Proctoring Guide

Before an activity

• All students should be given the Student's Guide and encouraged to install MATCHA well ahead of time and complete the onboarding activity. Once onboarding has been successfully completed, the app permanently displays a small green checkmark badge at the bottom right of the screen.
• If students write on their own computers, which is what MATCHA is designed for, procedures should be established in advance for handling computer malfunctions. We recommend planning to fall back to pencil and paper when necessary.
• Letting students know that a paper fallback will be used can also incentivize them to bring well-functioning computers.
• If your institution uses MATCHA Writer Plus cloud sync, it can make sense to keep one or more standby computers ready with MATCHA pre-installed. A student whose computer fails can sign in on a standby machine and continue from the synced project.
• Proctors should know whether the activity allows MATCHA's built-in AI assistant and, if so, what level of help is permitted. Permitted AI help inside MATCHA is different from using outside AI tools or separate devices.

During an activity

Check-in and check-out

For supervised activities, proctors normally check students in and out by scanning QR codes on their screens in MATCHA Proctor. This confirms that the student is working from the supervised space and, when seat numbers are used, ties the session to a specific seat.

You can let students start writing before check-in using the "Start writing" option in the Action menu. This will remove the Check-In block with the big QR and let already connected students start writing.

If you use this feature, any student who has connected from outside the room (perhaps if given the access code by someone inside the room) will be able to write unsupervised. However, their document will not be valid at submission unless they are eventually checked in from the beginning of their writing.

For this reason, circumventing the check-in system requires them to eventually come into the room to check in. Proctors should ensure that late students start from scratch. Do not check them in if they arrive at the activity with their computer already able to write. Make them start the activity from scratch (even if the main document is blank, there could be content they can bring back with undo or that is hidden elsewhere in the app).

Policy violations and unlocks

In proctored settings, MATCHA can suspend a student session when a policy violation is detected, such as leaving the secured writing environment. The student must then be unlocked by a proctor before continuing. Proctors should treat this as a real intervention point: confirm what happened before unlocking and make sure the student is back in an acceptable testing state.

AI assistant use

If the instructor enabled MATCHA's AI assistant, students may use it at the configured level during the activity. AI-made changes are tracked and reported in the Writing Analysis. Proctors should intervene only when students use AI outside MATCHA, exceed the permitted assistant level, or use another device or service in violation of the activity rules.

Outage codes

If a student loses access to the MATCHA services during the activity, a proctor can approve outage mode with an outage code so the student can continue writing locally. Outage approval should be given only when the participant genuinely cannot connect and should be allowed to continue.

Outage mode has important limitations, especially around later submission and certification. See the Internet and power outages guide for the full procedure and recovery requirements.

Cheating reports

If cheating reports are enabled, students can discreetly report suspicious behavior during the activity. These reports are sent to MATCHA Proctor together with the reporting student's name, seat number, and the relative direction of the concern, helping proctors investigate quickly in the room.

Operational recommendations for proctors

• Make sure students have the activity open before you begin scanning, so check-in moves quickly.
• Use seat numbers consistently if the room layout allows it, since this improves the value of both attendance records and cheating reports.