Examinations Technical Coordinator

TERM Assignment:

Carleton University also welcomes applications from continuing employees. If a Continuing employee is the successful candidate, this assignment will be considered a Term Assignment, and the successful candidate must obtain a leave of absence from their current and substantive position, where applicable. Permission for such leave must not be unreasonably withheld.

If you are an internal applicant, please make sure to update your current union status in your candidate profile each time you apply for a vacancy. Internal candidates will be given priority consideration at this time. Please note: Carleton University encourages applications from all qualified candidates.

Job Number: 
J0324-0060

Job Title: 
Examinations Technical Coordinator

Job Type: 
Term Full Time

Department: 
Scheduling & Examination Services

Job Category: 
Administrative

Number of Positions: 
1

Date Posted (dd/mm/yyyy): 
06/03/2024

Closing Date (dd/mm/yyyy): 
14/03/2024

Salary (with Salary Rate): 
64,074.00 – 70,040.00/Year

Assignment Duration From: 
01/03/2024

Assignment Duration To: 
30/04/2025

Employee Group: 
CUPE 2424

Salary Level: 
8PE

Hours Per Week: 
35

Date Position Available: 
01/05/2024

About Carleton University

Carleton University is situated on unceded Algonquin territory and bordered by the Rideau River and the Rideau Canal, a UNESCO World Heritage site, in Ottawa, Ontario. The university is just minutes from the heart of our nation’s government and G-7 organizations and this capital advantage provides opportunities for staff and faculty and students to make a positive impact in our community and around the world.

As one of the 2023 Top 100 Employers in Canada and one of the National Capital Region’s Top Employers for nine consecutive years, Carleton University is one of Canada’s most resourceful and productive hubs of learning and research, fuelling a rich talent pipeline that is supporting social and economic renewal. The university’s smart, caring and connected community inspires and empowers individuals to become change leaders who drive impact in the world while challenging conventional modes of thinking and doing. At Carleton, we are committed to fostering an innovative, equitable and welcoming work environment. Carleton is also a nationally certified Healthy Workplace and is a recipient of the Canada Awards for Excellence, Healthy Workplace Order of Excellence and Platinum Level Certification for Mental Health at Work.

The university’s Strategic Integrated Plan 2020-2025 is an ambitious vision for the future, anchored in Carleton’s strengths and student-centric, community-engaged values.

Duties and Responsibilities:

Reporting to the Exam Room Officer, the incumbent is directly responsible for the software that supports both in-person digital and online examinations. The software, CoMaS, is an in-house application that provides video monitoring through a web interface, as well as file or network monitoring. There are a number of use cases in which this is used at Carleton. Remote learners who may be taking an online exam will login and use the application as an e-Proctoring tool with all of the aforementioned features. Conversely, it can also be used for in-person digital exams, where students are allowed to use some materials (i.e., accounting tables or coding libraries), but not others. Furthermore, the network could also be restricted to allowing students to only start the exam from a particular classroom. CoMaS is a customizable application, and detailed requirements are collected from course instructors so that the experience can be designed to meet course requirements.

In addition to supporting course instructors with their course delivery, the incumbent also works with students to ensure the application works as expected on exam day, whether they are sitting in-person at Carleton, or writing virtually across the globe. This level of troubleshooting requires the individual to be familiar with a variety of different operating systems, and to have experience with both hardware and software. A high level of troubleshooting is required on a daily basis for this position. Examinations are a stressful occurrence for students, therefore, they must be handled with care. As there is digital monitoring involved, explaining how the application works, as well as the privacy of the information in terms of who has access, and for how long it is retained, is important. Exceptions, and alternate solutions might need to be coordinated.

There is a large volume of data, and outlined governance practices, and processes must be strictly adhered to. Process and procedure, communication, validation of data submitted; as well as security, are critical. There is no room for error.

Part of this support may also entail training other examination staff, or proctors on aspects of this work. For example, CoMaS can be administered live in real time, or post-processed, with a report being supplied to the course instructor after the examination. Proctors are a key stakeholder in this process, and need instruction on how to execute depending on the requirements.

