Respondus can be proctored and can be not-proctored in the same course, because Respondus is two separate products and only one of them watches you. Understanding which is running is the whole answer to the question.
The two parts
Respondus LockDown Browser is a locked-down browser. It replaces your normal browser for the exam, blocks new tabs, prevents switching to other applications, stops copy-paste to outside programs, and can block keyboard shortcuts. By itself it does not record video. It restricts your computer; it does not observe you.
Respondus Monitor is the proctoring layer that sits on top of LockDown Browser. It uses your webcam and microphone to record the session, runs a setup check with a 360-degree room scan, and generates automated behaviour flags for the instructor to review. When people say "Respondus is watching me", this is the part they mean.
So the accurate answer:
- LockDown Browser only: locked environment, no live proctor, no video recording.
- LockDown Browser plus Respondus Monitor: recorded, flagged, and reviewed by a human after the exam. That is remote auto-proctoring — there is no live person watching in real time, which surprises a lot of students.
How to tell which one your exam is running
- Look for the setup check. Monitor makes you run a webcam check, an audio check, and a room scan before the exam starts. If you never see a camera prompt, Monitor is not on.
- Read the exam instructions. Instructors using Monitor usually state it, because you need a working camera to sit the exam.
- Check whether your camera light comes on. If the light activates during the session, video is being captured.
- Ask the instructor directly. "Is this LockDown Browser only, or LockDown Browser with Monitor?" is a precise question and gets a definite answer.
What each one can catch
| LockDown Browser | LockDown Browser + Monitor | |
|---|---|---|
| Opening another tab or app | Blocked | Blocked |
| Copy-paste out of the exam | Blocked | Blocked |
| Video of you during the exam | No | Yes |
| Audio during the exam | No | Yes |
| Looking away from the screen | No | Flagged |
| Another person in the room | No | Flagged |
| Second monitor or notes on the desk | No | Visible in the room scan |
The pattern is clear: LockDown Browser handles software, Monitor handles the physical room.
Practical preparation
If it is LockDown Browser only: close everything you do not need beforehand, because you may not be able to reach it once the exam starts. Log out of other accounts, quit background applications, and make sure any permitted reference material is available inside the locked environment or printed as allowed. Test that you can type normally — locked browsers occasionally interfere with alternative keyboard layouts.
If Monitor is also running: the setup check becomes the most important minute of the exam. Run the webcam check in good lighting with your face clearly visible rather than backlit by a window. Complete the room scan honestly and fully — a skipped or partial scan is the single most reliable way to generate suspicion over nothing. Clear your desk before you start, including notes you have no intention of using, because the scan sees them either way. Use a stable connection so the recording does not drop out and leave gaps. Tell everyone in the house that you are in an exam, since a passer-by produces the same flag as a collaborator.
What Monitor is not
Monitor is not a live proctor, and it is not a cheating detector. It records and it flags; a human reviews the flags after the fact and decides whether the behaviour has an explanation. That is why a false flag is usually survivable — the timestamp exists for context, and a specific explanation of what you were doing at that moment tends to resolve it.
For organisations using Respondus-style monitoring
The same structure appears in hiring assessments: a locked environment plus recorded behavioural flags that someone has to interpret. Worth being clear-eyed about the trade-off before adopting it. Flags are deliberately over-inclusive, so cost moves onto the reviewer, and honest candidates often dislike being recorded enough to withdraw. If the goal is a defensible capability signal rather than a surveillance signal, decide the evaluation method first and add monitoring only where the role's risk justifies it. AI candidate evaluation covers how to score assessments against role criteria so review effort goes where it actually changes the decision.
Whatever you run, disclose it in the instructions. Undisclosed recording creates a trust problem and, in several jurisdictions, a legal one.
Bottom line
Is Respondus proctored? Only when Respondus Monitor is switched on. LockDown Browser alone locks your computer without recording you; LockDown Browser plus Monitor records webcam and audio and generates behaviour flags an instructor reviews later. Check whether you are asked to run a webcam and room-scan setup check — that prompt is the difference.