person proctored; or offer a choice with the proviso you consent to room scan and other security actions to take an exam remotely.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by suss ( 158993 )

      Wasn't this during the lockdown?

      • No (ish) (Score:2, Interesting)

        by raymorris ( 2726007 )

        This was Spring 2021. The university had just over half the classes available online and all students and faculty were welcome on campus for any academic purpose.
        http://newsletter.csuohio.edu/... [csuohio.edu]

        So the student could gone to a quiet place on campus, such as a library study room, or probably taken the exam in the class room. Instead they chose this path, taking away the online option from the rest of us.

        • Call a waaahmbulance. (Score:5, Insightful)

          by Mal-2 ( 675116 ) on Tuesday August 23, 2022 @01:47PM (#62814847) Homepage Journal

          Yeah, totally unreasonable to stand up for his own civil rights like that when it inconveniences you. /s

          We can't have "nice things" built on legal quicksand either.

          • You're suggesting that everyone has a RIGHT to take university exams with nobody watching? Where exactly do you see that "right" listed anywhere?

            If you can make a case for that, you should take it it to court, because now the status is that students have FEWER options - remote is no longer an option AT ALL since he took away the option of doing it somewhat securely.

          • standing up for your civil rights to not be able to enter into a contract with a entity that allows you to take a test in a remote location in exchange for the remote location being monitored?

            Human/citizen rights, at least in the American sense, are something that the government recognizes they cannot infringe upon. Something granting you more freedom than if they theoretical did not exist and the government less. They are not an infringement on what people are allowed to do individually or together. This "

    • The amendment doesn't prohibit private schools.

      CHEATING on all levels has increased greatly; the idea you prevent it remotely or even allow use of electronic devices amazingly ignorant.

      Parent: forced pregnancy is not slavery; your definition is foobar; however, it does constitute a war crime as well as torture (but not in the USA which selective about law.)

    • authorized testing center better then ExamSoft shit software.

    • WeWork => WeExam

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by gweihir ( 88907 )

      Actually anybody sane already does that. Giving students a really high temptation to cheat is not a good idea and not fair.

  • HIPPA / other disability claims as well?
    Like they can't ask for way to much info about your disability to get some waver? and they can't say well we need to pay for an doctor visit so they can sign our from and no we can't take what you have now.

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by Anonymous Coward

      I don't have the faintest clue what you just said.

    • I'm 30% disabled, all Service Connected. If some school wanted to have me examined to verify my various disabilities, I'd tell them that I've been declared disabled by the federal Department of Veteran's Affairs, and that's all they need to know.
    • HIPAA doesn't prevent anyone asking for your health information. It governs its release or use by those who already have it.
  • Making sure there is no material to cheat with would seem to be a compelling state (university in this case) interest. Reading the decision reveals some rather, uh, cavalierly and poorly reasoned standards and expectations. I'd have expected the big issue to be the retention of the video, not the search itself. The kid complained he had 1099s scattered around without time to move them out of camera view, yet the proctor noted a clean work area and no tax documents.

  • Fine (Score:3)

    by jvkjvk ( 102057 ) on Tuesday August 23, 2022 @01:30PM (#62814793)

    They they can take remote tests in a sterile environment instead of their dorm rooms.

    No issues with this.

  • Fuzzy thinking on the judge's part: The Fourth Amendment applies only to searches by the government, and the school is not the government. It is more "in-loco-parentis". Kids everywhere will be rejoicing that their parents cannot search their rooms anymore! ;^D

    • Re:Fuzzy Fourth Amendment Thinking (Score:5, Informative)

      by omnichad ( 1198475 ) on Tuesday August 23, 2022 @01:36PM (#62814809) Homepage

      It's a state school in this case. I'm not sure it would equally apply to private schools. State Universities do have to protect other Constitutional rights already. This is not a stretch.

      • Yeah, net result will be that students at state schools will have to travel to campus or to an approved proctoring facility, while students at private schools can continue to take tests from the convenience of their own home.

      • Re: (Score:1)

        by Veretax ( 872660 )
        Don't know about private schools, especially if federal funding is being provide as financial aid. But the profit certification mills, possibly, might still get away with this I'd imagine.

    • The Fourth Amendment applies only to searches by the government, and the school is not the government.

      Scanning someone's room is also a much less invasive search than what happens at US airports where it is the government directly conducting the search so I do not see how someone consenting to a scan of their room so they can take their exam at home is not allowed when, in order to fly, you have to consent to a public groping or naked body scan.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Holi ( 250190 )
        Do you think you have an expectation of privacy at the airport?
        Do you think you have an expectation of privacy in your bedroom?

        See the difference?

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by cowdung ( 702933 )

          Do you have the expectation of privacy during an exam?

          If you don't want to scan your room, go somewhere else.

