Completion of the College Assessment and Academic Proficiency (CAAP) exam is no longer a requirement for obtaining a bachelor’s degree from UNA, as decided by the UNA Board of Trustees at their June 10 meeting.

Students enrolled in CAAP 299 this fall were first to officially receive word. The information came via email from Testing Coordinator Kenda Rusevlyan, informing them “The UNA Board of Trustees voted at their last meeting on June 10, 2013 to rescind the mandate that all UNA students take the CAAP exam as part of their graduation requirements,” and that the course would be removed from their schedules.

Andrew Luna, director of institutional research, planning and assessment, confirmed the email, adding that the board’s vote was unanimous on the grounds of increasing cost to administer the test.

The exam was costing the university $17,000 per year, and that number was rising significantly each year, Luna said.

“They thought was that we should be able to come up with our own assessment that’s better and most cost effective,” he said.

While no decision has been made about what alternate assessment to use, Luna said his department will make sure student academic performance is being properly evaluated.

One possible solution he mentioned would be “course-embedded assessments,” or assessments that would manifest themselves in assignments within classes students are already required to take. Luna said not only would this be easier for students, but it could also “more adequately reflect how that student is doing in that particular course.”

“The decision came from Institutional Research and Planning,” said Amy Crews, director of university advising services. “It was decided that it would be canceled because the data was not useful and just used in-house.”

Student Shelby Fink, upon hearing the news for the first time, was relieved she could forget about what she felt was going to be a waste of her time and money. 

“Basically, the things you learn in your first two years of college are a repeat of what you learned in high school,” she said. “To test us on that again, I feel like, would be a total waste of time.”

Luna said the main advantage of using the nationwide standardized test, compar

ing UNA’s results with the national average, was being negated as more and more schools are discontinuing use of the CAAP exam.

For those students who have already taken the CAAP exam, their scores will still appear on their academic transcripts, and will, just as before, not count for credit or towards student GPA, Luna said.

“We never shared the results outside,” Luna said. “This was primarily created by the board of trustees to measure whether or not our students were effectively achieving the key core competencies.”

The news brings with it frustration for some, namely Dean Arnold, a student who took the CAAP exam while it was still a requirement for graduation.

“I found it to be a waste of time just as much then as I do now,” he said.

Luna said he is seeking to do what is in the best interest of students’ education.

“Any assessment we do is purely to improve the university,” he said.