How do I take exams in distance courses?

The best place to start the investigation is in your course syllabus. Students enrolled in campus-based distance learning courses generally take examinations in their own campus' testing center.

Examinations in Extended Learning Institute distance learning courses can be taken at any NVCC campus testing center during open testing center hours, but must be started at least 90 minutes before closing. Before going to the campus of your choice to take your exam, call the testing center to verify they are open. Then follow these simple steps:

1. Print an ELI Exam Pass to take with you to the testing center. ELI Exam Passes are obtained from your course Syllabus or printed from your course web site at http://eli.nvcc.edu/courses.htm. You will not be allowed to take an exam without an exam pass. You will be charged for printing a replacement exam pass at the testing center.
2. Call the specific NVCC campus testing center to verify they will be open.
3. Gather the following materials to take with you: (a) ELI Exam Pass; (b) valid photo ID ; (c) your NovaConnect ID (also called your Student Number and EmplID). Look up your NovaConnect ID before you go to the testing center.
4. Go to the NVCC campus testing cetner and present ELI Exam Pass for the exam you will be taking.
5. Your instructor will receive the exam and provide feedback at a later date.

Important: Students taking tests requiring extensive calculations, such as math, chemistry and engineering, and exams with essays should allow two to three hours to complete these exams. Once a test is given to a student it is considered taken whether finished or not.

All exams are stopped and collected 15 minutes prior to the listed closing time. Please check individual campus websites for Testing Center hours of operation.

For individuals who live outside the Washington, DC metropolitan area, you may arrange to have your exams proctored. It is the student’s responsibility to secure a proctor and to pay any fees charged by the proctor. ELI requires that a proctor be a staff member at a testing center at a college or university. Proctors cannot be a family member, employer, or someone with whom the student works. Incarcerated students should suggest an educational officer or counselor as their proctor. Disabled and other students who do not have access to an educational institution should suggest an alternative proctor, preferably an educator.

Requests for proctored exams and proctors must be approved by ELI. ELI reserves the right to reject requests for proctors for any reason. To have a proctor approved, write to ELI as soon as possible so your exams will not be delayed. Please complete and submit a Proctor Request Form. Be sure to include your proctor's statement on letterhead and a copy of the Exam Passes for your course.

Top

Securing a Proctor

If you cannot travel to an NVCC campus because you live outside the Washington, DC metropolitan area, you may request to take placement testing through the Extended Learning Institute. Please complete and submit the Placement Exam Proctor Request Form. As the student, it is your responsibility to secure a proctor and to pay any fees charged by the proctor.

The Extended Learning Institute (ELI) requires that a proctor be a staff member at a testing center at a college or university. Proctors cannot be a family member, employer, or someone with whom the student works. Incarcerated students should suggest an educational officer or counselor as their proctor. Disabled and other students who do not have access to an educational institution should suggest an alternative proctor, preferably an educator. Requests for proctored exams and proctors must be approved by ELI. ELI reserves the right to reject requests for proctors for any reason.

Top

 

Placement Testing

NVCC Campus Testing Centers offer testing for Basic Skills Assessment, Placement Testing, Course Placement Testing, and English Proficiency Testing.

Registration for ENG 111, MTH 120, MTH 151, MTH 163, MTH 166, MTH 173 and MTH 271 requires placement testing. You may take the English and Math Placement exams at any campus testing center after you have been admitted to the college. Consult Admissions and Records for specific requirements.

If you cannot travel to an NVCC campus because you live outside the Washington, DC metropolitan area, you may request to take placement testing through the Extended Learning Institute. Please complete and submit the Placement Exam Proctor Request Form. As the student, it is your responsibility to secure a proctor and to pay any fees charged by the proctor.

The Extended Learning Institute (ELI) requires that a proctor be a staff member at a testing center at a college or university. Proctors cannot be a family member, employer, or someone with whom the student works. Incarcerated students should suggest an educational officer or counselor as their proctor. Disabled and other students who do not have access to an educational institution should suggest an alternative proctor, preferably an educator. Requests for proctored exams and proctors must be approved by ELI. ELI reserves the right to reject requests for proctors for any reason.

Top

 

Guidelines for Taking an Essay Exam

1. Prepare thoroughly.
2. Understand the assignment.
3. Plan your answer.
4. Give a direct response to the assignment. Anything irrelevant wastes word and time.
5. Write in a clear, simple, and correct style.
6. Develop your answer thoroughly.
7. Be creative. Some instructors want a reproduction of what they said in class, but most want your thinking, not just their own.

The following advice comes from Writing Essays About Literature, 3rd edition, by Kelley Griffith, Jr., (Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1990):

"…the same methods for writing out-of-class essays apply to test essays, short or long. Your test essays are arguments. They should have a thesis. They should try to convince an audience of the validity of that thesis. They should use sound logic and apt illustrations. Most of all, because of time limits, they need good organization. Perhaps the most important general consideration to keep in mind is that your grade will depend on how well you perform on a particular assignment, not simply on how much you know" (220).

Top