Live Remote Proctoring: A Permanent and Accessible Option for CPS Candidates

The year 2020 demanded a paradigm shift in how we work, learn, and connect. For the Council on Pharmacy Standards (CPS), it demanded a complete re-imagining of how we deliver on our core mission: providing a secure and accessible path to professional certification. Faced with the unprecedented challenge of a global pandemic and widespread test center closures, we responded with the rapid development and launch of our Live Remote Proctoring (LRP) platform. What began as a critical lifeline to ensure continuity for our candidates has since proven to be a powerful and transformative innovation.

We launched LRP with the primary goal of ensuring your professional journey would not be put on hold. Today, after successfully administering thousands of examinations and gathering extensive feedback from our community, we are thrilled to look beyond the crisis and embrace the future.

It is with great excitement that we officially announce that Live Remote Proctoring is now a permanent and fully integrated testing option for all CPS certification examinations. This decision moves LRP from a temporary solution to a lasting commitment—a commitment to greater flexibility, accessibility, and candidate choice for the entire pharmacy profession.

A Look Back: The Success and Impact of LRP in 2020

Before we could confidently make LRP a permanent offering, we needed to ensure it met our own exacting standards for security, fairness, and candidate support. The experience of our 2020 candidates provided the definitive proof of concept, and the results have been overwhelmingly positive.

Over the last eight months of 2020, our LRP platform became the primary vehicle for certification, and its performance exceeded all expectations.

• We successfully and securely delivered over 5,000 examinations to candidates in all 50 states and even to practitioners serving overseas. This allowed thousands of pharmacists to earn the credentials they needed to advance their careers and better serve their communities, all without compromising their health and safety.

• The integrity of our examinations remained absolute. Thanks to our multi-layered security protocol of live human proctors, AI-assisted monitoring, and a secure browser environment, we can report zero confirmed security breaches across all LRP administrations.

• Most importantly, the feedback from you, our candidates, has been outstanding. In our post-exam surveys, over 95% of LRP candidates reported feeling that the process was secure, professional, and well-supported.

The true impact, however, is best told through the stories of the professionals we serve. The addition of LRP has broken down long-standing barriers and created opportunities where they previously did not exist.

“LRP was a game-changer for me. The nearest physical test center is a four-hour drive, which would have meant taking two days off work and incurring travel and hotel expenses. Being able to take the exam securely from my home office saved me significant time, money, and stress. It made earning my certification possible this year.” – A pharmacist from a rural community.

“As a working parent with my children’s school schedules so unpredictable in 2020, finding a full day to travel to a test center felt impossible. The flexibility of scheduling my exam on a Sunday evening from home was the only way I could have made it work. I am incredibly grateful for this option.” – A health-system pharmacist.

These stories, and countless others like them, affirmed our belief that LRP is more than just a pandemic response; it is a fundamental advancement in how we serve the pharmacy profession.

The Power of Choice: What a Permanent LRP Option Means for You

By making LRP a permanent feature, we are officially moving to a hybrid testing model that puts you, the candidate, in control. You now have the power to choose the testing modality that best fits your location, your learning style, and your life.

• In-Person Test Centers: For many, the structured, distraction-free environment of a traditional test center remains the preferred option. If you thrive in a formal testing location and live conveniently near one of our hundreds of partner sites, this excellent option remains fully available to you.

• Live Remote Proctoring (LRP): For countless others, LRP offers a new level of freedom and accessibility. This option is ideal if you:

  • Live in a rural or remote area far from a physical test center.

  • Have caregiving responsibilities for children or other family members.

  • Face a demanding or unpredictable work schedule that benefits from evening or weekend appointments.

  • Have health concerns or mobility challenges that make travel difficult.

This commitment to choice is a commitment to equity. By removing geographic, financial, and logistical barriers, we are creating a more level playing field, ensuring that all qualified professionals have an equal opportunity to earn a CPS credential and advance their careers.

Continuous Improvement: Enhancing the LRP Experience

Launching a new technology at this scale has been an incredible learning experience. We have listened intently to every piece of feedback from our 2020 candidates and have already implemented several key enhancements to make the LRP process even smoother and more user-friendly.

Based directly on your suggestions, we have:

• Streamlined the Check-In Process: We worked closely with our proctoring partner to refine the check-in software and protocols. These enhancements have successfully reduced the average candidate check-in time by over 20%, getting you to your exam faster.

• Expanded Technical Support: We have increased the number of dedicated, specially trained technical support staff available to candidates during their exams. This ensures that if a technical issue does arise, expert help is available immediately.

• Enhanced Candidate Resources: We have completely overhauled our online LRP Resource Center. Based on the questions you asked most, we have added new, in-depth tutorial videos, a more comprehensive FAQ section, and a downloadable pre-exam checklist to guide your preparations.

Your feedback is a gift, and we are committed to an ongoing process of refinement to ensure our LRP experience remains the gold standard in the industry.

Upholding the Gold Standard of Security

As we make LRP a permanent option, we want to unequivocally reaffirm our commitment to the security and integrity of our examinations. The value of your credential depends on it. The robust, multi-layered security system—combining constant observation by a live human proctor, AI-powered behavioral analysis, 360-degree environmental scans, and a locked-down secure browser—has been pressure-tested across thousands of examinations. The data is clear: our LRP model is as effective and secure as in-person testing in protecting the validity of our exam results. You and your future employers can be fully confident that a CPS credential earned via LRP represents the same high standard of excellence.

The innovation forged in the crucible of 2020 is now a permanent part of our promise to you. The future of professional credentialing is flexible, it is accessible, and it is centered on the needs of the dedicated professionals it serves. We are proud to be at the forefront of this evolution and look forward to supporting you on your certification journey, wherever it may take place.

The Leadership Team, Council on Pharmacy Standards (CPS)