When the University computer testing lab fails, instructors and administrators say nobody wins.
The first major hardware failure at the on-campus Computer Testing Center two weeks ago has some students wondering if the entire class should be allowed a retake or just those directly affected by the failure.
Last month marked the first hardware failure in about 10 years of computer testing, according to David O’Brien, assistant director of computing operations for the Office of Assessment and Evaluations.
When the testing lab malfunctions, typically only one day of testers are affected because exams are administered over the span of three days, he said.
In this case, most instructors allow only those who lost their test scores to retake, giving these students a little extra cramming time.
The University doesn’t have a uniform policy to dictate how faculty should respond when the testing center fails, according to T. Gilmour Reeve, vice provost of Academic Affairs.
Reeve said the policy allows the instructor to decide with consultation available from the Office of Assessment and Evaluation to ensure the fairest outcome.
Reeve said students also have the opportunity to appeal if they feel their academic situations are unfair.
When scores from his renewable natural resources exam were lost, professor William Kelso opted to allow retakes for only the students directly affected.
Kelso said no students complained about not getting extra study time, and he monitored the scores from the retake, finding they were similar to the scores from the class’s first exam.
“If I would have seen students retaking the test making 100s across the board, we would’ve perhaps done something different,” Kelso said. “Really it’s not fair for anyone when this happens.”
For some students, having extra time to study actually comes as a detriment.
“It really just stressed me out because I felt like I needed to keep refreshing for the retake,” said Adam Mier, a biology freshman who was forced to delay his exam after the testing center failure.
Mier said he also heard many complaints from other students who wanted the extra time to study for a retake.
Though last month was the first major error with testing center equipment, other issues are caused by errors with instructors’ test designs and University Internet systems.
O’Brien said out of the 100,000 exams administered over the semester, less than 1 percent have problems.
 
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Contact Xerxes A. Wilson at [email protected]