By: Sam New
The Utah Tech University Testing Center, with its constantly changing hours, center structure and anxious environments, has made many students voice their concerns about the conditions and overall necessity of the Testing Center on campus.
With final exams starting Dec. 9, and the recent changes of the Testing Center hours to noon – 10 p.m., students have voiced complaints about the operation of the Testing Center and changes they’d like to see.
Grace Bolinder, a junior digital design major from Centerville, said she has had mostly negative experiences at the Testing Center. Although it’s not entirely their fault, the environment of the Testing Center makes testing overall a worse experience.
“It’s one of the most toxic testing environments I’ve ever been in,” Bolinder said. “Everyone’s stressed out and grumpy, and it makes me stressed out and grumpy.”
Bolinder said the long lines during finals week, working around schedules and the setup of computers are a few factors that lead to stress.
“Every student on campus has to go to one building with, like, what, 50 to 60 computers to take their tests?” Bolinder said. “That ratio does not make sense, right?”
When asked about the hours of operation at the Testing Center, she said she had concerns about the lack of open hours in the morning. This semester, the Testing Center discontinued its morning appointments with its new opening hours as of Aug. 2024 and final tests handed out at 9 p.m. She said many other building hours on campus fall into the 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. schedule, but the Testing Center does not.
“I work. I do a lot of other things, so having to plan time to go in the afternoon and nighttime is sometimes difficult,” Bolinder said.
With finals at Utah Tech having times blocked out for exams, Bolinder said she doesn’t understand why professors don’t have all of their finals during those allocated times.
“They all have a set aside time for us to take a final,” Bolinder said. “Why do all professors send us to the Testing Center when we could all bring our laptops and take them to the classroom during finals time?”
Avril Kester, a senior marketing and management major from Los Angeles, said the Testing Center, and testing in general, brings her high levels of anxiety. The high number of cameras, waiting in line and the number of people were a few factors that added to her anxiety.
“There’s always someone walking around, there’s people by you and you get your score while you’re in front of a bunch of other people,” Kester said. “It’s just intimidating.”
She said although she’s had mostly positive experiences with the Testing Center itself, she prefers testing at home, where it’s less intimidating. Kester said she prefers options such as Proctorio, which became popular in education after the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I don’t think it’s needed so much anymore,” Kester said. “I’ve been here for three years, and I’ve used it maybe for two classes.”
Dr. Tamron Lee, director of the Testing Center, has been working with concerns about the Testing Center since taking the position. Testing Center hours, unattended phones and anxiety in the Testing Center are all concerns that have been brought up by students.
“Being blunt, it’s a funding issue,” Lee said.
The institutional funding received for the Testing Center doesn’t cover the costs of operation due to wage inflation, the reduction of operation hours, the inclusion of charging for tests in the professional Testing Center, and the high reliance on work study for part-time staff.
“Before the cut, we were… open more hours than any other school in the western United States,” Lee said. “I would love to get back to that as soon as we can.”
When it comes to resources for students who struggle with testing anxiety, Lee said that the Disability Resource Center at Utah Tech offers accommodations such as private testing rooms to those in need and the Testing Center offers private testing rooms for when the DRC is closed.
Although Lee has purchased more computers for the center, he said that given enough funding, there are more changes that he would make.
“I would replace some of the desks with computers, I would increase the level of staffing and I would pay our proctor more,” Lee said. “That’s what we’ve been pushing for.”
