ASSESSMENT for Distance Learners

Assessment Procedures for Instructors

Testing assistance for Distance Learning faculty is just a telephone call or mouse click away. Resources include support for exit testing, online and CD-based courses. Also, we can assist the instructor in identifying remote testing sites for online students as well as arranging for the delivery and return of tests to remote site.

Testing Fees

Any testing fees charged by non-Florida Community College testing centers are the responsibility of the student.

Exit Testing

All students taking prep classes are required to take an exit test for their class. Fulltime faculty can use their home campus to arrange exit testing while Distance Learning adjunct faculty are expected to use the Distance Learning Assessment Services.

College Preparatory Studies course faculty who live within the First Coast are required to test their students. The Distance Learning Assessment Services can also assist in arranging rooms at the College's Urban Resource Center. Remote faculty can arrange for the Distance Learning Assessment Services to administer exit tests on their behalf.

All faculty, whether fulltime or adjunct, can arrange exit testing for their remote students through the Distance Learning Assessment Services.

To schedule an exit test date, please call 904.632.5020 or e-mail assessme@fccj.edu. Three weeks advance notice is required to insure that your materials are ready the day you wish to test.

Makeup or Retakes for Exit Tests can be done at any campus-testing center. The instructor will need to complete an "Eligibility to Retest" form and forward it to the appropriate campus testing center. Students can be registered to test at only one campus, not at multiple campuses.

For those instructors with remote students, the Distance Learning Assessment Services can assist with meeting their testing needs. Please notify us at least three weeks in advance of the test date to insure that test results are available by your grade-posting deadline.

CD Based Course Testing

Florida Community College at Jacksonville students who are taking CD courses and needing testing support should contact Distance Learning Assessment Services to schedule testing. CD course students who are military can contact their military Education Services Office (ESO) to arrange testing services. Once the ESO has agreed to proctor the test, the student should call 904.632.5020 or e-mail assessme@fccj.edu to arrange for the tests to be sent to the ESO.

Other CD course students who need remote site testing services and are not able to use military ESO's can use the remote site testing procedures below to facilitate testing.

Students should allow three weeks for the testing process. It is the student's responsibility to insure course deadlines are met. The student can arrange to pay to overnight exams to and from the test sites, but there is no guarantee that last minute testing requests can be met.

Instructors can add additional testing items to the standard exam that is included with the CD course. However, it is the instructor's responsibility to insure that these additional test items are received by Distance Learning Assessment Services in time to be included with any outgoing exams.

Remote Site Testing

Any testing fees charged by non-Florida Community College testing centers are the responsibility of the student.

All remote test sites must be preapproved before tests can be sent to them. Instructors should be aware of a time lag in remote site testing and should allow three weeks for the testing process.

All remote site testing must have a "Remote Site Cover Sheet' and "Remote Site Instructions" attached for each test. This information can be in an electronic format and e-mailed to the remote site or it can be printed and attached to a paper test and mailed to the remote site.

Choosing a Remote Site

For remote site testing, it must be a college, university or a military Education Services Office. High schools and libraries are not acceptable remote testing sites. All remotes testing sites must be approved by the Distance Learning Assessment Services prior to testing.

There are three ways that a remote site can be identified:

• Check the National College Testing Association website at http://testing.byu.edu/NCTA/Consortium/. This web site is a free referral service to facilitate distance learning.
  
• Contact the Distance Learning Assessment Services to determine approved testing sites in a particular area. These testing sites have been verified and confirmed as meeting Florida Community College at Jacksonville testing standards.
  
• Have the student contact local colleges and universities to arrange testing services. Once a college or university has agreed to proctor the tests, the student will need to contact the Distance Learning Assessment Services and provide school contact information. The Distance Learning Assessment Services will then contact the school and arrange for remote site testing.
  

When using remote site testing, the instructor must keep in mind class grading deadlines. Normally, about three weeks is required to locate and approve a remote site, send tests to the site, have the student test and then have the tests returned to Florida Community College and forwarded to the instructor.

For instructor-generated tests, instructors are not required to use the Distance Learning Assessment Services to arrange for remote site testing. However, all standardized testing must be arranged and scheduled through the Distance Learning Assessment Services.

Setting Up Remote Site Testing

To schedule remote site testing, please call 904.632.5020 or e-mail assessme@fccj.edu. Allow at least three weeks before your testing deadline to insure tests are sent to and received back from the remote test site.