Run a Compass Cloud Testing Session
Compass Cloud delivers Certiport exams through a lockdown desktop app on student machines, controlled by a proctor dashboard in your browser. A session has four phases: create it days ahead, confirm it the day before, start and unlock on exam day, then close out. Missing the confirm step is the most common way to lose a session.
On this page
Before you start
Compass Cloud In-Center is for in-person testing at your CATC only. It is not a remote proctoring solution. Certiport retired the older EFH delivery on August 31, 2026, so Compass Cloud is now the path for classroom testing.
Proctor role
- On your Certiport account: My Profile → Roles → Become a Proctor, then accept the Proctor Agreement.
- Your Organization Administrator associates you with the CATC with the Proctor box checked.
- Only a proctor selected on the session can confirm and start it. Once one proctor starts the session, it belongs to that proctor; nobody else can join it.
Lab machines (talk to IT two weeks out)
| Requirement | Detail |
|---|---|
| Operating system | Windows 10/11, macOS Sonoma 14.x or later, or current ChromeOS |
| App | Compass Cloud desktop app installed on every testing machine. Installing needs local admin rights or managed-device deployment. |
| Hardware | Full keyboard, 2-button mouse, monitor at least 1280 × 800 |
| Bandwidth | At least 10 Mbps download per workstation. A 26-seat lab needs roughly 260 Mbps free during the session. |
| Browser | Chrome, Edge, or Safari present on the machine |
Download the installer: log in at certiport.com as Organization Administrator or Member, hover Exam Delivery, and select Compass Cloud: Download & Installation (Windows, Mac, or Chromebook).
Proctor machine
A laptop or desktop at 1920 × 1080 or higher, in Chrome (Edge and Safari also work). The dashboard is dense; a small screen hides columns.
Phase 1: Create the session (days ahead)
Sessions must be created at least 60 minutes before start. Create them 2 to 7 days ahead so vouchers and access codes are settled before the day.
- Log in at www.certiport.com.
- Switch role to Proctor or Organization Administrator.
- Open session creation:
- Organization Administrator/Member: hover Exam Delivery and select Compass Cloud (In-Center & Remote): Create Session.
- Proctor: select Compass Cloud – In classroom proctoring, then Create and manage exam sessions.
Representation of the Exam Delivery menu for the Organization Administrator role. The calendar tool opens in a new tab.
- In the calendar tool, select Create New Session.
- Fill in the session form:
| Field | Recommendation |
|---|---|
| Session name | P3 Photoshop 2026-12-08 |
| Select your CATC | Your school |
| Payment method | Center assigned voucher for a class; see Guide 3, Part C |
| Exam group number | Optional. The number from your Exam Group. |
| Exam language | English |
| Exam Administrators (Proctors) | Yourself, plus a backup proctor |
| Date / Time | Class start time. Toggle 12/24-hour if needed. |
- Select Next. Choose up to 5 exam titles and enter the number of candidates for each (up to 50 total).
- Select Next, check the review screen, and select Submit.
| Exam title | Candidates | |
|---|---|---|
| Visual Design using Adobe Photoshop | 24 | |
| Graphic Design & Illustration using Adobe Illustrator | 0 |
The real form spreads these fields across three screens (details, exams, review). Collapsed here into one drawing.
Read before you select Submit.
- Payment is taken the moment the session is created.
- CATC, payment method, exam language, and exam titles cannot be edited. To change one, delete the session and create a new one.
- You can change the number of candidates up to 1 hour before start.
- You can cancel up to 1 hour before start. After that, the session is locked.
- Watch for the confirmation email. It contains the Access Codes: one code per exam title. Every student taking the same exam uses the same code. Print them or put them on a slide you will show only at launch.
Phase 2: Confirm the session (within 24 hours of start)
A new session shows an orange Confirmation required label. An unconfirmed session cancels automatically 1 hour before start. Sessions created fewer than 2 hours ahead confirm automatically.
- The day before, log in at www.certiport.com and open the calendar tool.
- Find the session in the upcoming list and select Confirm session.
- The label turns green: Confirmed. A confirmation email follows.
Start session stays gray until 5 minutes before the scheduled time. The ⋯ menu holds cancel and Resume session.
Put a calendar reminder for the confirm step on your phone when you create the session. This is the step people forget.
