HSE Proctor: Villain or Friend
Due to the unknown, many people falsely assume that the proctor is some kind of villain whose goal is to take you down and therefore students are afraid during the exam. Let's find out whether this is actually true in a conversation with proctor Ivan, who regularly participates in the proctoring procedure.
Hi! I am Vanya and I am 18 years old. I have been living alone in Moscow for nine months now and I support myself by working as a web developer at a startup. By the way, I lived all my life on Sakhalin, but often visited Moscow on business or just to meet with friends, so in May 2023 I moved to a cozy studio in the north-west of Moscow. Furthermore, I always tried to achieve more for my age, so already at the age of 17 I separated from my parents and began to immerse myself in an independent life, because of this, after 11th grade I decided to take a gap year. After the gap year, I plan to enroll at HSE’s Moscow campus this year. 2 years ago, I first became acquainted with the HSE Olympiads as a participant and from that moment I have been very inspired by them, and now I help develop almost all DDIC (Directorate for the Development of Intellectual Competitions) projects on the part of the organizer.
I became acquainted with proctoring as a participant in DANO (Data Analysis National Olympiad) in 2022, and joined the team of proctors this Olympiad season and have not missed a single round (of which there were already 7)! As a participant in the HSE Olympiads, I was very impressed by the atmosphere and decided that I wanted to participate in organizing this. The most important thing for me in the Olympiads is to see happy, motivated participants and to understand what opportunities these projects give them.
The situation that I remembered most is when a participant accidentally chewed a pen and sat with a blue face for some time. Then, of course, he went to the toilet to wipe the pen ink off his face, however, returned even bluer. He sat like that until the end of the tour. Pets, especially cats, also very often come running to the participants. This is very uplifting and helps relieve stress for the proctoring participant.
The most important thing in proctoring is to understand that the proctor is not trying to fail the participant, but only to help to write an exam or Olympiad. Many people worry during proctoring and think that they can’t even breathe normally, but this is not so. You should be comfortable writing a proctored test, but don't go overboard. You shouldn’t sing or say the terms of the assignments out loud, just imagine that you are in a classroom with other students who, like you, are writing this test and do not really want to be distracted.
It was my pleasure! I would also like to say that I have taken part in proctoring several times and this is what it gave me:
- various acquaintances with versatile people from all faculties of HSE.
- souvenirs and Olympics merch. Yes, yes, after completing the tour, each proctor is given a pack with gifts, for example, I already have T-shirts, notebooks and stickers.
- it made me realize that writing proctored exams is not scary if you do not plan to cheat. Honest students have nothing to fear because your work will not be annulled accidentally.
- every time the organizers treat us to tea, coffee, and various snacks, which creates an atmosphere of comfort during work.
Well, I hope all the myths about proctoring have been dispelled and now you will write exams or Olympiads with peace of mind and not worry about anything. Proctors are cheerful people just like you, whose goal is to create a favorable atmosphere for you and help you in case of technical problems.
If you are inspired and have a desire to also take part as a proctor, then follow the updates in the HSE Olympiad Volunteers telegram channel.
HSE Olympiad Volunteers telegram channel: https://t.me/vol_olymps
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