The Newcomers' Orientation is the best way for "newbies" to become acquainted with the National College Testing Association. Whether you're new to the testing profession or just a first time conference attendee, this session will help you learn about all the resources available to you through NCTA. You'll get to meet board members, learn about the structure of the organization, and find out about the variety of opportunities for involvement. The Newcomers' Orientation is a great chance to meet other testing professionals, whether they're fellow newcomers or seasoned veterans, and discover how NCTA can become a viable part of your professional development.

Conference Track: Orientation

Typically schools provide students with multiple proctoring options. The options may include testing at a local testing center on campus, testing at a testing center at another university, testing at a professional testing center, utilizing the services of an approved human proctor, and/or using a virtual proctoring service. However, the devil is in the details when it comes to managing multiple proctoring modalities. How does the instructor or testing manager know which students will be testing by what modalities? How do they stay informed about where each student is in the work flow for the various modalities? How do they prompt students to take the next step in the appropriate proctoring work flow?

SmarterProctoring is the first Proctoring Process Management System which allows schools to manage the workflow for multiple proctoring modalities such as testing centers, human proctors, and virtual proctors. Through dashboards embedded into the LMS, faculty, students, administrators, and proctors can all track the full proctoring process for multiple modalities in real time for each student. The system also automates the sending of reminders (text or email) to the student to reduce procrastination in the proctoring workflow.

In this session, Rick Beaudry will share how SmarterProctoring has helped the 15 schools and 55 testing centers in the Mississippi Virtual Community College System manage their multi-modal proctoring process.

Conference Track: Proctoring

Prior Learning Assessment (PLA) is an important part of the new higher education landscape. Much research has been done about the impact of accepting PLA credits on degree completion. There are many ways for individuals to gain PLA academic credits, but what about credit for work experience and on-the-job training? During this session, discover how individuals, particularly adults, active military, and military veterans, can obtain credit toward a degree program for the knowledge and skills they have gained on the job. Also learn how one college in Ohio is utilizing PLA for a new program for military and veterans and what is happening with PLA in the state of Ohio.

Conference Track: Prior Learning Assessment

When the University of Pittsburgh Testing Center opened its doors in May 2014, it symbolized a new era of academic testing for Pitt. The Center combined the services and functions of three unique testing centers on campus to form a single, multi-faceted location for Pitt students, faculty, and the external Pittsburgh community. The process of merging three testing centers into one had successes, headaches, triumphs, and the occasional 'Plan B.' Please join us for a discussion about our strategy, stakeholder buy-in, and our lessons learned from creating one testing center out of three.

Conference Track: Test Center Management and Staff Training

The 2015 NCTA Annual Conference features many new opportunities for networking and participation, including the introduction of our first mobile conference application. In this session, you will learn how the app can enhance your conference experience and become acquainted with its features, such as access to the conference program and agenda, ability to create individual profiles and connect with fellow attendees, and information about conference sponsors. Benefits of using the interactive conference app include keeping up with your NCTA colleagues, receiving updates to the conference schedule, interacting with presenters and session attendees, and much more. Additionally, we will discuss NCTA's social networking options, including Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Attendees will get tips for using the conference hashtag (#ncta15), finding new contacts, and using social media to leverage the best conference experience possible. NCTA Conference App available on iOS (Apple), Android, and laptops (dashboard).

Conference Track: Orientation

Let's face it. Work in our offices may tend to pull us in thousands of different directions. Budgets may not allow the hiring of another staff to ease the burden. What can be done? Two universities have found the untapped resource of student employment wields untold power and versatility. From a private organization breaking the boundaries of testing to a state organization providing opportunities for students to grow as well as provide a stabling influence in-house, we bring you a discussion-based platform to review how student employment can be utilized to increase your throughput, expand productivity, and provide quality experience for the next generation of professionals.

Conference Track: Test Center Management and Staff Training

The best measure of a student's potential for success is a hot topic! The Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System has implemented a system-wide use of Multiple Measures. This session will cover the process from idea to implementation to its effect on student success. Come prepared to share your own schools' stories of success regarding this timely and important topic.

Conference Track: Placement Testing

Each year, the College Board recognizes the Top 100 test centers that administer the most College Level Exam Program (CLEP) exams. While the counting of CLEP exams to determine this top 100 is easy, what these schools do to achieve this truly remarkable status is also very extraordinary. From onsite recruitment, program awareness, policy development, and high school outreach, the Top 100 test centers have unique and innovative approaches and proven techniques that help more students make faster and cost-effective progress toward their degrees through CLEP.

