To LSU Computer-Based Testing Faculty:

Staff in the CAE appreciate the opportunity to continue our work with academic departments in the delivery of computer-based tests. We are committed to supporting faculty in this process, particularly in terms of innovative uses of CBT that reinforce or complement classroom pedagogies. I am writing to let you know of an important policy change that will enable us to accommodate as many faculty and students as possible. Resource limitations force us to address the problem of students who schedule exams and subsequently do not show up for the appointments they chose. The missed appointments and resultant make-up exams (both within and outside of the allotted testing schedule) add significantly to the increasing costs associated with staffing the CBT labs.

Students are expected to schedule an appointment and to be on time. Higher faculty usage of the labs makes it necessary for us strictly to enforce our policy of not allowing students to test without a scheduled appointment. Those who are late for an appointment will no longer be allowed to test if they cannot reschedule their appointments within the range of allotted testing slots (i.e., if all of the allotted slots are taken). Additionally, students who appear without a scheduled appointment will not be allowed to test if no slots are available within the allotted schedule. We will no longer be able to add or increment schedule appointments. In sum, resource limitations preclude our accommodation of make-up exams outside of the allotted schedule for a class.

We are currently in the process of analyzing data in the form of test schedules and class rosters to ensure that there will be enough testing sessions available to students in all testing windows. We are basing our usage estimates on an equal number of students testing each day during the testing window. This scheduling procedure means that students will be forced to test early in the testing window if they are unable to schedule an appointment late in the window (i.e., if other students have already scheduled those slots).

We understand that circumstances change and that there are times when a student will be unable to take a scheduled exam. However, as faculty usage of computer-based testing and its associated costs have increased, the CAE must take steps to control these costs so that we can continue to serve as many faculty members and students as possible. We appreciate your understanding and assistance in this matter and look forward to another successful semester of computer-based testing.