About Access Codes

When Honorlock is enabled for an assessment in Canvas, Honorlock automatically generates an exam password or access code for it. Instructors will see this access code when viewing the Canvas quiz settings, under Quiz Restrictions. The Honorlock-generated access code has the format "HL_NO_EDIT_XXXXX", as shown in the following example:

Instructors should not remove or alter the Honorlock-generated access code in the Canvas quiz settings. If the Honorlock-generated access code is removed, students will be able to take their assessment without being proctored. If the Honorlock generated password/access code is altered students will not be able to get into their exam at all.

There is no need to share the Honorlock-generated access code with students because when students launch the assessment the access code is plugged in behind the scenes. Students never see the access code or interact with it. However, if instructors share the access code with students (intentionally or by accident), the instructor can simply disable Honorlock for that assessment and re-enable it again in order to generate a brand new, unique access code. 

Honorlock runs a process behind the scenes twice daily to re-apply any deleted access codes. This is because assessments that are set up to use Honorlock must have a Canvas access code to successfully proctor students.

For complete information about this feature, please refer to this Honorlock document.

Additional Instructor Tips

The following are considerations that instructors should make note of when enabling Honorlock for an assessment.

• Browser Guard
  • If students are required to access an application outside of their exam, such as Microsoft Word or Excel, Browser Guard will need to be disabled for the assessment.
• Allowed URLs
  • If you would like your students to reference a website during the exam, you have the ability to allow specific URLS. Keep in mind, the more granular the website URL, the better control over what content is able to be accessed by your students.
• Images
  • If you are going to include any images or diagrams within your assessment, please ensure that you have granted you students permission to those files.