Conference Track: Prior Learning Assessment

Providing test accommodations is a necessary part of administering and proctoring tests. Yet, testing offices often ignore the importance of the many facets of accessibility not only in providing accommodations for students with disabilities but also for all students they serve. This presentation will focus on the importance of universal design in making testing accessible. There will be a short discussion of the philosophy of universal design and how testing offices need to use these concepts in order to create a testing environment that is accessible. The presentation will then move toward a discussion of specific methods of how to implement universal design concepts in testing through communication (websites, scheduling systems, etc.), facilities (testing rooms, office arrangement, etc.), staff knowledge, test presentation, content and validity, and leadership.

Conference Track: Accessibility in Testing

From funding issues and navigating contract requirements to unreasonable demands from customers and rapidly changing technology, testing centers are often beset by hassles and frustrations. For many of us, stress is so commonplace that it seems natural for it to become a way of life. Challenges can give us an opportunity to innovate and improve, but constantly running in emergency mode can take a toll on our minds and bodies. There's good news! You can protect yourself by recognizing the signs and symptoms of stress and taking steps to reduce its harmful effects.

This session will begin by providing a brief introduction to common challenges encountered by testing centers that can create highly stressful environments. The presenters will then discuss a few simple stress reduction techniques to utilize prior to responding to a potential crisis situation. Finally, participants will have the opportunity to work in small groups to create plans using the new techniques to respond effectively to scenarios that could arise at a test center. Through these examples, the presenters will facilitate a discussion on how to continue to provide excellent customer service with limited resources all while maintaining balance in the work environment.

Conference Track: Professional Development

A pilot study should not be the make-or-break for a deal, nor should it be used as a sales technique to inch a vendor's way into a school. I will present a framework to use the pilot as a furnace to mold, shape, and refine your partnership with a vendor. Over the course of working with dozens of schools, ProctorFree has created a methodology that allows for growth and improvement, embraces iterations, and values transparency. In this session we will discuss the agenda for formative pilots and evaluate case studies including conventional pilots, competitive pilots, and extensive pilots. The structure we will dive deeply into is Plan, Connect, Implement, Improve, Evaluate, and Expand.

Conference Track: Assessment Design and Psychometrics

This session will address trending topics ranging from general updates to DANTES fully-funded testing and accommodation options. There will be plenty of time for Q&A from the audience.

Conference Track: Prior Learning Assessment

The goal of the Empowered by Psychometrics series is to help campus testing offices transition towards becoming campus assessment centers which, in addition to providing test administration services, also actively offer expertise to the faculty, staff, administration, and student body on issues related to test development and educational measurement. This year's session focuses on the psychometrics underlying computerized adaptive testing (CAT). In CAT, no two examinees take the same sets of items. Furthermore, as a result of the adaptive algorithm, most examinees wind up with proportion correct scores near 50%. In this session, participants will learn about the science behind CAT that allows for examinees' test scores to be directly comparable to each other. Participants will learn about different test delivery models, item selection algorithms, and security issues as they relate to CAT. Time will be provided at the end for audience members to ask questions.

Conference Track: Assessment Design and Psychometrics

This session will speak to the following outcomes:

• Developing a process/template/framework for Testing Center staff who manage on-line students' requests for accommodated testing within the Consortium of College Testing Center network (addressing testing fees/accommodation paperwork/scheduling of resources/ developing memos of understanding between colleges).
• Talking points for faculty who teach on-line at your institution for directing their accommodated students to testing resources.

Sources: The ADA Coordinator's Guide to Campus Compliance and CCTC Guidelines.

Conference Track: Accessibility in Testing

This session will help institutions uncover the potential marketing and revenue engine testing centers can become for an institution. By offering industry recognized certification exams, testing centers can become a pipeline to reach individuals who may otherwise escape traditional enrollment-generating activities. Not only will the testing center provide a vehicle for recruitment, but it will also become a valid revenue source. Revenue will be realized as those both internal and external to the organization utilize the testing center to take certification exams outside the scope of traditional classroom instruction. By offering testing services to the greater community, the institution's brand and offerings will increase.

Conference Track: Test Center Finances

Did you know that RegisterBlast now has an online appointment/registration feature that will maximize the institutional use for more than just the testing center? Is your institution looking for an online appointment/registration system to keep up with your 24/7 students and their advisement needs? RegisterBlast has the solution for you. This session is designed to give an overview of the NEW appointment/registration feature in use at Miami Dade College and will provide information on the latest RegisterBlast enhancements for testing appointments, event appointments, etc. Come learn how RegisterBlast can help your institution with all of its online appointment needs.

