The testing center at SUU is a waste of money because not very many professors use the testing center, the space cannot accommodate for the growing student population and higher scores are achieved when tests and learning are done in the same environment.
The number of professors that use the testing center is very low. During the two years I have studied at SUU, I have had very few professors use the testing center. My roommates have also experienced similar results. According to Toni Sage, the SUU Director of Academic Success, about 102 professors use the testing center out of 326 total professors and 18 lecturers.
It costs $121,500 to run the testing center and on average they fall short about $34,000 in funding. With so few professors using the testing center, is it worth spending the money to keep it running and continue to struggle to find sufficient funding?
The current testing center at SUU is very small and not very many people can take a test at the same time. Waiting lines for the testing center can be as long if not longer than an hour. Many students that are balancing a job and other activities do not have time to wait that long. SUU is a growing school, each year more students are applying.
Getting rid of the testing center would be beneficial to SUU. It would free up money for other uses, and the space could be turned into a classroom, offices, computer lab or a larger tutoring center to accommodate for the increasing student population.
In the textbook used for my Psychology 1010 lecture, “Exploring Psychology in Modules” 10th edition by Myers and Dewall, it says that you remember things better when you are in the same environment that you learned them. So, if you sit in the same spot in class every day and on test day you sit in the same spot, you have a better chance of remembering the information that you learned in class.
When a test is taken in the testing center a student may have a harder time recalling information learned in class because the environment is completely different. Higher test scores are achieved in the classroom rather than the testing center. Higher test scores at SUU could mean more government funding, more applicants and a better reputation.
So why spend the money on a testing center that isn’t used very often to get lower test scores than if they were taken in the classroom? In addition, clarifying questions about the test are more easily answered in the classroom with the professor there rather than at the testing center.
Although the testing center helps employ students and others in the community, SUU is wasting money running the testing center. Getting rid of the testing center at SUU would be more beneficial to the school than to keep it running. Like mentioned earlier, funding for the testing center isn’t enough to meet the total expenses. If it is already struggling to find enough funding, then it’s probably best to shut it down.
Submitted By
Taylor Christensen, SUU Student
Photo By
Mitchell Quartz
Outside@suunews.com
