Some of NKU's colleges, Chase College of Law and the College of Health and Human Services, use a software called Examplify by Examsoft for midterm and final exams. This allows students with Windows or Macintosh laptops to take exams on their computers. (CHHS also has licenses for use with iPads.) These exams can be in secure mode, where no other program can be used on the computer during the exam, or in non-secure mode, where other applications, like your notes, can be accessed at the same time.
This article compiles resources for getting started with Examplify, as well as troubleshooting various common issues. ExamSoft's own documentation on Examplify is a reliable, continuously updated source that will be referenced frequently. That documentation also links to other pages within its own knowledge base. All links in this page will open in a new tab so that you can easily get back here for more resources.
For Chase College of Law students: Chase does not utilize the ExamID or ExamMonitor technologies, so ignore any documentation sections that pertain to them.
Minimum System Requirements
Examplify only runs on Windows and Mac OS. Chromebooks and other Linux-based devices will not run Examplify. Further, Windows must not be configured in S Mode, which is a restricted mode that only allows installation of applications from the Microsoft Store. Most laptop listings on stores will mention if the computer comes in S Mode.
Your OS version must also be up to date as well; Examplify is only supported on the most three recent major revisions of each OS. Examplify's documentation lists the currently supported versions and other system requirements here. As of the last update of this article, the supported OS versions are:
- Windows 10 22H2
- Windows 11 21H2, 22H2, and 23H2
- Mac OS 12 (Monterey), 13 (Ventura), 14 (Sonoma)
Installing Examplify
The first step to installing Examplify is to consult the registration email you were sent. It contains the link to the institution portal for your college, as well as the username and password you will use to login, in the Exam Takers section. The Student ID will usually be your NKU username--the part of your email before @mymail.nku.edu--but the password is unique from your NKU password, and is initially randomly generated. You can change it from the Exam Taker dashboard, but make sure it is not the same as any other password you have; exam administrators can see these passwords.
As a quick reference, here are the institution portals for colleges making use of Examplify. Your institution portal will almost always be your first stop for installing Examplify, as it will contain instructions and download links once you are logged in.
For further assistance, ExamSoft provides written guides for installing Examplify:
Using Examplify
Once Examplify is installed, the first thing you should do is take the mock exam. This is usually mostly just a sandbox for helping you get familiar with Examplify and its features. For Chase, there is both a secure and non-secure version. You should take both of them as soon as possible. No, seriously, don't dilly-dally on this, I'm not kidding. Now that I've sufficiently scared you with excessive formatting, the point is to make sure your computer isn't going to have issues when it's actually time to take your exam. And if you do have issues, and you catch them early, you can work with ExamSoft support, your building's Client Support Specialist, or NKU's IT Helpdesk in order to get them resolved.
These guides by ExamSoft will help you get comfortable with Examplify's various features and with best practices:
Comprehensive Video Guides
There are two sets of video guides available for Examplify. If videos are more your speed than text, select whichever one you think will best work for you.
Who to Contact for Help
Before we go into the next section to help you resolve issues yourself, we'd like you to know that there are multiple people who have your back in case none of the tips below work for you. And there are a lot of tips down there! We do strongly encourage you read the whole section, because it really might have just the tip you need. And it will also help you figure out who the best contact is for some situations.
Issues that occur with the logistics of exams, like the way they are set up, are often best handled by the exam administration team of your college. Your Examplify registration email will have their contact details. For Chase, the exam administration team is the Student Affairs department.
For issues where your computer and/or Examplify aren't working properly, these support options are available to you:
As for who to prioritize contacting and when, your exam team will let you know. In fact, if you got here by way of an email, that email probably has that information for you.
Common Questions and Troubleshooting
There are a few questions that come up fairly regularly regarding Examplify. In addition, there are troubleshooting steps that you can take yourself! We're going to cover both things here.
Do I need to be connected to the internet to take an exam?
No. Not only that, but secure exams will actually disable your internet connection. You only need an internet connection for downloading and uploading an exam.
When should I download an exam?
Exams are generally available about five business days before an exam is scheduled to start. They will sometimes only be available closer to the start of an exam, and sometimes they will be available much earlier. You should generally download an exam as soon as it becomes available, which means once you have Examplify installed and working, you should open it regularly to retrieve new exams.
An exam should be available for download now, but I can't find it.
The left sidebar for available exams is a little funky and not always reliable. At the bottom, there's a button: "Refresh Exams List". Make sure you're connected to the internet, and then click that, and see if it shows up. If it doesn't, try again. And if it still doesn't after a few attempts, contact your building's Client Support Specialist or your college's ExamSoft administrator to see if something is amiss in your account settings or the exam posting itself.
It is not unheard of for everything to be correctly configured, but for the exam to refuse to show up until you are in the support specialist's office, all for no discernible reason. The whims of Murphy's Law are inscrutable. But this is why it's good to periodically check on available exams well ahead of time. The same whims may hide it from you at home one day, and then show it to you the next.
An exam I know I downloaded disappeared, and I can't download it again.
This does happen every now and again. As a matter of security, exam downloads are usually restricted to one per person. You can reach out to either the exam administration team or technology support request an additional download.
When I try to refresh the exam list, I get asked to log in again, and then new exams still don't appear.