Conference Track: Testing Technology

See your revenue rise when you discover ways to shift your CLEP focus to high school students. We'll give you tips on reaching out to high school teachers, counselors, and the students themselves.

Conference Track: Test Center Finances

This presentation will address the question "What is Prior Learning Assessment?" and use the following as the guide: a set of well-established, researched, and validated methods for assessing non-collegiate learning for college credit and a process that allows learners to demonstrate knowledge and skill in a particular field or fields and have that learning evaluated for college credit.

The presenter will provide national research data from CAEL and Lumina Foundation, describe the 10 standards of PLA as established by CAEL, and provide the participants the opportunity to learn how the Colorado Community College System is implementing system wide policies for Prior Learning Assessment. Slides, video, and a tour of web sites from a variety of institutions will show how institutions may develop a strong PLA program. Finally, the presentation will include steps that may be helpful in a PLA program and provide time for an open discussion on moving this very important topic to the forefront.

Conference Track: Prior Learning Assessment

Tight budgets are a reality in education today. Test centers are continually being asked to do more with less and find creative solutions to new challenges every day. This session will focus on getting the most from ACCUPLACER units, finding low-cost security solutions, using work-study students, and boosting revenue to help fund more staff. Come prepared to share your own ideas and thoughts.

Conference Track: Test Center Management and Staff Training

In November of 2014, NCTA joined CAS, a consortium of professional associations that work collaboratively to develop and promulgate standards and guidelines and encourage self-assessment. The mission of the Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education (CAS) is to promote the improvement of programs and services to enhance the quality of student learning and development.

Participants will be able to gain an understanding of next steps for NCTA in the creation of standards, describe approaches to quality assurance and the use of professional standards in higher education, describe CAS and the CAS standards, describe how the CAS standards can be used for program self-assessment, and investigate how CAS standards can support testing within higher education institutions.

Conference Track: Certification, Grants, and Standards

Testing organizations and test centers are no strangers to rules…we have pages upon pages of them! But rules can shift across testing organizations and across time, and sometimes we find the rules aren't sufficient to cover new issues and emerging threats. That's when the bedrock principles upon which rules are based can provide us the firm footing to confidently address those new situations. Join us for an interactive session discussing test security. We'll explore the test security principles behind the hundreds of rules we apply and engage in scenario-based discussions that use test security principles to guide our actions when rules just aren't enough.

Conference Track: Test Security

Negotiation is a dialogue between two or more people or parties intended to reach an understanding, resolve points of difference, gain advantage, or produce an agreement upon a course of action. From birth, humans and non-humans negotiate every minute, hour, day, and week of their lives. Negotiation is how we settle conflict and exact change. Conflict in itself is a natural by-product of human and non-human interaction. We do so by various means of persuasion.

Conference Track: Professional Development

As testing administrators, we have spent our lives translating between the two worlds of mainstream and accommodated testing, attempting to bridge the comprehension gap between the two. On the front lines of testing, we find that we are often dealing with how political, socioeconomic, and cultural privileges may affect how and if a student will disclose the need for accommodations and, likewise, how these same factors may affect how faculty members understand the accommodated testing process and implement the appropriate accommodations for their students. Often, many of the issues we have had with students not using their accommodations go back to the misunderstanding of accommodated testing on the faculty's part. Our session will use our professional experiences and faculty-student case studies to detail how we have encountered such misunderstandings in our own office and provide insight to how new policies and procedures have mediated these issues to create a more consistent, comfortable, and controlled testing experience for our students. Through our newly implemented policies, such as a new student-intake process, a more streamlined appointment process, and mandatory faculty workshops, it is our hope not only to encourage the personal agency of our students and faculty but also to strengthen the professional and educational relationship between the two.

Conference Track: Accessibility in Testing

With the increased focus on accountability in higher education, "Culture of Evidence" is a phrase that many who work in student support offices are hearing these days. Units are being asked to show proof that their existence on campus is directly contributing to student success. As a result, testing offices are increasingly asked to provide data that goes further than usage and satisfaction, focusing instead on how the services offered support student success and learning, and how the mission of the office supports institutional priorities. During the 2014-15 academic year, the Division of Student Affairs at the University of Cincinnati began a centralized approach to planning and assessment, asking offices to align each of their programs and services with divisional strategic priorities and lay out their plans for determining the student impact of the work that they do.

During this session, the Director of Assessment and Testing Services Manager will discuss how the Testing Services Office became a leader in creating the Culture of Evidence for the division and present our plan for showing not only what we are doing but also why we are doing it and how we know it's working by using data. Attendees will learn how to write program and learning goals around their services, identify ways to collect student success data, and receive resources to take home to help them in planning their own Culture of Evidence.