Phase 3: Exam day
Timing rules
| Window | What happens |
|---|---|
| 5 minutes before start | Start session becomes clickable. |
| Up to 15 minutes after start | Last chance to start the session. After that, it cannot launch. |
| 30 minutes after start | Candidates who have not started are locked out. |
| About 2 hours | Total session time for Adobe (Live-in-the-Application) exams. The exam itself runs 45 to 60 minutes. |
Students seated (10 minutes before)
Students log in to the lab machine but do not open the Compass Cloud app yet. Hand out or display each student’s username if they need it. Check consent forms at the door.
Start the session
- Log in at www.certiport.com, open the calendar tool, and select Start session on your session. The administration dashboard opens in a new tab.
- Show the Access Code for the exam.
Students launch the app
- Students double-click the Compass Cloud icon. The machine locks down immediately: no Alt-Tab, no other programs. Until the exam launches, a student can still leave with Close Window.
- Students enter their Certiport username and password, type the Access Code, and select Continue.
- Students check the verification screen (name and exam title) and select Next. They land in the lobby and show up on your dashboard as Unlock requested.
Representation of the candidate app. It opens full screen; this drawing shows it windowed.
Button turns active after the proctor selects Unlock (step 17).
Unlock candidates
- On the dashboard, check each Unlock requested row against the student in the seat. Then either:
- select the three dots at the end of a row and choose Unlock, or
- select the Unlock all message at the top once the whole room is in the lobby.
- Students select Start exam, accept the agreements, and work through the tutorial and exam.
| Status | Name | Exam | Options |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unlock requested | Rivera, Jordan | Photoshop | ⋯ |
| Unlock requested | Nguyen, Sam | Photoshop | ⋯ |
| In progress | Okafor, Ada | Photoshop | ⋯ |
| Exam complete | Patel, Ravi | Photoshop | ⋯ |
Statuses shown are the ones named in Certiport's guide plus the obvious in-between state. Your dashboard may use slightly different labels.
During the exam
- Stay on the dashboard. Statuses update as students progress.
- Frozen Adobe exam: Adobe exams run in a virtual machine. If one hangs, select the three dots on that student’s row, then Restart session.
- Once an exam begins, the student cannot exit until they finish or time runs out.
- Need Help? on the dashboard opens Certiport live chat.
Phase 4: Close out
- Students select Finish the exam, give optional feedback, and see their Score Report and Exam Score Summary. They select End Exam Session to leave the app.
- When every row shows Exam complete, end the session (Certiport may show a short survey).
- Return to the calendar, select your name in the top right, and select Log out.
Students can find results later under My Certiport → My Transcript (uncheck Show Only Passed Exams to see all attempts, then select Score Report).
Exam-day checklist
Print this and tape it next to the proctor machine.
| Done | Item |
|---|---|
| ☐ | Session shows Confirmed (checked the day before) |
| ☐ | Access Code email printed or on a hidden slide |
| ☐ | Proctor laptop charged, Chrome open, logged in to certiport.com |
| ☐ | Consent forms collected for every student under 18 |
| ☐ | Username list at hand (from Guide 3, Part A4) |
| ☐ | Compass Cloud app icon present on every lab machine |
| ☐ | Students seated 10 minutes early; app not opened yet |
| ☐ | Start session selected between 5 minutes before and 15 minutes after start |
| ☐ | Every row matched to a face before Unlock all |
| ☐ | All rows Exam complete before ending the session |
Troubleshooting
| Symptom | Fix |
|---|---|
| Closed the dashboard tab by accident | Press Ctrl+Shift+T (Windows) or Cmd+Shift+T (Mac). If that fails: calendar → session’s three dots → Resume session. |
| Start session is gray | Too early (opens 5 minutes before) or too late (closes 15 minutes after). |
| Session disappeared from the calendar | It was not confirmed and auto-cancelled 1 hour before start. Create a new one; it needs 60 minutes lead time. |
| Backup proctor cannot open the session | Only the proctor who selects Start session can run it. A backup has to be listed under Exam Administrators when the session is created, and has to be the one who starts it. |
| Student sees the wrong exam on the verification screen | Use Change exam if another title in this session fits; otherwise stop and fix before unlocking. |
| Student forgot password | Recovery needs username + secret question. Do it on a separate device; the lab machine is locked down. |
| Adobe exam frozen | Dashboard → student’s three dots → Restart session. |