The Year in Passing

As we enter the new year, it is important that we look back and reflect on 2020. What started off as a “normal” year for the Center for Testing and Career Certification, quickly became a year of innovation and transition to a new normal.  

March 13th, 2020 would be the last day that we would come into office the way that we were used to. Beginning that following Monday, we were swiftly moved to a remote work setting. Prior to the mentioned date, the majority of exams that CTCC administered were done in person. We were looking at a scenario where students needed to meet graduation requirements such as their Foreign Language requirement, but we were unable to proctor them. 

That initiated the innovation of vRTC (Virtual Remote Testing Center), allowing our staff to effectively proctor exams remotely. Partnering alongside Brigham Young University (BYU), vRTC began to administer the FLATS Exam via the Zoom platform. Since April 2020, the center has been able to administer over 500 FLATS Exams to equip students to graduate.  

Students also had to meet the Civic Literacy Requirement. Our team worked hard to give students access to be able to take this CIV 2222 Exam remotely and fulfill this need as well.  

As the next semesters started to approach, students had to take certain exams to get admitted into different classes. We were able to offer the ALEKS Math Placement exam with a new remote option, Respondus Lockdown Monitor in addition to the previously used proctoring service. Doing this allowed students to get placed into their proper math classes prior to the Summer and Fall Semesters.  

Finally, in the Fall we were able to slowly come back onto campus to administer in person exams. In August, we were able to bring the CLEP Exam back so candidates could test out of classes that they had expertise in.  

In September, we were excited to launch Florida Teacher Certification Exams (FTCE) and administer those at our Modesto Maidique Campus. With the ability to administer FTCE, FIU Education majors are able to take exams like the General Knowledge Test to step into their careers as educators.  

With many exciting plans for 2021, we are proud of the accomplishments that your FIU Center for Testing and Career Certification was able to accomplish amidst a pandemic. We are believing the best is yet to come.  

ACT On-Campus

As difficult as it may seem to find the good that has come about as a result of a global pandemic, one of the up sides has been that your Center for Testing and Career Certification now offers what is known as the ACT On-Campus exam (not to be confused with the national ACT). Institutional closures caused by COVID-19 led to CTCC being unable to offer the regularly scheduled SAT throughout the months of March through October of 2020. These times of which are peak season for applicants to colleges and universities to take the Standard Achievement Test and have their scores sent to their desired locations for their application processes. Finally, our test sites were able to offer the SAT in November and December, but only at half the normal capacity with social distancing protocols in place.  

The high demand of candidates in our South Florida community in need of completion of an entrance exam caused our counterparts in FIU’s Office of Admissions along with Enrollment Management and Services to recommend CTCC become an ACT On-Campus site. What exactly does this mean? The ACT On-Campus is an alternative to the national ACT. It allows higher educational institutions (such as FIU) the opportunity to proctor on almost any given day and soon after score an ACT test form, on their own campus. For students that were and are unable to test on national test dates, this is a gem of an option. Your CTCC made several dates available throughout the months of December 2020 through February 2021. In addition, the Office of Admissions outreached to hundreds of students in need to offer them the chance to test at no cost. Who says you can’t see the light through the rain? 

Keep a look out for future test dates on testing.fiu.edu and spread the word for those in need about the newly added exam available at CTCC! 

NCTA Recertification

In April 2016, FIU’s Center for Testing and Career Certification (formerly known as the University Testing Center) at MMC successfully became a nationally certified testing site by the National College Testing Association (NCTA). The acclaimed triumph is one that demonstrated our commitment to exam integrity and the upmost standards of quality and performance in the field of test administration. Throughout this time and even now we still abide in a similar yet enhanced manner as when we were first approved by this organization. CTCC will soon approach the five-year mark of expiration for this and thus now embarks on the journey of recertification. This procedure entails an intensive application which will document our center’s policies and processes. However, the investment of time ensuring that our test site recertifies will be well worth it as we seek not only to meet, but exceed the standards and guidelines set by the NCTA in addition to our fine institution. We look forward to sharing and celebrating the accomplishment with you once it has been attained. 

Positively in 2021

We can all agree that 2020 was a crazy year, however the past doesn’t have to determine our outlook in this new year. A conversation was recently sparked by FIU Testing Center’s Director, Dwight Nimblett amongst other university testing centers in Florida on thinking positively in 2021. A big question was, “What good came about in 2020 that could be implemented in the following year?” There must be a silver lining at the end of the tunnel.  

