All semester final exams are administered, online, at the International Open University (IOU) designated centers across the globe.
Only the final exams are conducted at the exam centers, midterm exams do not take place in exam centers.
IOU will appoint centers in a city even if there is only one student.
Students will be required to pay applicable fees to the center. This will vary from country to country and may also be free in some cases. IOU receives no portion of any fees charged.
The setting up of exam centers requires support and effort from the students who can identify and approach appropriate institutions to request that it act as an exam center.
IOU exam centers would be one of the following
An Islamic center
A Masjid
An Islamic school
An Islamic professional institution
IOU Exam centers provide the following
A reliable proctor with working knowledge of the internet. He/she must be present in the room and monitor the student throughout the entire exam time (75 minutes maximum). He/she should ensure that students do not cheat using either hard copies or soft copies via their own laptop or through email, etc. The proctor should ensure that the student does not open any tabs other than the one he/she uses for the exam. These conditions are in place in order to maintain the validity of the exams.
A PC for each student. This is preferable, but not absolutely necessary. Students may use their own laptops if needed.
Reliable high speed internet access. In situations where students find a suitable exam center, but it is not equipped with internet access, students may opt to use their own 3G connections if possible.
Prior to granting students access to the exam, the proctor is required to:
Check photo IDs of the students
Enter the password (provided by IOU) so that the student can take the exam