This issue occurs when Examplify's internal settings get messed up for some reason. The best way to deal with it is to uninstall Examplify, clean up its left over settings, and reinstall it again. ExamSoft has two support articles to guide you through doing that:
But this process does involve visiting some places on your computer that most people don't usually have to. If you're uncomfortable with doing this, please reach out to the IT Help Desk and they'll go through it with you.
How does uploading a finished exam work?
Generally, Examplify will try to upload your finished exam--otherwise known as an exam answer file--immediately upon completion of the exam. However, everyone else in the room with you will likely be trying to do the same thing. This network congestion could cause your upload to fail. Another thing that could cause it to fail is if it can't re-establish an internet connection after deactivating it for a secure exam. But it's okay; you don't have to upload the exam answer file immediately!
The exam answer file is encrypted, and cannot be re-started or re-accessed once it is complete, so there is no risk in going home and simply uploading it with your own internet connection. However, you will generally only have until 4:30pm the day after the exam to complete this upload.
If I can download an exam ahead of time, I could take it whenever, right?
Actually, no. All exams require a password in order to begin them. For in-person exams, they will only be given in-person. Your proctor will tell you when you are allowed to enter the password and begin.
What about remote exams?
There are indeed a few remote exams, but this is generally only classes that are already fully remote, and they do things slightly differently. Remote exams will only become available part way through the day before the exam, and can only be uploaded for part of the day after. It's easiest to explain the timing rules we generally use with an example: If a remote exam is scheduled to start at 1:00 pm, and end at 4:00 pm, it will become available to download at 5:00 pm the day before, and can be uploaded until 12:00 pm the day after.
What is my "Student ID?" Should I change it if I can't get into my exam with the given password?
I can only speak for Chase on how this field is used, but that is your exam number, which differs between midterms and finals, and is used to provide the anonymity required by the American Bar Association. Please don't mess with it! If you are unable to get into your exam for some reason, you're likely just typing the password incorrectly somehow. Keep in mind that passwords are case-sensitive.
I have an accommodation for extra time and/or use of a screen reader. How does that work?
Examplify supports timing accommodations and security overrides; they are configured per-student and they are applied to an exam at the time that you download them. For that reason, you should check your mock exam to see if it applies your accommodations. Chase's mock exam has a 10-minute timer, so 50% extra time will turn it to 15 minutes. You will actually see this on the dashboard before even starting the exam.
For screen readers, security is disabled on exams that would normally have it on, so that the screen reader application can function. To check that this accommodation is working correctly, use the security on mock exam. You should see that security is actually off on it.
If any of these accommodations are not correctly functioning, please contact your Student Affairs department immediately. They will make the necessary changes to your ExamSoft account, and you will then be able to remove the downloaded exam and then re-download it with the correct settings.
The password I was given for the mock exam isn't working.
If you have installed Examplify before, you may have an old version of the mock exam sitting around. Remove the download for each mock exam, and then download the newest ones. Remember: passwords are case-sensitive.
When should I enter my password and click the button to start the exam?
Only when you are instructed to. For secure exams, you will legitimately get stuck in Examplify if you try to do any of this process early.
Does Examplify do anything to keep my answers safe during the exam?
Yes. Every 60 seconds, a snapshot will be saved of your exam in its current state. So if something happens and you have to restart your computer, you will lose 60 seconds of work at most.
This essay question specifies a word limit, but I can only see a character count.
Click on the paper icon next to the character count, and you will get a more detailed breakdown that includes word count.
Oh no! I typed a bunch of stuff and it got overwritten and/or disappeared for no reason!
Try undo; you can use the toolbar button or your OS's standard keyboard shortcut. This is often caused by a finger slip hitting a combination or sequence of buttons that highlights a large section of text at once. It really does happen to the best of us!
Oh no! Examplify just completely froze up!
If you're not in secure mode, you can use Task Manager (Windows) or Force Quit (Mac) to terminate the program, restart it, and get back into the exam.
If you are in secure mode, or the OS itself is frozen, you'll have to hard power-off your computer. Hold the power button until it shuts off. Once you turn it back on and the OS fully boots, Examplify will immediately start again and put you back into your exam.
I completed a secure exam, but my wifi won't turn on to upload.
Examplify disables all networking during secure exams. It does occasionally have trouble turning it back on afterward, but a reboot will usually fix it. If not, you can try the link in the next section.
I completed a secure exam, but my wallpaper is still Examplify, or some of my other settings are still wrong.
When you start up a secure exam, Examplify changes a bunch of settings that could hypothetically be used to look at stuff you're not supposed to be able to. It tries to change everything back after a secure exam, but sometimes it isn't able to do that. This isn't a super common issue, but it's common enough on Windows that ExamSoft has a dedicated support article for how to fix it.
We have seen it happen once on a Mac OS computer, but they don't have a support article or instructions for that situation, so neither client support specialists nor the IT Help Desk can help when it happens on a Mac. Please contact ExamSoft's own support line.
My computer apparently took too long to put me back in the exam, and now it wants a resume code.
This is a security measure to prevent a certain type of cheating. The IT Help Desk and the exam administration team can provide you a resume code.
Nothing is working and I'm still stuck!! What happens to my exam now?!
You know, sometimes stuff just happens, and despite all our best efforts, technology fails. Your proctor will help you complete the rest of the exam with hand-writing. It stinks a lot, we know! But it beats not being able to finish your exam at all. If you have essay portions of your exam that are partially complete, they will be combined with the hand-written portion and graded together. If the exam is fully remote, contact your exam administration team ASAP to make arrangements.