Paul Naybour
With more people able to take professional exams online we answer some important questions below specifically about how APM exams work online.
How will they invigilate the exam?
The exam is invigilated by a remote proctor. The monitor you though a microphone, webcam and an app on a mobile phone. The APM is issuing detailed guidance on the technology required but in summary, you need a personal computer with Google Chrome installed, webcam and microphone and mobile device (phone or tablet). The exam system will not load any software on your computer, they do ask you to add an extension to Google Chrome. This is why Google Chrome is the only supported browser. The APM advise that the exam is unlikely to work on a corporate PC unless you have admin rights. Just like classroom exams, you will need a photo ID.
We strongly recommend testing your system in advance and you will get an e-mail from the exam service 36 hours before the exam. This way you know that at the time of your exam all the technology will work and you can focus on the questions.
Where do I go for technical support?
In the first instance if the remote proctor will provide support. If the test is not working then the best approach is to contact the APM qualifications team and they will investigate the problems for you.
What do I need to to to set up my system?
How do I Book the Online Exam?
For now, the APM is asking that training providers book and schedule the exam. We are planning to give you a selection of dates on which you can take the exam. One will be the time you would have taken the exam on a traditional classroom course (typically Friday afternoon for the PMQ course). The other will be the following week, to give you time to prepare, this second option might be in the evening to accommodate people with child care commitments.
What happens if I need extra time of reasonable accommodation or a scribe in the room?
This can be arranged, as it was with a paper exam, but needs suitable medical evidence to be submitted to the APM in good time before the exam. Typically we would recommend the medical evidence be submitted at least 10 days before the exam.
What environment do I need to take the exam?
To take the exam you will need an “exam conditions” room where you can concentrate for 3 hours without interruption. The room should be silent during the exam. And you cannot use books, notes, mobile phones or other devices during the exam. If you really need to then you can go to the toilet.
When will I get my results?
The results will come out 10 weeks after the completion of the exam as with the normal results.
Next Steps
If you have an exam coming up with Parallel, we will be in touch once we have the final details from the APM on how the exam will work.
Download the user guide here:
Here you can download the full Online Exam user guide to find out more about how the exams work online.
thanks sir for providing us such a great information
Thank you for sharing this really useful info. given my first attempt at sitting my APM PM exam was not successful due to technical challenges/combined with lack of user (my)making sufficient time to commit to do a test run before the go live exam date.
Lesson learnt – preparation/planning is the golden component of delivering a successful project and I am treating my exam as a “major project”.
Rose
See if your employer can organise a face-to-face HTML exam we have found them much less stressful with much higher pass rates. If you have any questions give us a call and we will see what we can do.