UAA permanently shuts down testing center

On July 17, UAA released a university-wide statement through email and Green & Gold News announcing that the UAA Testing Center will permanently close on July 30.

The center, located in the Consortium Library, includes testing for proctored undergraduate admissions and placement tests, course exams, trade certification tests, federal government testing and education-related exams, among other services. 

The UAA Testing Center will continue operating its in-person JBER location for military-affiliated students and community. Other UAA testing locations and the Disability Support Services testing center will also remain open.

Students completing a required exam or placement test will now use UAA-approved online proctored exam systems such as Honorlock and Blackboard Ultra, or in-person testing with professors. 

The Northern Light spoke with UAA Provost Denise Runge and Interim Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Tom Green.

Green said the UAA Testing Center is closing because of declining demand for many in-person testing services and insufficient funding to sustain the center.

Green said cheating rates have progressed fourfold in the last year, and he believes these rates will diminish with the use of Honorlock and Blackboard Ultra.

Green and Runge said they’re confident that the majority of UAA students will choose not to cheat.

UAA Testing Center Supervisor Francine Feero and Testing Coordinator Paige Babbitt spoke with The Northern Light about the center’s closure.

Feero said she has worked at the UAA Testing Center since 2005, and has assisted in the construction of testing centers around Alaska. She also helped establish and develop UAA’s testing center.

“This is the largest testing center in the state,” said Feero. “We have 53 seats that turn over every two hours, sometimes every three hours.” She added that the testing center attendance data did not include walk-in exams.

Feero said a portion of the revenue earned from the center is given to parking services.

All non-UAA-affiliated testing charges individual testing fees along with a flat-rate fee. 

Babbitt said the testing center data directly contradicts claims of a lack of demand from UAA administration.

She also expects the prevalence of cheating to increase, citing nearly all students' familiarity with and widespread access to artificial intelligence.

The Northern Light reviewed scheduled testing data for the UAA Testing Center from academic years 2020 through 2024. 

The testing center averaged 602.5 monthly scheduled tests, with a total of 7,230 exams administered in 2024.

Runge said the testing center is closing because it now administers one quarter of the exams it once did. She added that the center primarily serves people who are not affiliated with UAA.

“Because of the existence of the testing center, some faculty at our university have chosen, without asking, to send students to the testing center to have their proctored exam,” said Runge.

Runge said the majority of professors proctor exams themselves, and community members have other in-person testing opportunities in Anchorage.

Feero and Babbitt said professors have complained about the center’s closure, and some have stated it is a possibility they could offer fewer online courses because of proctoring challenges.

According to Honorlock, the program is designed to detect AI by using an AI system that prompts human review when triggered.

Babbitt said many universities, faculty and students have an issue with proctoring services provided by Honorlock as they could attribute to a violation of privacy or be used by people with nefarious intentions. 

In 2022, Judge J. Philip Calabrese ruled in favor of a student from Cleveland State University who claimed the use of Honorlock’s room scan was unconstitutional, while other lawsuits are pending.

Babbitt said proctors must have certifications and training to accurately proctor during testing, and many vendors require specific training. She emphasized the importance of keeping in-person proctored exams for life-saving professions such as surgeons or prenatal nurses. 

“These are professions that you want to make sure that people don't cheat on because they have to know what they're talking about, and the test exam content cannot be compromised because then the professional field as a whole is compromised,” said Babbitt.

Vendors are organizations that have signed contracts with representatives of the UAA Testing Center to offer in-person testing. Some of these vendors include the college board and PSI Exams, which administer testing services for organizations like the Federal Aviation Administration.

Runge said the university chose to not renew their contracts with the UAA Testing Center’s vendors.

Babbitt said, “it's a huge, huge hit to the community. It's a huge hit to students. They didn't consult with a single person in the testing center.”

Babbitt and Feero said some vendors are scrambling to find other in-person testing centers to administer exams.

Babbitt said UAA did not consult the testing center about its collected data or its effect on the university. 

“We could have made a case. We could have told them how important the testing center is to Alaska as a state,” said Babbitt. “They didn't care. They don't care.”

Runge said records on the UAA Testing Center were requested in 2024 for the Campus Planning Advisory Board to discuss closure.

Babbitt said the UAA Testing Center has received offers from other UAA departments and multiple vendors, and all have been denied. 

Runge said she has not been included in any conversations about financial support for the testing center.

“Everybody's going to be impacted negatively by this decision, especially people that are like susceptible groups, marginalized groups, disabled people, non-native English speakers, or English as their second language, older people,” said Babbitt.

The Northern Light released a poll to 6,739 UAA students, staff and faculty, requesting anonymous feedback on the testing center shutdown.

The poll consisted of five multiple-choice answers and a comment box. The Northern Light received a total of 167 entries, with approximately 71% responding, “I don’t like it” at 119 responses.

The second majority response was 15.5% at 26 entries that answered: “Why is it shutting down?”

The poll accumulated 97 written responses.