u/BBA_0197

Hi everyone,
I’m looking for advice on how to handle a situation with my professor after a final exam.

I recently took a proctored final exam using Respondus LockDown Browser with webcam monitoring. After the exam, my professor emailed me saying she reviewed the recording and has concerns about possible violations.
She mentioned two main issues:

During the environment check, she saw what looked like a desktop monitor on my desk

My laptop microphone was turned off during the exam, which she says violates exam rules and makes it unclear whether another device was being used

I replied explaining my situation, but I’m still really worried about how this is going to go.

Here’s what actually happened:
I had just moved out of my dorm the night before the exam, so my room was still in the middle of being unpacked and messy

I normally use a desktop setup with two monitors, but everything was fully disconnected because I hadn’t set it back up yet

One monitor was still physically on my desk, but it was unplugged and not connected to anything

The desktop PC itself was completely powered off and not connected at all

I only used my laptop for the exam

I also made sure to move my phone behind me and keep my desk as clear as possible

About the microphone issue:
Respondus made me pass the camera/mic check before starting the exam

I didn’t intentionally turn off the microphone

I assumed it had to be working because Respondus wouldn’t let me continue otherwise (I also had issues earlier in the semester when AirPods were detected and I had to disconnect them before starting)

I also had to take the exam in my room because there were other people in the house and dogs barking, so I had no other quiet place available.

I’ve already emailed her a detailed explanation and offered to provide:
pictures of my desk setup
pictures of my normal monitor setup
screenshots/photos of my handwritten notes and scratch work from the exam
I’m really stressed because I did not cheat and I’m worried this is going to turn into a serious academic integrity issue.

TL;DR:
Professor thinks I cheated on a Respondus final because a monitor was visible during setup and my mic was off. I had just moved, my desktop was fully disconnected, and I only used my laptop. I already sent a detailed explanation and offered evidence, but I’m worried it still looks bad.

I just finished my math final using Pearson with Respondus LockDown Browser and Respondus Monitor and I honestly want to know how sensitive this software actually is because I am stressing myself out badly right now.

This was for a college math class and the exam rules were open handwritten or printed notes only. No calculators, phones, tablets, second monitors, or any other devices were allowed. Browser was fully locked down.

The problem is my desk setup was awful for this exam. My desk is not very big and there honestly was not enough room directly in front of my laptop to comfortably write out all the work for the math problems. A lot of the exam involved trigonometry and algebra work where I had to constantly write steps out to solve things.

Because of that I kept having to write on the right side of my laptop instead of directly in front of the camera. Sometimes I even had my notebook kind of on top of my desk chair beside me because I needed more room to write everything out. I was still sitting in front of the camera the whole time and my upper body was visible, but I kept looking down and to the right while solving problems because that is where my paper was.

You could not always see exactly what I was writing because it was slightly off to the side of the camera view, but I was genuinely just doing math work and using my allowed notes. I was not using a phone or another device.

I am especially nervous because earlier in the semester my LockDown Browser crashed during an exam and my professor had me retake the test in person. On the retake I actually got a lower grade and had less time than before, but she mentioned that she thought I may have used AI the first time because of the difference between the scores. Ever since then I have been paranoid about every little movement during online exams.

For this final I even went out of my way to do extra things during the environment scan. I physically showed my desk area, rotated the laptop around for the 360 scan, and put my phone behind me completely out of reach and out of view before starting.

There were also dogs barking in the background during parts of the exam which made me even more distracted and anxious.

My main question is how sensitive is Respondus Monitor actually? Does it heavily track eye movement and head movement? Does looking down repeatedly trigger flags automatically? What about moving your hands partially out of frame while writing? If someone keeps looking down to the side while solving math problems does that usually get flagged?

I know people cheat with this software sometimes, but I also feel like normal math test behavior can look suspicious if your setup is not perfect. I am probably overthinking this but I genuinely want to know how this software works from people who have used it or from professors who review the recordings.

I just finished my math final using Pearson with Respondus LockDown Browser and Respondus Monitor and I honestly want to know how sensitive this software actually is because I am stressing myself out badly right now.

This was for a college math class and the exam rules were open handwritten or printed notes only. No calculators, phones, tablets, second monitors, or any other devices were allowed. Browser was fully locked down.

The problem is my desk setup was awful for this exam. My desk is not very big and there honestly was not enough room directly in front of my laptop to comfortably write out all the work for the math problems. A lot of the exam involved trigonometry and algebra work where I had to constantly write steps out to solve things.

Because of that I kept having to write on the right side of my laptop instead of directly in front of the camera. Sometimes I even had my notebook kind of on top of my desk chair beside me because I needed more room to write everything out. I was still sitting in front of the camera the whole time and my upper body was visible, but I kept looking down and to the right while solving problems because that is where my paper was.

You could not always see exactly what I was writing because it was slightly off to the side of the camera view, but I was genuinely just doing math work and using my allowed notes. I was not using a phone or another device.

I am nervous because earlier in the semester my LockDown Browser crashed during an exam and my professor had me retake the test in person. On the retake I actually got a lower grade and had less time than before, but she mentioned that she thought I may have used AI the first time because of the difference between the scores. Ever since then I have been paranoid about every little movement during online exams.

For this final I even went out of my way to do extra things during the environment scan. I physically showed my desk area, rotated the laptop around for the 360 scan, and put my phone behind me completely out of reach and out of view before starting.

There were also dogs barking in the background during parts of the exam which made me even more distracted and anxious.

My main question is how sensitive is Respondus Monitor actually? Does it heavily track eye movement and head movement? Does looking down repeatedly trigger flags automatically? What about moving your hands partially out of frame while writing? If someone keeps looking down to the side while solving math problems does that usually get flagged?

I know people cheat with this software sometimes, but I also feel like normal math test behavior can look suspicious if your setup is not perfect. I am probably overthinking this but I genuinely want to know how this software works from people who have used it or from professors who review the recordings.