How can we help?

Q - How do I reset my SOLAR user account password?

 

A - SOLAR users can reset their own passwords via the ‘Can’t access your account’ option on the SOLAR login page. If you experience any issues with resetting your password or need your security question to be reset, contact your Centre SOLAR Co-ordinator.

Q - How do I set up a SOLAR user account for myself?

 

A - If your centre is already registered on SOLAR, contact your Centre SOLAR Co-ordinator who will create a user account for you. If they are unable to register you, or you are not sure who your Centre SOLAR Co-ordinator is please contact us through the Digital Assessment Services Support Form.

 

If your centre is not registered on SOLAR and you are approved to deliver subjects listed on our List of Available Assessments, please complete the System Access Request form.

Q - I am attempting to create a candidate on SOLAR and have received the following error message ‘Candidate with provided Candidate Ref already exists’, can you help?

 

A - There are a couple of reasons that you may receive this message:

• The candidate is associated with your centre but is retired or expired. You can find instructions on how to amend a candidate’s record in the Edit a Candidate Record video.
• The candidate is currently associated with another centre and needs to be transferred to your centre.

Please contact us using the Digital Assessment Services Support Form for candidate transfer requests.

Please note you must not create candidates on SOLAR if you are delivering one of the following qualifications:

• Street Works
• Certificate Introduction to the Role of the Professional Taxi and Private Hire Driver SCQF Level 5
• Level 2 Certificate Introduction to the Role of the Professional Taxi and Private Hire Driver
• Health and Safety in a Construction Environment SCQF Level 4

Q - One of our centre’s candidate’s has an incorrect or Auto SCN, how do I amend this?

 

A - Unfortunately, once a candidate record is created, the SCN field cannot be amended. If a candidate record contains an incorrect SCN, it must be retired, and a new candidate record must be created. Refer to our guidance section page for information on how to do this. 

Q - Can I retire candidates in bulk?

 

A - Unfortunately, candidates cannot be retired in bulk; you must retire each individual record separately. You can find instructions on how to retire a candidate record in the Edit a Candidate Record video. 

Q - How do I get started on SOLAR?

 

A - We have a dedicated section on our website about getting set up on SOLAR. Please refer to the About Us tab for instruction videos and guides along with the application forms needed to get started. 

Q - I am unable to find results for my candidates on the results tab, can you help?

 

A - On the ‘Results’ tab, the date in the completed column displays data by default from the last 30 days, but you can modify this by choosing a different date range from the filter option. Please refer to the Results, Reporting and Candidate Breakdown video for further information on viewing candidate results.

If our candidates have completed assessments that require human marking, your centre must mark these. The assessments will be found in the ‘Mark’ tab. Once an assessment is marked and submitted, it will be transferred to the ‘Results’ tab.

Q - Is SOLAR accessible for all candidates?

 

A - We are committed to ensuring our system is accessible to all candidates. Accessibility features available in SOLAR include:

• The colour scheme and contrast of assessments can be adjusted by candidates as required. You can find instructions on how to change the display in this video.
• The duration of assessments can be adjusted to accommodate candidates who require extra time due to their disability or additional support need. Centres can adjust this when creating a candidate or scheduling a test. For further information, please refer to the SOLAR Centre Operating Guide.

When delivering Standard (HTML) assessments on SOLAR, the following assistive technologies can be used:

•JAWS Screen Reader
• NVDA Screen Reader
• Dragon NaturallySpeaking Speech Recognition
• Windows Magnifier

If you have additional specific requests, please contact us using the Digital Assessment Services Support Form.

Q - What is the difference between Standard (HTML) and Legacy (Flash) versions of assessments?

 

A - Flash is a legacy technology from Adobe. Adobe announced the end-of-life for Flash on 31 December 2020. Our SOLAR software supplier created an application called Surpass Viewer to allow us to continue to support the delivery of legacy (Flash) assessments. Surpass Viewer needs to be downloaded before you can deliver legacy (Flash) versions of assessments.

In conjunction with our SOLAR software supplier, we are in the process of migrating all legacy (Flash) content into standard (HTML), a modern supported technology. This transition will significantly improve the user-friendliness and accessibility of our assessments. Standard (HTML) assessments are delivered via a web browser on PCs, laptops, Chromebooks, iPads, and tablets. Please refer to the SOLAR website for further details on compatible devices.

After migrating assessment content to standard (HTML) versions, the legacy (Flash) versions will be phased out. Where available, we recommend the use of the standard (HTML) versions. For the latest subject releases, please refer to the Subject News article. 

Q - Can I use Surpass Viewer to deliver Legacy (Flash) assessments on a Chromebook?

 

A - No, Surpass Viewer is not compatible with Chromebooks.

All standard (HTML) assessments can be delivered on Chromebooks. Where available, we recommend the use of the standard (HTML) versions.