Contact information: 413/775-1420
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Contact: Liz Carroll
Phone: 413/775-1420
E-mail: carroll@gcc.mass.edu

Media contact: Liz Carroll
Marketing & Publications
413/775-1420 | carroll@gcc.mass.edu

Release date: September 28, 2004

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

New testing center starts students on path to success

The GCC Testing Center opened this fall in a brand new space: expansive, welcoming, and ready to serve both the community and GCC students. It's one of the first stops for a new student, and arguably the most crucial. If you've ever suffered through a math class that was way over your head, you were simply in the wrong class.

"It makes much more sense to start in a class that matches one's skill level," says Jean Boucias, Director of Testing and Assessment "The Testing Center is really about access and starting students off where they'll be most successful. We offer many different levels of classes. We want students to feel challenged, comfortable and confident in their academic pursuits, and placement testing gives us that gauge."

Everyone tests at their best in the soothing environment which Boucias has created. "Our goal is to make students feel as relaxed as possible," says Boucias. Original watercolors painted by her husband provide focal points of color in the reception area, where classical music plays softly in the background. A separate testing area, including a wheelchair-accessible unit, offers the privacy of cubicles which, students say, help them to focus on their task. After they finish their tests, each student meets with an advisor to go over their test results and choose courses. "It's 'one-stop shopping,' if you will," explains Boucias. "We wanted to combine all the testing services in one centralized place."

It's not just for students; it's for the community

This past summer, GCC helped a student who was going to school in Florida, but couldn't get out there in time to take their placement tests and register. "So he called his school," relates Boucias, "and they said, 'GCC offers the same placement test. If you can test there, we can talk to their testing staff about your results and then we can go ahead and get you registered.' It was nice to be able to provide that service.”

The growing popularity of distance learning, where people take courses over the Internet, offers another opportunity for the College to serve the community by administering, or proctoring, tests in a professional environment. "We've had students call and ask if they could come here and have us proctor an exam for them, which we're more than willing to do," says Boucias. "I send their college information about our Testing Center, and they send the exam to us. We then make an appointment for the student to come in to test, after which we return the exam to the student's college."

GED testing, in both English and Spanish, continues to be an important function of the Testing Center. Right now, Boucias is booking for November, when she can accommodate up to 20 students. A related service, "Ability to benefit" testing, is available for students who have not graduated from high school or received their GED, but who wish to attend GCC and apply for financial aid. "If they take the Ability to Benefit test and achieve a certain score," says Boucias, "they'll be eligible to enroll and apply for financial aid."

The Testing Center will soon be offering currency testing. Currency testing is not about money; it's about how current your knowledge is of a subject area, such as chemistry. Boucias also administers challenge tests. "For example, a student with keyboarding skills can come in and "test out” of a basic keyboarding class if it is listed as a prerequisite for another course.”

With so many services to offer, Boucias has planned an Open House for Wednesday, Oct. 6 from 12 to 2, for GCC and the community at large. "It's a wonderful space and we're very excited about it," says Boucias. "By providing this space, we're opening our arms to the community and saying, 'Come on, come to GCC! Let our new Testing Center help you identify where you can confidently begin a new course of study.”