Like any software tool, maintenance is required, upgrades, and improvements as the business needs change. As this work is tied to academic integrity, being up-to-date on generative AI, and other trends is critical. Being able to isolate patterns in the data, analyze, and utilize tools to investigate cases, or problems is also necessary. This position will work closely with the developer of CoMaS regarding feature enhancement, therefore, must have an advanced level of technical knowledge.

Creativity and strong problem-solving skills are required to find workable solutions. Innovative thinking to further develop existing tools or create new ones to enhance the overall operation. Excellent interpersonal and communications skills are vital in that the incumbent must explain/support technology and systems to a wide audience in a non-technical manner.

Qualifications:

The incumbent must possess the following qualifications:
• The work requires good knowledge of modern office/business practice and technology, a general knowledge of university organization and procedures and a thorough knowledge of examination regulations and procedures.
• It requires the ability to work with minimum supervision.
• Tact and discretion in dealing with people who find themselves in highly charged situations is required.
• Ensures site compliance with Carleton’s Occupational Health & Safety Policy, and appropriate treatment of clients in respect to their accommodation needs as documented by the Paul Menton Centre, or Equity Services.
• Must be familiar with Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA).
• Must maintain knowledge of Human Rights Legislation, and the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.
• Must have knowledge of issues relating to students at risk.
• Discretion is required as incumbent is working with confidential information about a student’s progression.
• Familiarity with Banner, and academic department functions would be assets.
• Experience working with spreadsheets and manipulating data from various sources.
• Familiarity with a wide variety of productivity tools used in administering exams including Word, Excel, Notepad++, Matlab is required.
• The incumbent must have an understanding of the learning management system (Brightspace).
• The incumbent must have advanced understanding and experience with CoMaS
o For development and maintenance
o To provide technical support
o Understanding of network management
• Understanding DNS filtering, especially in a hybrid (remote and in-person) context
• Advanced understanding and familiarity with Windows operating system
o To provide technical support to students
• Must have a familiarity with client-embedded web server tools, enhancing the exam session experience for users through the development and management of web services.
• Must have a familiarity and Experience with Networked Server Computing
• Knowledge with Apache Tomcat, NAMO and the following addons, AES-256-bit encryption, JVM, CNNs, BIND.
• Understanding the specific technologies and frameworks used by CoMaS, such as w3.css for UI styling and the embedded web server tools for managing exam sessions.
• Must have excellent Organization skills.
• A strong foundation in programming languages relevant to web development, experience with database systems, and knowledge of encryption and data security practices.
• Experience with machine learning and optical character recognition would be assets.
• Ability to work successfully in a team environment.
• Project management skills
o Familiarity and experience in agile software development methodology
• Accountability and judgment.
• Resourcefulness in finding a potential solution even when the area or problem is new to you.
• Must be able to provide on-call support in the event of a technical emergency outside of office hours.

Education and Experience:

The above is normally acquired through the completion of:
• Completion of Undergraduate Honors Degree in Engineering, Computer Science or a related Technology-field.
• Three years of progressively responsible technical experience at a university or college

HR Note:

Equivalencies will be considered. Applicants are encouraged to provide information which may demonstrate equivalent qualifications. Please note that applicants may be required to complete an employment test as part of the selection process for this position. Those applicants that are selected for an interview will be requested to contact the Human Resource Advisor assigned to this competition as soon as possible to discuss any accommodation requirements. Arrangements will be made to accommodate your request in a timely manner. Carleton University is strongly committed to fostering diversity within its community as a source of excellence, cultural enrichment, and social strength. We welcome those who would contribute to the further diversification of our University including, but not limited to: women; visible minorities; First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples; persons with disabilities; and persons of any sexual orientation or gender identity and expressions.

Health and Safety Requirements

This position is regularly required to work on campus in person. In the event of a public health emergency or a health and safety issue, it is possible that you may be required to work temporarily remotely due to public health orders, directives and/or health and safety requirements. If this happens, you will work with your direct manager to set up a remote work environment including discussing appropriate technology and requirements. You are required to follow all University policies and directives, including to set up a safe and confidential workspace in a remote location and ensure all Carleton property (intellectual and other) is safeguarded. If required to work remotely, you will be notified by your manager when working full time physically onsite will resume.

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