BetterExaminations

BetterExaminations - End-to-End Exam Management & Online eAssessment Solution

BetterExamination's eAssessment platform is an end-to-end high-stake digital exam management and assessment delivery platform. Securely create, approve, manage, deliver, proctor, invigilate and mark examinations through a single cloud-based system. Everything you need to securely prepare, draft, share, comment, edit, and approve paper exams for administrators, lecturers, and external examiners.

Features

• Cloud platform - anywhere, anytime with over 50 question types
• A complete solution to manage the entire exam process
• Exam approval, support for external examiners and custom workflows
• Innovative assessments to offer new forms of assessments
• Invigilation and proctoring options for increased exam integrity
• Intuitive marking and feedback platform with customised rubrics
• Post exam analytics.
• Flexible user types including exam staff, academics & external examiners
• Flexible proctoring & invigilation options
• Exam management & governance features

Benefits

• Allows students to work on their own devices, anywhere
• Secure, control and easy plan assessment processes
• Innovative assessments, across all disciplines with over 50 question types
• Increased exam management administrative efficiencies
• Improved productivity through a very user friendly interface
• End-to-end platform to improve exam efficiency for staff and students
• Comprehensive reporting dashboard
• Support for online exams, paper exams or hybrid
• Strong security, encryption and scalability features
• Integration with student management systems and virtual learning environments

£6.00 a unit a year

• Education pricing available
• Free trial available

Service documents

• Pricing document

  PDF

• Skills Framework for the Information Age rate card

  PDF

• Service definition document

  PDF

• Terms and conditions

  PDF

Request an accessible format

If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need versions of these documents in a more accessible format, email the supplier at piero.tintori@betterexaminations.com. Tell them what format you need. It will help if you say what assistive technology you use.

Framework

G-Cloud 14

Service ID

407851150434394

Contact

Piero Tintori
1753 542 234
piero.tintori@betterexaminations.com

Service scope

• Software add-on or extension: No
• Cloud deployment model:
  • Public cloud
  • Private cloud
• Service constraints: N/A
• System requirements: Modern web browser

User support

• Email or online ticketing support: Email or online ticketing
• Support response times: Our standard SLA is outlined in our Service Definition document. Our standard help desk operates 9am to 5.30pm, Monday to Friday with 24/7 monitoring and fault remediation. Support window is larger during exam periods.
• User can manage status and priority of support tickets: No
• Phone support: Yes
• Phone support availability: 9 to 5 (UK time), Monday to Friday
• Web chat support: Web chat
• Web chat support availability: 9 to 5 (UK time), Monday to Friday
• Web chat support accessibility standard: WCAG 2.1 AA or EN 301 549
• Web chat accessibility testing: We internally conduct automated testing and manual testing with assistive technology users.
• Onsite support: Yes, at extra cost
• Support levels: Service provided as outlined in the pricing document provided. ; 1 - Critical impact/service down: Business critical functionality is inoperable or critical interface has failed. Condition requires an immediate solution. Response: Within 2 hours. ; ; 2 - Significant impact: A service feature or function is severely restricted in its use or Client is in jeopardy of missing business deadlines. Response: Within 3 business hours, Monday to Friday business hours. ; ; 3 - Minor impact: Indicates the service or functionality is usable. Response: Within 8 business hours, Monday to Friday business hours. ; ; 4 - Minimal impact: An inquiry or non-technical request. Response: Within 1 business day, Monday to Friday business hours
• Support available to third parties: No

Onboarding and offboarding

• Getting started: Onboarding is an important stage and we ensure our clients are at ease throughout the process with minimal work. Our Sure Start package includes: Onsite Training Days for Staff Online Support and Web Chat User Documentation Tutorial Videos
• Service documentation: Yes
• Documentation formats: HTML
• End-of-contract data extraction: At the end of the contract, all customer data will be made available for extraction, using either APIs or other tools to transfer the data to a new system/storage. Once transferred, all data held by BetterExaminations will be securely destroyed in line with ISO 27001 best practices.
• End-of-contract process: At the end of the contract, we will provide support as required to extract any existing data from BetterExaminations systems and transfer them to the customer/new supplier. This will be priced using the provided day rates as the exact level of support will vary from customer to customer and installation to installation.