Institutions began to list what has kept them thinking positive. Some of the schools were appreciative on how the door opened for more vendor testing during the pandemic. Vendors were also grateful that testing facilities were able to open once again to administer much needed exams for their candidates. Other testing sites were amazed at the creativity and flexibility that their centers were able to have, branching out with new social media content and website layouts. Universities are excited about new exams and methods of remote testing that have come about.  

Aside from testing, there is an opportunity for all of our FIU community to remain positive throughout all endeavors across 2021. Some basic practices to help could include:  

• Taking care of yourself - Take the time away from social media, the news, work tasks, schoolwork, and pick up something you enjoy doing like reading a book, playing a sport or playing a video game. Also, take the time to rest and eat well.  

• Show gratitude - Be thankful for the things that we do have and processes that go well. Sometimes we can easily focus on what we do not have and occurrences that go wrong in our life, while there are many other amazing things that we can be appreciative for. If we are grateful for the good, it can outweigh the bad.
  
  
• Create a routine - There is a saying that if we fail to plan, then we plan to fail. If our schedule is not planned then we find ourselves doing things that would waste time instead of being productive and help our mind, body and soul. Planning rest and fun time can create disciplined habits and a positive spirit with much to look forward to.  

We believe that we can live the best 2021 with a positive mindset. 

Remote ATI Teas with Proctorio

There is a time from December to mid-March that we call “TEAS season.” The reason for this is because students who need to apply for the School of Nursing at FIU, must meet the deadline which runs until the 15th of March. Part of the application process is that they must complete the ATI TEAS which is the nursing school entrance exam. Prior to the deadline, the applicants have up to two attempts to get their desired score.  

The 2021 TEAS season has looked different due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. Many students are still in their respective cities, states and/or countries, making it difficult to take the TEAS Exam. In addition, the space at our local campuses are limited due to social distancing. After a very long process, CTCC has partnered with Proctorio, a state-of-the-art technology platform for remote proctoring, to give nursing candidates an opportunity to complete their exam(s) from the comfort of their own home.  

CTCC began to administer these ATI Exams with Proctorio beginning in February and it has been nothing but a smooth process for both the person taking the test and the administrators. CTCC sent detailed instructions to each of the examinees, that when followed correctly, leads perfectly to the start of their exams. Because of Proctorio, many of the students who were worried about the external components of not being able to leave their homes or come to a campus, now have the peace of mind that those factors are no longer obstacles. With much availability online, everyone who needs to complete this exam can now do so by simply going to testing.fiu.edu and registering for ATI TEAS with Proctorio.  

Back to the Future in FACTA's Annual Conference

Recently in February of 2021, your CTCC staff were privileged to participate in FACTA’s 12th Annual Conference titled Charting the Course of Testing and Assessment. Themed Back to the Future, the current and former presidents of the association (Marc Webb and Mark Ross, respectively) opened with a recap of the organization and all the past conferences.  

“We can’t know where we’re going unless we know where we’re coming from,” said Ross and therefore we took the journey back in order to look forward. 

With prior years seeming illustrious in hindsight, 2020 had no shortage of difficulties due to Covid-19 and the testing industry fought hard to remain afloat. While some centers had no activity for months, there were the courageous few that persisted in person. In large part, virtual/remote testing and proctoring became the viable alternative method for exam needs and now so opens the door to where we go from here. In a roundtable discussion with our SUS counterparts, we focused our attention on three pertinent areas (funding, marketing, and mindfulness) for the impending times. As we all learn from and support each other to ensure we follow the most exemplary practices now and ongoing, our CTCC team can surely say that we are on par with those leading the way amongst our equals in the state. At end, the conference could be summed up with a quote from character Doc Brown, “Your future is whatever you make it, so make it a good one!” And that is exactly what CTCC intends to do! 

Bookmark This!

The ACT On-Campus is now being administered at the CTCC for prospective FIU students. Please visit our website at https://testing.fiu.edu for details regarding the exams and how to register.

The ATI TEAS is now available for FIU students to take with CTCC remotely via Proctorio. Please visit our website at https://testing.fiu.edu to register and for any questions, email CTCC at bbctesting@fiu.edu or testing@fiu.edu.