Testing center upgrades improve student experience, expand possibilities

(above) Visual distractions are greatly reduced in the remodeled testing center at 0060 Carver. (below) Two of Iowa State's testing centers are still equipped like 0250 Carver, with computer stations at long tables and the checkin-checkout processes completed with the proctor in the testing space. Photos by Christopher Gannon.

Upgrading the testing center location in the basement of Carver Hall and moving another from Durham Center to the Hixson Lied building on the east side of campus has improved the test-taking environment for students. These changes also give a boost to the ISU Testing Center's eligibility to proctor professional licensure or graduate school admission exams, another useful and convenient service for students.

"We would love to be the one that can help them get over that last hurdle -- or the next hurdle -- in their education, provide access and remove some of those barriers," said Joel Hochstein, ISU Testing Center manager since late 2022. The testing center is part of the Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching.

For its capstone project, a faculty-staff team in this year's Emerging Leaders Academy is investigating what some of those immediate-need, high-impact exams might be. That study should wrap up by April.

A renovation and a relocation

The Carver testing site was selected for renovation due to its high traffic. Of approximately 120,000 course exams the testing center proctors each year, historically 40% happen in 0060 Carver, Hochstein said.

A fiscal year 2024 strategic plan award, partially renewed for this year for a total of $630,000, paid for numerous improvements in the room that reflect best practices:

• New cubicles and furniture create lower-distraction testing stations. Students needing a low-distraction accommodation may now use the renovated testing locations or continue using Student Accessibility Services' exam accommodations center in Hixson-Lied.
• Part of the adjacent staff office space was converted to move the check-in and check-out functions outside the testing space, eliminating that distraction.
• Electronic lockers (student ID-activated) were installed in the hallway so bags, backpacks and coats stay outside the testing room.
• More than 30 ceiling cameras were installed (replacing one for the room) so proctors can monitor student progress in every cubicle.
• Ethernet wiring to the testing stations was replaced.
• A card-reading room access system will be completed this semester, and students won’t be able to enter the testing room without staff assistance.
• A separate area of five testing cubicles can accommodate exams with specific access restrictions and serves as a starting point for adding third-party exams.

The same features are in a new testing center location in 2242 Hixson-Lied Student Success Center completed this summer with $400,000 in provost office funds. The two renovation projects are part of notable improvements in the testing center the last two years that include:

• Replacing two legacy software systems used separately by faculty or students with a leased system that combines scheduling and administrative functions.
• Implementing safety and security recommendations that emerged from a walk-through of the testing center with ISU police officers. Restricting room access is one example.

A role in workforce development

Hochstein said he's also investigating how the testing center can find a role in developing Iowa's workforce by offering third-party exams in the campus locations. This would require contracts with test vendors, which offer hundreds of academic and professional exams.

"There's a demand from people in this area who need to reskill, people who need to upskill, people who want to advance their professional career and need some certifications to do that," he said. "They could do that here with us, and not have to go to Ankeny or Fort Dodge or Sioux City," he said. "I think this is an important niche we can fill --and it becomes a potential funding stream for us."

Iowa State alumni could be another audience that uses future testing center services.

The testing center's primary focus would remain on academic exams, Hochstein said. It would schedule third-party exams during low-volume times for ISU course exams, for example, early in the semester, between terms or Mondays.

Certification with the National College Testing Association also is on Hochstein's to-do list, but that will require more time and funding, primarily to address two criteria: check-in, check-out functions must be moved outside the testing space at the other two campus locations; and an NCTA requirement that only full-time staff proctor exams. Iowa State's testing center employs about 105 part-time student proctors, but Hochstein said the association is revisiting this requirement.