LockDown Browser is a custom browser from Respondus, Inc. that locks down the testing environment within a learning management system (LMS). Respondus says it integrates with Blackboard, Brightspace, Canvas, Moodle, Sakai and Schoology and that more than 2,000 institutions use it.[6] Three separate licences govern it. The institution holds a campus-wide or site licence that pays for the service; each student or instructor who installs it accepts an end-user licence agreement; and technology companies that embed it in their own assessment platforms take a different product, the SDK Edition.[3][4][5] This article takes them in turn. For the other products see Respondus licensing.
Editions
LockDown Browser has no feature-based editions. The licensing variants differ by customer type.
| Variant | Customer | Fee basis | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Campus-wide licence | Higher education institution | Student FTE as reported by IPEDS | [1] |
| K-12 site licence | School or district | Seat licence for the LMS; bundled with StudyMate Campus | [2] |
| End-user licence | Student or instructor installing the software | None; accepted at install | [4] |
| SDK Edition | Company integrating with its own assessment system | Annual licence fee, not published | [5] |
The agreement says the Software Product is “licensed as a campus-wide site license” and that annual fees depend on student Full-Time Equivalency at the institution, as reported by IPEDS.[3]
Metrics
Higher education: Student FTE
For higher education the annual fee is based on total Student FTE as reported by IPEDS, in North American prices that “may vary in certain countries outside of North America or through resellers”.[1] For institutions outside the United States the agreement uses total student annual enrollment instead, subject to audit by Respondus.[3] See Student FTE and Total student annual enrollment.
| Student FTE | Annual fee (USD) |
|---|---|
| 1 to 2,000 | 3,295 |
| 2,001 to 2,500 | 3,795 |
| 2,501 to 5,000 | 4,445 |
| 5,001 to 10,000 | 5,395 |
| 10,001 to 15,000 | 5,945 |
| 15,001 to 20,000 | 6,295 |
| 20,001 to 25,000 | 6,745 |
| 25,001 to 30,000 | 7,095 |
| 30,001 to 35,000 | 7,595 |
| 35,001 to 40,000 | 8,045 |
| Over 40,000 | Ask for quote |
K-12: LMS seat licence
K-12 pricing is “based on the seat license for their LMS”. A school whose LMS is also used by students in grades K-4 provides a separate breakout of LMS seats for grades 5-12 when it asks for a quote.[2] The tiers run from USD 3,295 for 1 to 2,000 students through USD 8,245 for 35,001 to 40,000 students, with larger districts quoted. The K-12 site licence includes StudyMate Campus as a “Buy One, Get One Free” suite.[2] See LMS seat licence.
Counting / floors
The licence is a site licence and Respondus describes the licensing as unlimited use at the institution.[6] There is no per-exam, per-student or per-course counting inside the tier. The institution chooses the tier by its reported FTE or seat count, so the compliance question is the accuracy of that declared figure, not usage. The lowest floor is the 1 to 2,000 tier. The pricing page notes that annual fees are pro-rated on the academic year, and the agreement says Respondus invoices before the start of any renewal term.[1][3]
Affiliates are the people the licence covers: current employees, instructors and students of the licensee. The licensee may redistribute the software to them for the duration of the licence, but only for educational or academic purposes, and must keep the copyright notice and splash screen intact.[3] Students install the browser from an institution-specific link, which instructors get from the LockDown Browser dashboard in the LMS or from the LMS administrator.[7]
Virtualization & partitioning
The agreement has no device, core or virtualization metric. The end-user terms instead prohibit using LockDown Browser “in any way which attempts to bypass the locked browser environment”, including with applications designed to do so, and say it is intended only for use with a properly licensed third-party LMS.[4] Respondus’s marketing says the browser blocks virtual machines, remote desktops and screen sharing during an exam; that describes the product’s behaviour, not a licence term.[6]
Cloud / BYOL
LockDown Browser is client software that students install and that is launched from the LMS; there is no BYOL, cloud-credit or marketplace route in the public documents. The privacy supplement describes the institution as the customer and Respondus as processor, with Administrators “responsible for the Institution’s license of LockDown Browser”.[10] The licence also requires the institution to name the LMSs in use on the ordering form, and the higher-education form lists Blackboard Learn, Brightspace, Canvas, Moodle, Sakai and Schoology; the K-12 form lists all of these except Sakai.[3][9]
Programs
Free pilot
A free two-month pilot is available to institutions using supported LMSs. It starts when the institution returns the signed licence agreement; Respondus then emails the administrator and support contacts with instructions, including installing the server extension for the LMS. Pilots are only available at institution level with one administrative contact.[1] The agreement adds that if the licensee uses the software or Respondus Monitor for longer than the trial it is bound for the minimum term duration offered, and that without a purchase the agreement ends after the pilot period.[3] See Free two-month pilot.
Included Respondus Monitor seats
The annual licence “includes 200 free seats of Respondus Monitor”, counted as one student per course per term, with additional seats available under a separate fee agreement.[3][6] Respondus Monitor cannot be used without a LockDown Browser licence.[11] The Respondus Monitor article covers the paid options.
SDK Edition
The SDK Edition allows other companies and organizations to license LockDown Browser and integrate it with their own assessment platforms for Windows, Mac, iPadOS and Chromebook. Maintenance and updates are included in the annual fee, and the licence can allow the browser to be distributed as part of the partner’s core product at no additional cost to users. The page gives no price list.[5] Respondus may receive anonymized data from SDK Partners for intellectual property protection and licence management purposes.[10]
Terms and renewal
The term begins August 1 or January 1, with an option to prorate the first-year fee. The agreement renews automatically at Respondus’s then current pricing and terms unless the licensee gives written notice. Respondus may raise or lower the fee year to year and must give notice at least 60 days before renewal. If the fee is not paid by the renewal date access may be suspended, and the licence ends if payment is not received within 30 days.[3] The licensee may terminate at any time but gets no refund or proration if it does so mid-term. Respondus may terminate if the licensee fails to cure a breach within ten days of written notice.[3] Support is ticket-based for an administrator and two designated support contacts, with a goal of answering within 24 hours excluding weekends and U.S. holidays; updates are included at no extra charge.[3] Clause-level comparison is in Respondus licence agreements and terms of use.
End-user licence
Anyone installing LockDown Browser accepts an end-user agreement that grants a personal, worldwide, non-assignable and non-exclusive licence for the sole purpose of using the software as Respondus provides it. Users may not copy, modify, reverse engineer or publish benchmark results, and may not assign or sublicense their rights. The agreement says it does not by itself grant any right to support or updates, that Washington law governs, and that most disputes go to binding arbitration in King County, Washington. A separate licence agreement with Respondus prevails over it in a conflict.[4]
Out of scope
This article does not cover the proctoring functions of Respondus Monitor, the privacy treatment of exam data, accessibility commitments, or the Help Center terms embedded in the end-user agreement.[4] It does not cover reseller or non-North American price lists, which the price page says may differ.[1]