Conference Track: Test Center Management and Staff Training

The challenges of managing a testing center are becoming more and more difficult. Mission-critical responsibilities like coordinating the workflow for both human and virtual proctors, assuring testing integrity, verifying student authentication, and streamlining the student registration process can be overwhelming--especially if you don't have trusted, time-tested solutions in place.

Four companies have formed a unique alliance that brings each of our specialized expertise and decades of experience to your testing center and institution. All you need can be found in one place! We do what we do best, so you can concentrate on what you do best.

Don't miss this session! B-Virtual, Biometric Signature, RegisterBlast, and SmarterProctoring will share how their alliance provides your testing center and institution with a one-stop shop for a multitude of solutions. We can make your job much, much easier! Come learn how.

Conference Track: Proctoring

College Testing Services has aligned itself with the College Strategic Goals of Student Success, Attainment, and Workforce Development. Creating partnerships with College Academic Programs, Workforce Development Initiatives, and Community-based Programs has allowed the College Testing Services to leverage its expertise and increase the value and need for its services campus wide.

College Testing Services successfully positioned itself as an internal consultant to the College for all testing-related service needs by providing customized testing experiences based on program, faculty, partner, candidate and student need. It created added value through ease of access, improved services, building campus links, and success stories and metrics.

Conference Track: Test Center Management and Staff Training

One of the drawbacks of formal exams is that the testing environment is artificial from the real-world context of the learning content. Embedded assessments provide opportunities for learners to be tested while they are actively engaged in performance tasks that are generally used as learning activities. Assessment data are captured at specific points in the learners' activities and are used for formative feedback and grading. This data can be stored in the same databases used by courses for grading and for evidence of learning-outcomes achievement.

In this presentation we will discuss different scenarios that work well with embedded assessments. We will also discuss how testing center leaders can help instructors plan for and use data provided from embedded assessments

Conference Track: Assessment Design and Psychometrics

This interactive session is a follow-up to the 2014 session "Surviving the Human Zoo" and takes a more in-depth look at communication and behavioral styles while relating the styles to motivating employees, job fulfillment and enjoyment, and team success. Participants are asked to bring an amusing story, situation, or challenge they have faced in the testing world. Attendees will be divided into teams and asked to share their "best and funniest" story. Each team will select one to share with everyone. Laughter, a sense of humor, and "survival" skills will be explored and enjoyed!

Conference Track: Professional Development

Proper identification of candidates is a crucial part of test integrity. How can you tell if the identification a candidate hands you is valid, authentic, and representative of the correct person? The "Novelty ID" market is a billion dollar industry with no limits as to the type of ID that can be purchased. This workshop will show you some simple techniques and the latest technology to help combat identity fraud at your testing center. You may be surprised at how a few inexpensive tools can help. Discover the differences between authentic and fake ID's and tips to evaluate a candidate's behavior to help identify those being less than honest. Plus, find out what you should do if you discover a fake ID. And no - this is not a make and take workshop.

Conference Track: Test Security

This presentation will be a roundtable discussion about the Universal Access in Testing Special Interest Group (SIG) led by the UAT SIG steering committee. The focus will be on what the current SIG workplan consists of and where the SIG hopes to go in the future. The steering committee hopes to elicit feedback from the SIG membership on these issues and others that should be incorporated into future SIG workplans. Some topics will be suggested that we are certain will promote considerable discussion as a part of the roundtable.

Conference Track: Accessibility in Testing

Come hear how testing professionals are moving out of the shallow waters of "just testing" into the depths of excellent testing services. NCTA-Certified beach bums welcome you to an interactive discussion of how the NCTA Test Center Certification process has broadened their strokes and propelled them into the surf, providing evidence to upper administration and test-takers that their test center is truly the Best of the Best. The benefits of and pride in being certified invigorate us to stroke harder when swimming in the depths of higher education. Come see samples of your colleagues' progress toward certification or recertification – it's time for some of whose centers have been certified for five years to pursue recertification to maintain their high national status. Join us!

Conference Track: Certification, Grants, and Standards

As an extension of our 2014 conference session in Denver, we are reporting on our progress. We are excited to show many of our innovative methodologies as well as the environment that we have implemented to make our testing center one of the most state-of-the-art test centers in our conference. Everything from testing on tablets to worldwide administration of exams will be revealed in this session. We invite everyone to come with questions and ideas so, together, we can polish this pearl of great price and all rise above the tide of old-school testing.