Using the service

• Web browser interface: Yes
• Supported browsers:
  • Microsoft Edge
  • Firefox
  • Chrome
  • Safari
  • Opera
• Application to install: No
• Designed for use on mobile devices: Yes
• Differences between the mobile and desktop service: Users have the same range of functionality on mobile as desktop.
• Service interface: Yes
• User support accessibility: WCAG 2.1 AA or EN 301 549
• Description of service interface: There is a full HTML service interface implemented into our solution that meets ATAG-AA standards.
• Accessibility standards: WCAG 2.1 AA or EN 301 549
• Accessibility testing: We conduct technical testing but also user testing using screen reader technology.
• API: Yes
• What users can and can't do using the API: Users can interact with the system using the API in various ways however we provide a user interface for it for practical use.
• API documentation: Yes
• API documentation formats: HTML
• API sandbox or test environment: Yes
• Customisation available: Yes
• Description of customisation: Customisation is available. The display can be altered to include customer logos, colour schemes and small UI changes to align with customer branding. This varies among customers and is defined during the project implementation stage.

Scaling

• Independence of resources: BetterExaminations was created to respond to the growing needs of large higher education institutions that need to manage thousands of students and examinations, with students across the globe. Scaling and meeting the demands of modern higher education institutions is of paramount importance to us and a core part of the platform's architectural design. ; BetterExaminations uses Amazon Web Services as our hosting provider which allows the system to automatically create new resources such as new servers, in the event that more are needed to deal with the extra demand.

Analytics

• Service usage metrics: Yes
• Metrics types: Student usage metrics as well as Exam Management reports
• Reporting types:
  • API access
  • Real-time dashboards

Resellers

• Supplier type: Not a reseller

Staff security

• Staff security clearance: Other security clearance
• Government security clearance: Up to Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS)

Asset protection

• Knowledge of data storage and processing locations: Yes
• Data storage and processing locations: United Kingdom
• User control over data storage and processing locations: Yes
• Datacentre security standards: Managed by a third party
• Penetration testing frequency: At least every 6 months
• Penetration testing approach: Another external penetration testing organisation
• Protecting data at rest: Physical access control, complying with SSAE-16 / ISAE 3402
• Data sanitisation process: Yes
• Data sanitisation type: Explicit overwriting of storage before reallocation
• Equipment disposal approach: Complying with a recognised standard, for example CSA CCM v.30, CAS (Sanitisation) or ISO/IEC 27001

Data importing and exporting

• Data export approach: Data can be exported in a number of common formats, such as csv, file extraction and pdf. It can also interact with VLEs. This is configurable on a user roles basis, so users can only export the appropriate data that they should have access to.
• Data export formats: CSV
• Data import formats: CSV

Data-in-transit protection

• Data protection between buyer and supplier networks: TLS (version 1.2 or above)
• Data protection within supplier network: TLS (version 1.2 or above)

Availability and resilience

• Guaranteed availability: BetterExaminations offers incredibly high performance and availability throughout the year. The system is highly fault-tolerant and takes advantage of the latest Amazon Web Services technologies to facilitate this. BetterExaminations maintains separate resilient and scalable DynamoDB databases in multiple access zones, ensuring that if one database is not working, the other can take over in its place. We offer a 99.95% availability, assured by contractual commitments. Exact SLAs will vary from client to client.
• Approach to resilience: BetterExaminations uses Amazon Web Services as our hosting provider which allows the system to automatically create new resources such as new servers in the event that more are needed to deal with the extra demand from other users. BetterExaminations runs servers in multiple data centres so that if one data centre becomes unavailable, the other can take over. BetterExaminations also does the same for our databases, where we always have a completely separate database which is in a different location ready to take over in the event of an outage of one of them.
• Outage reporting: We have a public dashboard at http://status.betterexaminations.com