          Proctoring centers may be practical for some, but it would make many forms of online learning today impractical. Especially when we consider their international nature.

        • No, I do not see any difference because it is not an expectation of privacy in your bedroom it is an expectation of privacy during an exam and it is not reasonable for anyone to expect that since then there is no way to ensure that you are not cheating. Unless the university's rules explicitly state that you mjust take the exam in your bedroom then you are not required to video your bedroom - that was something you chose to do.

    • It seems like this could easily lose on appeal. The student isn't being forced to give up their privacy unilaterally, they are choosing to submit to testing protocols in exchange for the convenience of taking a test from home. If they'd rather not let the testing department scan for obvious signs of cheating, they can travel to campus or to a test proctoring facility.

      • Re: (Score:1)

        by davidwr ( 791652 )

        It seems like this could easily lose on appeal.

        The student had a health or some other particular reason why he couldn't or shouldn't go to campus for the exam. An appeals court might send it back to the trial court with instructions to narrow the ruling significantly.

        In other words, when the appeals are all said and done, this particular plaintiff may walk away with a "win" but it won't be applicable to most students.

  • A doctor also cuts into your body with a knife, perfectly legal if you consent.
    If not, go die somewhere else.

    • This is more akin to:

      How would you feel if a company asked, as part of a job interview, for your social media credentials?

      What if asking for SM credentials became standard interview practice?

      Hey, you can always say no, right?

      • Sure, go ahead and have my social media credentials. Have fun!

      • Re: (Score:3)

        by dcw3 ( 649211 )

        This is more akin to:

        How would you feel if a company asked, as part of a job interview, for your social media credentials?

        What if asking for SM credentials became standard interview practice?

        Hey, you can always say no, right?

        That is available to companies in some states.
        https://www.nolo.com/legal-enc... [nolo.com]

  • workaround lol (Score:3)

    by shentino ( 1139071 ) <shentino@gmail.com> on Tuesday August 23, 2022 @01:41PM (#62814827)

    I used my own college's library to take a remotely proctored test.

    Using one of their own laptops hooked up via the college's own wifi.

    Every bug in society has a workaround.

    • Is that a workaround? It seems like a straight-up better solution.

      I'd rather not have to work with anybody who cheated their way into the job.

      • The best workarounds are the ones that don't defy the spirit of the rule.

        I preserved my home's privacy while still preserving the integrity of the test I was taking.

        Working around a bug is not cheating.

        Dishonestly claiming expertise you know damn well you don't have, however, is.

        Which is why honorable colleges with reputations worth using to entice an employer have a zero tolerance policy for cheating.

  • The company that proctors the FAA testing does the same

  • "students frequently acquiesce in their use." If YOU were taking a test, and some professor etc, said "we need to scan your room with your camera, OR ELSE hard to believe they wouldn't do it! It's still a violation, and should be treated as such. Yeah, I know why they do it...prevent cheating. Well, then have the d*mn test in the classroom.

  • What exactly makes it an unreasonable search?

    Are you not voluntarily accepting this? If not, sorry you can't take the test and must go to a testing center.

    If this were a private school (I didn't read the story...shocker, I know), the school is not an arm of the government, and that's what your constitutional rights protect you from. Similar to how your free speech can be blocked on web sites not owned by; the government.

  • "room scans are 'standard industry wide practice

    Just because everyone's doing it doesn't make it legal.

    This is just another one of those "we HAVE to do it because reasons!" No, that's not how it works. If your business model relies on violating people's rights or breaking the law, you need to change your business model, or go out of business.

    We've been seeing this a lot with law enforcement, things like "this encryption is making our jobs difficult, so it has to stop!" No, you need to find a method tha

  • I guess the Supreme Court would overturn this ruling.

  • I took an ISACA certificate test 2 years ago during the lockdown and it was the single-worst testing experience of my life. I had to do the room scan, which is understandable, but then had to remove EVERY object on any surface in the room. After all of that, I started the test and the test was stopped after about 20 minutes because a dog was barking outside and the remote proctor thought someone was talking to me. After 10 minutes of convincing him there was nobody else even in the house, the test came t

  • The university, in defense, argues that "room scans are 'standard industry wide practice,'" and that "students frequently acquiesce in their use."

    Not taking a position on the wisdom of the decision, but I like how this argument amounts to "it can't be unconstitutional, no one has ever told us we're not allowed to do it". Down that way lies madness.

  • Have people go to classrooms, sit through classes, take tests with a professor or grad student. The article mentions Cleveland State. There's a campus and classrooms at 2121 Euclid Ave, Cleveland, OH 44115. One of the other referenced articles is University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Its a top 50 land grant university from 1867. Its got classrooms and professors. Stop doing everything video conference.

    Every single example I've seen of online schools, online test taking, online education of almost a

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