Respondus 4 is a Windows-based application from Respondus, Inc. that lets instructors write exams offline and publish them to an LMS. StudyMate Campus is a separate Respondus service for flash cards, self-assessments and learning games that runs inside the LMS. The Respondus Test Bank Network supplies publisher test banks that work with Respondus 4 and with the free Respondus LE. This article covers the three, because their licences share the same structure: a single-user path for individuals and an annual campus-wide path for institutions.[3][4][9]
Editions
| Product | Individual licence | Institutional licence | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Respondus 4 | Single user, bought online by an individual instructor[1] | Campus-wide (higher education) or site (K-12) | Free 30-day pilot of single-user version only[1] |
| Respondus LE | Free, limited, print-only edition[9] | None | Downloads test banks; assessments printed or saved as Word[9] |
| StudyMate Campus | None on the pricing pages | Campus-wide (higher education) or site (K-12) | Free two-month pilot at institution level[5] |
The single-user version “allows you to create and publish tests to a course in your LMS” and can be tried or purchased through the Respondus site; the price of the single-user licence is not given on the pricing pages.[9][1]
Metrics
Respondus 4: Student FTE and LMS seats
For higher education the Respondus 4 campus-wide fee is based on total Student FTE as reported by IPEDS. For K-12 it is based on the seat licence for the LMS.[1][3] The two price lists use the same amounts:
| Student FTE (higher education) or LMS seats (K-12) | Annual fee (USD) |
|---|---|
| Under 2,500 | 1,695 |
| 2,501 to 10,000 | 2,095 |
| 10,001 to 20,000 | 2,545 |
| 20,001 to 30,000 | 2,745 |
| 30,001 to 40,000 | 2,945 |
| Over 40,000 | Ask for quote |
The campus-wide licence provides “unlimited use by all faculty at the institution” and the K-12 site licence lets all teachers at a school or district use the product.[1][2] A campus-wide licence unlocks “batch publish”, which publishes an assessment to several courses in one step; the overview states this is for campus-wide licences only.[4] The ordering form asks for the LMSs in use: Blackboard Learn 9.x, Brightspace 10.x, Instructure Canvas, Moodle 3-4 or another.[3] See Respondus 4 single user licence and Institution campus-wide or site licence.
StudyMate Campus: Student FTE
StudyMate Campus is “available as a campus-wide license and provides unlimited use of the application by faculty and students”, priced by Student FTE as reported by IPEDS.[5] The tiers run from USD 2,795 for 1 to 2,000 students to USD 6,795 for 35,001 to 40,000 students; larger institutions are quoted. K-12 schools get StudyMate Campus bundled with LockDown Browser, with the same K-12 seat tiers as LockDown Browser (USD 3,295 to 8,245).[5][6] The higher-education agreement (whose file name carries 2019) contains its own fee table, which matches the current pricing page tier for tier; it adds that StudyMate fees are invoiced approximately three months before the August 1 renewal and that the first-year fee may be prorated.[7]
Counting / floors
None of these licences counts installs. Respondus 4 is installed by instructors on Windows computers, and the agreement lets the licensee redistribute it to Affiliates (current employees, instructors and teaching assistants) for the licence term. Affiliates may use it only for educational or academic purposes, including off campus (for example at home) where the use relates to non-profit educational endeavors for the licensee.[3] Private consultant services are the example the agreement gives of a prohibited use. The licensee must limit distribution to Affiliates, which includes preventing non-Affiliates from reaching the software through the internet, an intranet or the web.[3]
Leavers matter for compliance. Faculty or employees who stop being affiliated do not have the right to keep using personal copies, nor can former Affiliates get updates from the licensee; the licensee is not obliged to enforce this beyond restricting access.[3] The StudyMate and K-12 agreements define Affiliates to include students, because those services are used by students too.[7][8]
The floor for each list is its first tier. The agreements also limit who may be a licensee: StudyMate Campus higher-education licences go to not-for-profit colleges, universities and institutions of higher education, and the K-12 agreement defines the Institution as a not-for-profit K-12 school or district.[7][8]
Virtualization & partitioning
The agreements do not address virtual machines or terminal servers for Respondus 4. They define the Software Product as a Windows-based application, and prevent non-Affiliates from accessing it through internets, intranets or the web, which any shared-desktop deployment must respect.[3] StudyMate Campus is a service that “extends the features of a Learning Management System” and is usable only with a supported LMS.[7]
Cloud / BYOL
There is no BYOL. The cloud element is StudyMate Campus, which the higher-education overview describes as working inside the LMS without external websites or registration, and covered by institution-wide licensing for instructors, students and administrators.[11] If the annual fee is not paid by August 1, or the agreed renewal date, Respondus may restrict access to the StudyMate service or reduce its functionality.[7] For Respondus 4 the consequence is stronger: the agreement says the software ceases to function after the licence has expired, and Respondus may withhold updates and restrict services if payment is late.[3]
Programs
Pilots
Respondus 4 has a 30-day pilot of the single-user version only, started by downloading and registering the application. StudyMate Campus has a two-month free pilot at institution level, started by returning the signed agreement; Respondus then sends a welcome email to the administrator and support contacts, including instructions for the learning-system server extension.[1][5]
K-12 bundle
The K-12 StudyMate Campus site licence includes LockDown Browser as a “Buy One, Get One Free” suite, and the K-12 LockDown Browser licence includes StudyMate Campus in the same way, under one agreement.[6][8] Respondus 4 is not part of the bundle and has its own site licence agreement.[2]
Test Bank Network
The Respondus Test Bank Network contains thousands of test banks for textbooks in higher education. Instructors who adopt a participating textbook can use the matching test bank at no extra cost, with a licensed copy of Respondus 4.0 or Respondus LE. The test banks remain the publisher’s property and use depends on the publisher’s rules. The publisher sends a file code and file password, normally within one to three days.[9] More than 30 publishers are listed as partners, including Cengage Learning, Macmillan Learning, McGraw Hill Education, Pearson and Sage Publishing.[10] Respondus says over 1,000 institutions hold a campus-wide Respondus 4.0 licence.[9] See Respondus Test Bank Network.
Term, renewal and exit
The Respondus 4 agreement runs by academic year starting August 1 or January 1, with an option to prorate the first-year fee at Respondus’s discretion. It renews automatically at then current pricing and terms. Respondus invoices approximately three months before the August 1 renewal and the fee is due by the renewal date. A licensee that terminates early gets no refund or proration and must make a good-faith effort to eliminate further use by Affiliates. Respondus must give 60 days’ notice of a fee change.[3] The agreement also says that on a notice of termination from Respondus the licensee must immediately stop use and “may be subject to legal action”.[3]
Out of scope
This article does not cover test bank content, which publishers own and license on their own terms, nor the LMS products Respondus 4 and StudyMate Campus connect to.[9] It does not give a price for the single-user licence, which is not published on the pricing pages, nor reseller pricing.[1]