University Testing center offers services to local businesses

Attention all University of Missouri graduates who went off into the business world and thought you’d taken your last test on campus: MU Testing Services wants you back.

The university operation, located in MU’s Parker Hall, is offering its services to students of all types, from undergraduates to professionals expanding their career horizons.

Khesha Duncan says that in her six months as the supervisor of Testing Services, she’s found that many Columbia residents are familiar with the former Parker Memorial Hospital but unfamiliar with what goes on inside its red brick walls.

“We are an auxiliary operation with revenue-generating capabilities, much like the bookstore, where we serve both the student population and the general public,” Duncan said.

Testing Services administers computer-based and paper-based exams at numerous levels, for everyone from adults earning high school equivalency diplomas to students applying to graduate or professional schools to employees gaining professional certification.

The service’s presence is evident in the student community, Duncan said, where students know what exams they need to take and where. And Duncan said information about the service seems to travel by word of mouth among information technology professionals and in the insurance industry. In addition, the office has a national presence on the testing entities’ Web sites. But Duncan hopes to expand locally and to explore, “to see who needs what and how much of that we can assist with.”

Many businesses have particular certification and licensing needs, as well as entrance exams for potential employees, she said. “They have to send applicants somewhere” St. Louis, Kansas City, Jeff City” to take those exams if it’s not something they do on site. As a testing center, we would be able to administer many of those exams for local businesses, not just for Columbia/Boone County but, long-term, across the state,” she said.

At MU, Testing Services exams taken on Internetlinked computers and with paper and pencil are administered six days a week. On a particular day in January, in one of the computer-based testing labs, four students are taking the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) and Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) exams. In the other, two information- technology professionals take an exam to acquire new certification. Down the hall, a pre-journalism student takes the Missouri College English Test to determine whether he can avoid a retake of English composition.

Even fitness professionals can take certification exams at the testing center. Wilson’s Fitness employs nearly 40 personal trainers among its three clubs, and fitness supervisor Jon Garlow said trainers regularly travel to gain additional certification. But, like many local businesspeople, Garlow said he was unaware of the variety of testing that the Columbia site could administer.

The certified personal trainer test is one of the many individual proctored exams Duncan said the service administer. Others include nursing and college- level placement exams. “There is a license or certification for almost anything. We have the capability to offer quite a few exams we’re not.”

In addition to testing one person at a time, the service is able to test large groups, usually in the physics building or elsewhere on campus where they can accommodate up to 200 candidates.

Smaller groups and GED testing, which is limited to 20 regardless of location, are handled on the second floor of Parker Hall, above the stress-management clinic. In addition, licensed administrators travel to correctional centers to conduct the GED.

Testing is very structured. Rules govern areas such as length of breaks, ratio of proctors to examinees, and desk size per number of students.

“If we say a lunch break is 30 minutes, that’s what it is. If you come back in 45, you may not be able to finish the exam,” Duncan said. “[We follow] whatever the rules for the manual state for that exam. It’s really a very serious thing. People are taking some pretty high-stakes exams, and you want to proctor exams as perfectly as you can, make sure there are no incidents of collusion or cheating.” That includes proctors to check the restrooms after an exam begins to ensure no cell phones and/or materials are left behind. People who try to bend the rules may get tossed out of the exam.

“There’s definitely a no-cell-phone rule across the board. Some are stricter. We’ll provide a cardboard box where they can turn in phones during the exam. If a phone rings, or is found on a person during an exam, it’s grounds for dismissal, test scores are disqualified, and the information is sent to the [testing] board.”

Cathy Rinta-Evans, lead test administrator and computer-based testing administrator, is stationed near the smaller testing rooms. Rooms are under tight supervision, with several cameras trained on the examinees. She keeps constant watch, swiveling between monitors and physical line of sight. She said she hasn’t seen any cheating, but “I have seen people try to eat in there.”

Keeping the environment conducive to testing is important. Duncan said that during a break for an LSAT (Law School Admission Test), two candidates complained that the chairs squeaked. Duncan dashed outside and grabbed a can of WD-40 from her car.

“During lunch break we looked at the seating chart and took care of all of the seats around the students and the door handles,” she said. “Environment is crucial. It could affect somebody’s performance and, ultimately, their score.”
Duncan said there’s a lot of stress associated with testing, and sometimes they see people crying in the hall. To offset that, the staff tries to welcome people to the site.

“I think that’s one of the things we do well and one of the things I try to be cognizant of when I come in the morning and people are already anxious and nervous,” Duncan said. “We wish them good luck, tell them good morning. It’s necessary for us to remember that these people are paying money to take an exam, and we’ve been trained to administer a professional examination. And friendliness “courtesy” is all a part of that professional exam.

Missouri Testing Services, 205 Parker Hall | 802-4801 | testing.missouri.edu