Identity and authentication

• User authentication needed: Yes
• User authentication:
  • 2-factor authentication
  • Identity federation with existing provider (for example Google Apps)
  • Username or password
• Access restrictions in management interfaces and support channels: Each user on the system has a defined access level which is given by the administrator user for each client. Access to different interfaces in the system is governed and restricted by this access level.
• Access restriction testing frequency: At least every 6 months
• Management access authentication:
  • 2-factor authentication
  • Public key authentication (including by TLS client certificate)
  • Identity federation with existing provider (for example Google Apps)
  • Username or password

Audit information for users

• Access to user activity audit information: Users contact the support team to get audit information
• How long user audit data is stored for: User-defined
• Access to supplier activity audit information: Users contact the support team to get audit information
• How long supplier audit data is stored for: User-defined
• How long system logs are stored for: User-defined

Standards and certifications

• ISO/IEC 27001 certification: Yes
• Who accredited the ISO/IEC 27001: BM Trada
• ISO/IEC 27001 accreditation date: 20 October 2015 (first awarded)
• What the ISO/IEC 27001 doesn’t cover: N/A
• ISO 28000:2007 certification: No
• CSA STAR certification: Yes
• CSA STAR accreditation date: 11/11/2016
• CSA STAR certification level: Level 2: CSA STAR Attestation
• What the CSA STAR doesn’t cover: N/A
• PCI certification: No
• Cyber essentials: Yes
• Cyber essentials plus: No
• Other security certifications: Yes
• Any other security certifications:
  • Amazon Web Services Advanced Parter (Higher Education Competency)
  • ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management System

Security governance

• Named board-level person responsible for service security: Yes
• Security governance certified: Yes
• Security governance standards: ISO/IEC 27001
• Information security policies and processes: BetterExaminations adheres to all criteria outlined in the ISO 27001 certification. Security is a pillar of our business structure and we engage in penetration testing and analysis of our software on an ongoing basis. Further details and documentation regarding our internal policies can be obtained at the buyer's request.

Operational security

• Configuration and change management standard: Conforms to a recognised standard, for example CSA CCM v3.0 or SSAE-16 / ISAE 3402
• Configuration and change management approach: Change management of network and infrastructure equipment is part of our ISMS, based on ISO 27001 standards. Changes are categorised depending on their impact and risk and are approved or rejected by change advisory boards (consisting of members of the business responsible for the infrastructure in question, as well as representatives from other business areas or customers who could be affected by the change). Normal changes require a full testing and rollback plan as well as scheduled notification for the affected parties. Where possible, changes are managed using automated configuration management systems.
• Vulnerability management type: Conforms to a recognised standard, for example CSA CCM v3.0 or SSAE-16 / ISAE 3402
• Vulnerability management approach: Information security hazards at Better Examinations can emerge from our business activities that require us to comply with Data Protection legislation and arise when we store data on our own customers in our systems (Better Examinations acts as a Data Controller) or when we store information on our customer’s counterparts in our systems to allow them to operate our services (Better Examinations acts as a Data Processor). Security patches are also automatically applied to our services by AWS and we get information about potential threats from various security services and websites.
• Protective monitoring type: Conforms to a recognised standard, for example CSA CCM v3.0 or SSAE-16 / ISAE 3402
• Protective monitoring approach: We identify potential compromises by reviewing logs at regular intervals and monitoring network traffic for unusual traffic requests. BetterExaminations considers it vitally important for us to ensure the continued privacy/confidentiality of client-held information and the integrity of the Better Examinations systems. Accordingly, all non‐conformities are classified as minor, major, or critical and reported to the appropriate manager for further investigation.
• Incident management type: Conforms to a recognised standard, for example, CSA CCM v3.0 or ISO/IEC 27035:2011 or SSAE-16 / ISAE 3402
• Incident management approach: A non-conformity, whether it is process-related, contractual, or policy-based, may be detected at any stage in relation to any area of the integrated organisational management system. The non-conformities generally arise as a result of the reporting by customers or staff, of issues that can be classified under the following 4 headings: Information Security Events, Systematic Issues, Problems, and Complaints. Users can report incidents via email or our helpdesk and we provide incident reports where relevant via email.

