1. Student Testing Centers
A Report of the Academic Affairs Committee of the Faculty Senate
UT Health San Antonio
December 14, 2016

2. Background Found at most universities and community colleges
Prevalence is lower at academic health science centers
UTMB is only academic health science center in UT system that has a student testing center
Typically found as a component of a Student Success Center, or occasionally a Faculty Resource Center

3. Services Testing services provided at no cost to constituents:
Administration of online or paper exams for institutional courses
Administration of course exams for students with ADA accommodations who require expanded time or special testing conditions
Placement testing
Testing services provided on a fee for service basis:
Standardized testing, such as GRE
Recertification exams and continuing education
College credit by examination
Other services such as tutoring, test taking skills training and writing skills training when no student success center exists

4. Student Success Center
Typical academic home of the student testing service
Broader mission of enhancing student success through a multifaceted approach, involving:
tutoring
supplemental instruction
academic coaching
student support programs such as testing center
Goal is to promote student excellence and persistence

5. Impact of Student Success Centers
Little evidence exists on the impact of the student success center on student performance at academic health science centers
Data available from the university setting demonstrates a positive impact:1
Students who visited a student success center exhibited a higher retention rate
Fifty percent of students who visited a student success center had a GPA of 3.0 or greater at graduation
Academic strategy course offered by a student success center was effective at keeping at risk students off of academic probation
1https://

6. Benefits to UT Health San Antonio of Creating a Student Success Center
Provide a venue for offering a wide variety of testing services that will:
Reduce the burden on academic units for administering tests to students with ADA accommodations
Improve the ability to offer testing for CME and recertification
Create a potential revenue stream that will offset the cost of operating the center
Create a centralized location for offering services reported to enhance student performance and retention
Generate data that can be used for educational research

7. Summary
Student testing centers are a common feature of most institutions of higher education
Student success center is the typical home of academic services, including the student testing center, and serve a broader mission of enhancing student success
Impact of student success centers on metrics of student performance in a university setting are largely positive
The impact of the student success center on student performance at an academic health science center is lacking, but seems likely to be positive
Student success center may have collateral benefits such as creating a funding stream, or generating data that could be used for educational research

8. Recommendation
“The academic affairs committee of the Faculty Senate strongly recommends that the administration of UT Health San Antonio explore the creation of an Student Success Center on our campus”

9. Academic Affairs Committee
Anand Prasad, chair, School of Medicine Brent Shriver, School of Health Professions Cara Gonzales, School of Dentistry Brian Eastridge, School of Medicine Elizabeth Casiano Evans, School of Medicine Norma Martinez Rogers, School of Nursing