UHCL : UHCL's Testing Center Offers Highest Standards In Testing, Security

Press release from University of Houston-Clear Lake:

January 14, 2022

Testing centers present a meaningful way in which institutions of higher education
can benefit students and the community. University of Houston-Clear Lake's Testing Center offers a range of services, and with its recent recertification by the National College
Testing Association, all testers can be assured their experience will be in a completely
secure environment with the highest standards of practice in place.

Testing Center Director Diana Nores said UH-Clear Lake was the only campus in the
University of Houston System that achieved recertification status. "We are very proud
of this, as it is a very rigorous process. It proves that we are not just up to par
with our testing services; we provide the highest standards of quality, and it puts
UHCL on a national and international map of similar institutions."

She explained that colleges both nationally and internationally utilize NCTA's certified
centers list to send students to utilize institutions such as UHCL's Testing Center
services to take exams and be assured of the testing environment and security quality.

"We have had students from South America, Europe and around the world take their exams
with us," she said. "Being a certified member of the NCTA means we have online reciprocity
with all universities who are also members — although this organization does not certify
everyone."

She said the companies with whom UHCL has agreements to administer tests place a high
value on the fact that we have this certification. "The NCTA certification validates
that we are providing a high standard of amenities and services quality, and we were
approved to administer their tests very quickly by many testing platform partners
because of it," she said.

Other institutions have testing centers, Nores said, but they're not necessarily NCTA
certified. "This certification also means that our staff is equipped to handle the
customers' stress and frustration, know how to calm testers, and provide all-inclusive
services for their entire testing experience," she said.

She added that although the Center is operating at just 75% capacity due to COVID-19
prophylactic provisions, they still test 700-1000 people per month.

The Testing Center also offers various placement tests, such as the Texas Success
Initiative (TSI), Advanced Math Placement Test (AMPT), and College-Level Examination
Program® (CLEP), which allows the students to test out of introductory college courses
so they can accelerate their graduation timeline.

The Testing Center offers approximately 2,500 tests, through PearsonVue, ETS, Certiport,
Kryterion, CASTLE/Scantron, ATI, HESI, and more.

"PearsonVue alone has about 1,500 kinds of tests and we offer all of them. We also
provide the GRE or TOEFL tests to our students and community, and our center is one
of only five in South Houston approved to administer these tests," Nores said.

Other highly-sought tests include teaching certifications (TExES), which is a graduation
requirement for UHCL College of Education students. Additionally, the Center offers
Cisco, CompTIA, CISSP, GIAC, Kali Linux, NIST, PMI, Splunk, Texas Real Estate, PTCB,
PCI, NCBE, MCAT, Adobe and Microsoft professional certifications.

Nores said one of the Testing Center's goals was to provide certification exams applicable
to all programs of study that professors think will benefit students in the workplace.

"There can be differences between the course and the real-world application sometimes,
and certifications focus on the practical application of the subject matter," she
said. "Having a recognized professional certification in an area along with a college
degree is a validation of the student's readiness for the workplace, and of great
value for a prospective employer."

She said several College of Science and Engineering courses already use the Microsoft
certifications for course credit.

"It's my purpose to embed career-ready opportunities into all students' learning environment,
and to that effect to support UHCL's mission to provide our students with the best
integrated education experience and readiness for today's competitive work environment,"
she explained.

The Testing Center also offers free test preparation resources to help students and
community to be successful with their exams and certifications. For more information
about the Testing Center at UHCL.

This press release was produced by University of Houston-Clear Lake. The views expressed here are the author’s own.