Why should a publisher distribute test banks in Respondus format?
There are many different reasons, but here are a few key ones:

• Respondus is the preferred test bank tool for tens of thousands of instructors at over 2,000 colleges and secondary schools. Simply put, instructors are more inclined to adopt a textbook if the accompanying test bank is available in Respondus format.
• Respondus will publish exams directly to ANGEL, Blackboard, Desire2Learn, eCollege, and Moodle. It also allows teachers to print exams or save exams to MS Word format.
• Respondus lets publishers streamline the development of test banks. If test banks are created in Respondus, it becomes less important for a publisher to convert, maintain, and distribute test banks in multiple formats. Respondus is the only test bank software that is truly "interoperable."
• Respondus provides the best solution for dealing with the ever-changing formats of course management systems. Once a test bank is in Respondus format, you don't have to worry about updating the file to match the latest CMS format. This is handled by the Respondus software itself.
• The Respondus Test Bank Network provides publishers the most secure way to distribute test banks over the Internet. In addition, there is no physical product for the publisher to create (or warehouse, or mail, etc.) and instructors can download a test bank instantly with their Respondus software.
• Test banks in Respondus format can include images, equations, media files, and enhanced formatting.
• There are no licensing fees associated with distributing test banks in Respondus format. There is also no charge for publishers to use the Respondus Test Bank Network to deliver test banks to instructors.
• Respondus Inc. provides free marketing support (website listings, newsletter articles, customer referrals) for textbooks that have Respondus-formatted test banks.

What if teachers don't have Respondus? Can they still use a Respondus-formatted test bank?
Yes. A free version of our software, Respondus LE, can be downloaded from the Respondus.com website. This is a limited-task version that provides full printing capabilities and the ability to download test banks through the Respondus Test Bank Network.

How does a publisher create a Respondus-formatted test bank?
There are essentially three steps: 1) Create the test bank in Respondus (or import the test bank questions), 2) Use the Publisher Archive Wizard (an add-on module available to publishers) to encrypt and password-protect the test bank, and 3) Distribute the test bank files to instructors. In the final step, if you make the files available through the Respondus Test Bank Network (see below), you must additionally upload the test bank to your web server, fill out an online form to register the file with the Respondus TBN, and distribute the File Code and password information to instructors.

The document "Creating Respondus Test Banks: A Guide for Publishers" is available to all Respondus Publishing Partners. It provides step-by-step instructions for each of the above-mentioned items.

Can test bank authors create Respondus files themselves?
Absolutely. The reason Respondus is so popular with instructors is because it is so easy to use. The ideal situation is to have test bank authors create the test banks in Respondus itself and then provide the finished test banks to the publisher.

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Which version of Respondus does a publisher (or a test bank author) use to create Respondus-formatted test banks?
While it is possible for publishers and test bank authors to use the free version of Respondus (Respondus LE) to create test banks in Respondus format, we strongly recommend that the standard version of Respondus be used. The free version of Respondus doesn't include numerous tasks (eg., inserting images, equation editor, importing, etc.) and doesn't allow the author to see how the final materials will look when published to a course management system. In addition, the full version of Respondus has a "platform-neutral personality" that is specifically designed for creating publisher test banks. For instance, the platform-neutral personality prevents test bank authors from selecting question types and options that are not supported by each of the leading course management systems (Blackboard, eCollege, WebCT).

That being said, however, it is possible to create simple test banks with Respondus LE and all files are fully compatible with the standard version of Respondus. Conversely, if a test bank is created in the standard version of Respondus, the files can be accessed by users of Respondus LE. In addition, both versions of Respondus are designed to work with the Respondus Test Bank Network, which allows instructors to download publisher test banks from the Internet.

How secure is the Respondus Test Bank Network (TBN)?
The Respondus TBN offers multiple layers of security, making it the most secure way to distribute test banks using the Internet.

• The test bank file is encrypted before it is placed on the publisher's server.
• A password can be applied to the test bank file itself.
• The server that hosts the test bank can also be password protected — this password can be changed periodically without affecting the test bank file.
• A Respondus user cannot download a test bank without the 16-digit File Code and the password information. Once this information is provided to the instructor, he/she enters it into the Respondus software. Respondus will then locate, download and decrypt the test bank file automatically. (From a security standpoint, this means that the instructor does not use a standard browser to download the test bank. In fact, the instructor doesn't even know the URL or server location of the test bank, which makes the entire process much more secure.)
• If a File Code or password for a test bank has slipped into the wrong hands, the publisher can quickly replace it with a new File Code and password. This change can be made within a few minutes.

When a test bank is made available through the Respondus Test Bank Network, is the test bank file itself stored on a Respondus server?
No. The test bank file is still stored on the publisher's own web server. When an instructor using Respondus enters the File Code and password for the test bank, the software will make a secure connection to the Respondus Test Bank Network to determine the location of the publisher's server where the test bank is actually stored. (In essence, the Respondus Test Bank Network is simply acting as a "portal.") A connection is then made between the Respondus software and the publisher's web server to transfer the test bank to the instructor's computer. Once the download is complete, the test bank is automatically decrypted and restored to the projects folder in Respondus.

