For students studying one of our online WSET courses, remote invigilation is a popular way to sit the exam. It allows you to sit the exam at a date and time that suits you and, for interstate and regional students, it means you don’t have to make the trek to Adelaide.
The first thing to do is to read through this page and watch the videos. This gives you a step by step overview of both the system check and exam day process.
When Can I Sit My Exam?
Remote invigilation is extremely flexible. There are a handful of days each year that aren’t available (they’re usually things like Easter and Christmas) and there is a black out window each day between 2230 (10:30pm) and 0000 (midnight) UK time (so either GMT or BST). We will tell you what times you need to avoid when we first send through our standard remote invigilation but you can also check yourself here. We will also double check the time when you book in and will let you know if there’s an issue.
Why Does It Cost Extra?
Yes, there is an additional charge for remote invigilation. The cost of your exam is covered by your course fee BUT remote invigilation is an add on (and yes, we are charged extra too!). We don’t invoice students for this in advance – once you’ve decided on remote invigilation and picked out the date and time for your exam we’ll send through an invoice.
The Invoice
Your invoice is SUPER important! This is what we book the exam from so please, PLEASE double check that it’s as you expect – BEFORE YOU PAY THE INVOICE!
It’s important you check (and check) again:
- your name – this needs to match your name on your photo ID. You don’t need to worry about your middle name (unless you’d like it to appear on your certificate) but your first name and last name need to match your photo ID. So, if your name is John Smith but you call yourself Jack it really does need to be John! Similarly, if you’re a Susan but called Sue – we need to register you as Susan. The certificate will be printed with the names on the invoice, in left to right order.
- the date, time and time zone of the exam – yes, all three! We give you the day and the date and we give the times in both 24 hour clock and am/pm. We also give you the time zone. By default, this is the time zone of the state that you gave as your address when you signed up for the course. This means that if you live in Broken Hill or Lord Howe Island (or anywhere else that happens to have a time zone that doesn’t match its state!) you need to tell us. Similarly, if you’ve moved states, you need to check that the time zone is still correct. Remember, in summer, Queensland and the Northern Territory have different time zones to their southern counterparts! We use the standard time zone abbreviations and if you have any queries at all, please get in touch!
- finally … read the WSET’s Remote Invigilation Essential Guidance and work through the pre-check. Payment of the invoice is telling us that you’re happy with the exam’s technical requirements.
What Next?
Once your invoice is paid, we’ll register you for the exam. The next thing that will happen is that you’ll receive the system check email. This should arrive between 14 and 10 days before your exam (if 14 days is a Saturday or Sunday it will be sent on the Monday UK time – so might hit your inbox Tuesday morning). Please complete the system check as soon as possible – REMEMBER, we can only cancel your exam with a minimum of 7 working days’ notice but also, if there are issues, the more time you have to resolve them, the better! Also – you can only complete the system check once – do it using the devices and internet connection you plan to use for the exam.
You will receive a reminder email from us (which will include the date/time/time zone of your exam).
Approximately three days before the exam you’ll receive your exam email. You do need to sit your exam at the date/time you nominated: DO NOT BE LATE. You first need to perform the room scan and set up – generally this only takes 5-10 minutes but if it takes longer DO NOT PANIC. It’s important to get it right and it is not eating into your exam time.
If you have issues make use of the online technical support. We cannot guarantee that we’ll be able to answer the phone or respond to emails the instant they come through – especially if you exam is out of business hours, but also we may be teaching or attending to an event etc. Your interactions with the online tech support are logged so that, in the case of issues, they can be reviewed subsequently.
If your exam issues can’t be resolved and you can’t sit your exam, there is the Digital Issues Form that you should complete.
If you are unable to sit your exam for other non-technical reasons (medical, for example) please contact us and we’ll get the relevant paperwork underway.
How Long Do Results Take?
Yes, it’s an online multiple choice exam but no – your results are not instantaneous! The video footage for all exams is reviewed at least once and this takes time. Sometimes we receive results in a week but we advise students to wait a month before contacting us. Certificates then follow – we’ll be in touch to confirm the best delivery address.
What If I Fail?
While it is certainly possible to fail, we find that only a handful of students do (it’s far more common for students to think they’ve failed and then do quite well!). Re-sits are an option – please note that these are charged in full (not just the remote invigilation fee). They are currently $200 for Level 1 and $250 for Level 2 (prices are subject to change) and do require the usual 15 working day lead time to lock in.
I Need To Change My Exam Date!
Unfortunately, this isn’t something that can be accommodated at the last minute. At least seven working days out from your exam, we can cancel it without any charge. However, we can’t simply reschedule to (say) two days later – we need to re-book completely, so the 15 working days lead time kicks in. Fewer than seven working days, it’s not possible to cancel without charge. This means that your next exam is considered a re-sit and will be charged at the full rate ($200 or $250, depending on course level).
For further information, head over to our YouTube channel to watch this video. And if we’ve missed something, or you’ve got a burning question – please leave a comment below!
