ETS proficiency profile offered, required for University juniors

Nearly 60 percent of juniors who fail to take the required ETS Proficiency Profile test may be barred from registering for fall classes.

Currently only 479 of the 1,200 or 40 percent of eligible juniors meet the requirement, according to information released by program coordinator Dr. Lou Ann Berman.

University officials may place an “administrative hold” preventing these students from registering for more classes.

The requirement affects all juniors with less than 90 credit hours.

The test formally called the Measure of Academic Progress and Proficiency or MAPP, measures the proficiency of a student’s academic experience.

“The test provides external accreditation and shows importance for determining internally the value and progress of students’ learning,” Berman, assistant vice president of assessment and institutional effectiveness, said.

University officials began offering the test during the fall semester.

Students graduating in May or August are exempt from taking the test.

The free test takes about 40 minutes to complete. Participants answer 36 multiple-choice questions covering critical thinking skills, reasoning, written communication and mathematics.

Students do not need to prepare for the test, and it is not pass or fail.

Test can be taken in Room 3020 of the Ratliff Building North at the following times:
• 3 p.m. Monday
• 6:30 p.m. Tuesday
• 8:30 a.m. Wednesday
• 4 p.m. Thursday
• 1 p.m. Friday

Space is limited to 39 students for testing in the lab.

Students must e-mail MAPPRegistration@uttyler.edu—  preferably 48 hours in advance — and provide their names, identification numbers and date they want to take the test.

Students at the Longview and Palestine campuses can follow the same registration guidelines but take the test at their respective campuses.

In Longview contact Support Services Analyst at 903-663-8114. In Palestine contact Computer User Services Assistant at 903-727-2317.

A summer testing schedule is being planned for those who do not complete the test before the end of the semester.

Students in the military or out of the country could be accommodated Berman said.

“There is no penalty for guessing on the test, and students need to answer every question since it only counts your correct answers,” Berman said.

The administrative hold on student’s account should be released within minutes of completing the test.

“We want it to be student friendly and serve our students by assessment of the quality of each curriculum,” Berman said.

Megan Hutson, a junior health and kinesiology major, said “The test was not as big of a deal that I thought it would be. It was basic information that all college students should know. There was more reading than anticipated, but it was not a problem.”

Students will receive individual results and the entire college’s results are on public record to view, Berman said.

For more information on frequently asked questions, go to the Web site at www.uttyler.edu/aie.