Secure development

• Approach to secure software development best practice: Independent review of processes (for example CESG CPA Build Standard, ISO/IEC 27034, ISO/IEC 27001 or CSA CCM v3.0)

Public sector networks

• Connection to public sector networks: No

Social Value

• Social Value:

  Social Value

  • Fighting climate change
  • Equal opportunity

  Fighting climate change

  BetterExaminations, as part of the Terminalfour group, has saved 53 Metric Tonnes of equivalent CO2 compared to on-premises computing. 40 tonnes of this has been because of Amazon's use of renewable energy and 12 tonnes due to efficient power usage by AWS, thus saving Terminalfour's clients 75% of potential carbon emissions. We're committed to our approach to climate change, sustainability, and reducing our carbon footprint. ; ; Using the BetterExaminations platform can also help organisations positively impact the environment. By delivering exams remotely, users can reduce travel-related emissions associated with visiting an examination centre. ; ; BetterExaminations invests in conducting a socially responsible business, and we work hard to ensure we abide by and improve our three pillars of CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility), including keeping a careful eye on our Environmental Impact. Our environmental footprint is minimal; we work on an office floor. We are 99% paperless, reuse or recycle when possible, and have no waste products or physical materials to source as part of our service offering. ; ; We've implemented effective waste management and recycling practices at BetterExaminations. We also have sessions with all employees to increase awareness of our environmental responsibilities. Additionally, we promote sustainable transport and communication among all our staff members. ; ; We're committed to reducing the environmental impact across our organisation's scope where possible, including our supply chain. We enforce centralised patch management; recommend internal repurposing over outright disposal, ensure that all data is sanitised before being reassigned; ensure physical assets and media from departing employees are treated the same way as data sanitisation; comply with regulations regarding hazardous waste, and follow proper procedures and processes regarding permanent equipment disposal. ; ; All data stored in AWS data centres are also destroyed per ISO 27001-certified policies. AWS has exacting standards for installing services and eventually destroys the devices when they're no longer useful.

  Equal opportunity

  BetterExaminations is committed to creating an environment that promotes equality at work and treating all employees, customers, and business contacts equally regardless of gender, civil status, family status, sexual orientation, religion, age, disability, race, caste, or membership of the travelling community. BetterExaminations will formulate and implement policies and practices that value diversity, provide equality of opportunity and ensure that no job applicant, employee, customer or business associate receives less favourable treatment on any of the nine aforementioned grounds. We'll also ensure that other policies and practices reflect our commitment to treating people fairly, promoting an integrated way of working, and respecting every employee's dignity at all times. Our managers are expected to promote an integrated workplace and proactively eliminate any potential inequities which may be counter to the organisation’s policy. Our organisation believes that embracing equality and diversity in the workplace benefits each employee, department, and our customers/clients. Each employee brings their own background, work style, distinct capabilities, experience, and characteristics to their work. We recognise that our talented and diverse workforce reflects the diversity of our customers and markets, and we want to utilise the widest range of skills, knowledge, and experience in our business while complying with legislation. As well as treating people with dignity and respect, the organisation also strives to create a supportive environment in which all employees can flourish and reach their full potential regardless of differences, experience, or education. Harnessing these diverse ranges of perspectives promotes innovation and helps make us more creative and competitive in recruitment. Our recruitment policy reflects our belief that diversity in all areas, including cultural, generational, language, and national backgrounds, is necessary to help us succeed in both domestic and global markets. Wherever possible, women, minorities, and people with disabilities will be involved in the short-listing and interviewing processes.

Pricing

• Price: £6.00 a unit a year
• Discount for educational organisations: Yes
• Free trial available: Yes
• Description of free trial: While the trial instance mirrors some of the features and functionalities of the BetterExaminations Online system, it doesn’t include all of them. We’ve created a sample environment for our trial that lets users experience the BetterExaminations Online platform before it’s configured to their requirements.

Service documents

• Pricing document

  PDF

• Skills Framework for the Information Age rate card

  PDF

• Service definition document

  PDF

• Terms and conditions

  PDF

Request an accessible format

If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need versions of these documents in a more accessible format, email the supplier at piero.tintori@betterexaminations.com. Tell them what format you need. It will help if you say what assistive technology you use.