Can test banks in Respondus format be converted to other test bank formats, or vice versa?
Yes. There are several ways to convert files to/from Respondus format. First, the standard version of Respondus lets you import or export questions in MS Word format (as well as text and rich text) - the Respondus User Guide explains this process. Second, Respondus can download exams or question pools that may already be available in Blackboard, Desire2Learn, eCollege, Moodle, or an IMS-QTI compatible format. Third, the developers at Respondus Inc. can create a custom tool to allow a publisher to import/export Respondus files to/from a specified format, such as a legacy system. Fourth, if a publisher has a large number of files to be converted to Respondus format, Respondus Inc. can provide conversion services to assist in this process. (Please note that there are additional costs associated with custom software development and conversion services.)

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Why shouldn't a publisher just make test banks available in CMS-specific formats (eg., Blackboard, ANGEL, Desire2Learn, eCollege, Moodle, etc.)?
There are many reasons:

• Each course management system (CMS) uses a different file format for its proprietary exam tools. It is expensive to develop and distribute test banks in each of these formats. By contrast, Respondus software supports all the leading CMSs, so the better approach is to distribute test banks in this one format.
• The file formats for CMSs often change with each major release. For instance, Blackboard has changed their "pool" structure with each major update of their system. In some cases, different assessment tools within the same version of the CMS are different. For example, the file format for "self tests" in Blackboard CE is different than the file format for quizzes. Respondus resolves these problems by supporting all the file formats that are required.
• Even when an eLearning system uses an "interoperable standard" for its assessment tools, the "implementation" of the standard differs across eLearning systems. Hence, if you create a test bank according to a particular standard, it may not work seamlessly with other systems that claim to support the standard.
• Exam questions stored in most CMS formats are in a plain-text format, not encrypted. Distributing test banks in such a format is much less secure than the encrypted format available for Respondus test banks.
• Respondus publishes complete exams to the instructor's online course. This allows the instructor to bypass the time-consuming process of creating an exam using the CMS, including the importing of question pools, selecting questions from a pool, adding point values, activating the quiz, and so forth. For example with the Blackboard Learning System this would include importing of question pools, selecting questions from a pool, adding point values, activating the quiz, and so forth.
• Questions that contain images, equations, or media files are automatically transferred to the CMS when you publish an exam using Respondus. By contrast, most CMS question formats don't support inline images or they require instructors to manually upload their media files and edit the HTML links.
• Most CMS "pool" formats are unable to maintain the question order of the original test bank (questions are usually reordered alphabetically and/or by question type). This makes it very difficult for instructors to locate desired questions when creating online exams. By contrast, Respondus maintains the original question order of the test bank and provides easy-to-use wizards for creating online exams from test banks.
• A Respondus-formatted test bank is distributed as a single file -- even when the test bank contains multiple "chapter files" and/or media files. By comparison, most CMSs require instructors to upload questions for each chapter individually and to upload media files separately from the exam.

Why does Respondus provide all these services to publishers for free?
It's very simple. Our business model is geared toward selling software to educational institutions, not publishing houses. Educational institutions are more inclined to obtain a site license of the Respondus software if publisher test banks are available in Respondus format. Hence, we encourage publishers to distribute test banks in Respondus format by providing the tools and technology publishers need to make it possible.

What if our publishing company is happy with its current test bank software?
Great. We're not suggesting that you quit using your current test bank software or exclusively distribute test banks in Respondus format. But by making your test banks additionally available in Respondus format, you increase the marketability of your textbooks and decrease the expense of trying to support a variety of course management systems and file formats.

Are publishers permitted to redistribute Respondus LE (the free version of Respondus) directly to customers?
No. Even though Respondus LE is made available for free from the Respondus.com website, publishers are not allowed to redistribute the software itself. Publishers can, however, provide links to the Respondus LE web page (not the download links themselves) from which instructors can download the software.

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We currently make test banks available only as rich-text or MS Word files. If we make test banks additionally available in Respondus format, is there a way to keep the production effort to a minimum?
Yes. If test banks are created using Respondus, you can easily save the files to MS Word, rich-text (.rtf), or text (.txt) format. Conversely, if you already have test banks in MS Word or rich-text format, you can import the questions into Respondus, although you have to follow specific formatting guidelines provided in the Respondus User Guide. In most cases, it's more time-efficient to author test bank questions directly in Respondus and then save the files to the other formats you require.

What does a publishing company receive when it becomes a Respondus Publishing Partner?
Respondus Publishing Partners receive:

• One copy of the most current version of Respondus (additional copies may be purchased by Company at standard pricing)
• A copy of the publication "Creating Respondus Test Banks: A Guide for Publishers"
• The Publisher Archive Wizard (an add-on module for Respondus) that allows a publisher to encrypt, compress, and password-protect the final test bank files
• The right to distribute Respondus-formatted test banks using the Respondus Test Bank Network
• Free promotion of textbooks that have test banks in Respondus format (including a listing on Respondus.com, newsletter articles, inclusion in workshops, etc.)
• The right to use the Respondus trademark and logo when marketing the availability of Respondus-formatted test banks (additional guidelines apply)

How do you become a Respondus Publishing Partner?
If you have not already done so, submit the form located at www.respondus.com/partners/publishers.shtml. You will be sent an e-mail containing the "Respondus Publishing Partner Agreement." Once you sign and return the agreement, you will promptly receive the partnership materials.

Who do I contact at Respondus if I have additional questions?
If you have been provided the name of a contact person at Respondus, go to that person first. You can also send questions to publisher@respondus.com.