Pitt opens new testing center
The University opened a new professional testing center this week in G-33 Cathedral of Learning.
Moving from Alumni Hall into the space previously occupied by the Office of Measurement and Evaluation of Teaching, the testing center will serve both Pitt faculty and students as well as Pittsburgh area residents.
Among students who will use the new facility will be those registered with the Office of Disability Resources and Services, those taking online courses through the College of General Studies, those taking entrance exams for graduate school and community members taking licensure exams.
The testing center will offer numerous amenities including 20 more testing stations (for a total of 52), two private testing rooms, privacy filters on computer monitors to promote academic integrity, ceiling cameras for test security and adjustable tables for persons using wheelchairs, making the center compliant with Americans with Disabilities Act design standards.
The testing center will provide new and updated features for Pitt faculty, such as scanning and scoring of exams and a box to drop off classroom exams that will save instructors time.
“I think we simplified the whole scanning system,” said Erik Arroyo, Pitt’s online programs manager. “We want faculty to be able to be in and out of here in about a minute. When they arrive, if they have all of their materials organized before they arrive, they drop it off, they’re on their way.”
A project two years in the making, the state-of-the-art center will catalogue everything electronically. Prior to this, projects were catalogued in a ledger that created more steps for faculty who wanted to submit exams.
“We know faculty are busy and the last thing we want to do is make them wait a couple extra minutes so we can catalog who they are and what they’re doing,” Arroyo said.
In addition to computer tests, paper and pencil exams will be scanned on-site and results will be emailed to faculty within hours. The testing center also will continue to provide make-up exam service, which was initiated during this academic year. “One of the services that we’re providing now is make-up exams to faculty,” Arroyo said. “From all accounts this is a tremendous benefit for faculty and we can see that, even in the number from semester to semester.”
—Alex Oltmanns