Conference Track: Testing Technology

The Annual Proctoring / Learner Authentication Survey is administered to measure good practices and perceptions regarding efforts to foster a culture of academic integrity through learner authentication and testing integrity. Close to 300 persons submitted the survey including 102 test center administrators. Twenty-three questions on the survey were specific to test center administrators. Find out about good practices at other test centers in regards to matters such as cost for services, scheduling, protocol for unacceptable behavior, funding, testing formats and more.

Conference Track: Proctoring

This session focuses on the GED and Certification Testing in Delaware's Correctional Institutions.

Understanding reasons for testing while incarcerated is important because gaining basic skills may relate to future employment opportunities and ultimately to recidivism, which occurs when incarcerated individuals who serve their sentences and are released later return to correctional centers. Motivations for taking the GED and other test certifications vary among inmates, just as they do among the general population of test-takers. Incarcerated individuals reported a need for a GED test credential and other certifications as a means of self-improvement that translates to success upon release.

This panel discussion features test center administrators and prison educators who will discuss the how's, highs/lows, when's and why's associated with successful testing in Delaware's correctional institutions.

Conference Track: High School Equivalency Testing

Colleges have the capacity to attract, retain, and graduate more adult students with opportunities to earn college credit using Prior Learning Assessment (PLA). PLA is the evaluation and assessment of one's learning and knowledge gained through life and work experience. There are multiple PLA methods which include standardized exams such as CLEP, DANTES (DSST), and Excelsior/UExcel; institutional exams; evaluations of local, workplace, and corporate training; industry certifications/licensure; individualized assessments such as portfolios; and military training and non-college programs. Miami Dade College (MDC) is highly committed to PLA. This session will describe the benefits of PLA and MDC initiatives which can be applied at your institution.

Conference Track: Prior Learning Assessment

Proctoring Best Practices is a new publication being developed jointly by the National College Testing Association and the Security Committee of the Association of Test Publishers during a year-long collaboration. This document is intended to identify best proctoring practices in paper-based, computer-based, and online proctored testing contexts and should serve as a guide for test sponsors and/or publishers in drafting their test administration policies or as they evaluate and audit vendor organizations providing proctoring services. In establishing best practices, the contributors gave primary consideration to those practices that promoted the security of the test, maintained standardization, and ensured the fair and respectful treatment of all test takers.

In this session, the presenters will discuss the collaboration and will provide an overview of the proctor's role in preparing the testing facility, admitting the test taker, proctoring during the examination, concluding the examination, and completing examination responsibilities. Presenters will discuss the proctor's responsibilities during each phase of the testing process, including how they may differ across the various testing channels.

Conference Track: Proctoring

Whether your testing center is operated by a university or as a small business, expenses need to be covered by revenue. The bottom line is a testing center is a business and a balancing act akin to a restaurant, hotel, or airplane—every seat counts. If someone is sitting in a seat there should be fair compensation. If someone is not, then your scheduling needs to be reworked and Vendors need to be added to your rotation.

This workshop will cover how to manipulate and rotate your schedule to create a constant for seats being properly filled as needs and wants ebb and flow, dealing with cost-of-living increases including bargaining with vendors and creating your own services.

Conference Track: Test Center Finances

Almost 60% of entering community college students require some level of math remediation, and those who begin in developmental education are at-risk of not completing a college credential. Therefore, the need for accurate math placement along with providing students opportunity to review is of critical importance. In the summer of 2014, Harper College piloted McGraw Hill's ALEKS PPL (Placement, Preparation & Learning) for math. Compared to the College's current math placement exam (COMPASS), ALEKS is a longer test that provides a more comprehensive assessment of students' abilities. In addition, it provides on-line, self-paced remediation targeted to specific needs and opportunities to retest and improve placement. Harper College partnered with Vanderbilt University which provided neutral, third-party assistance in pilot design and data analysis. Piloting a new math assessment tool is quite a challenge. Piloting a dramatically different math assessment tool during the busiest testing season, with two months to prepare, is just crazy…like a fox. This presentation will describe the pilot set-up, on-going data collection, preliminary results, and overall impressions of the ALEKS PPL product.

Conference Track: Placement Testing

This presentation will cover some of the fundamental soft skills needed to successfully run a testing center including giving and receiving feedback, communication skills, hiring/firing skills, and professional partners. All of these skills and more will be addressed and assessed to find out your strengths and where you could use a little tweaking.

Conference Track: Professional Development

With college costs rising like the tides of St. Pete's Beach, students are looking for a way to stay afloat in higher education. Excelsior College through the UExcel credit-by-exam program is providing a surf board to success. By utilizing exam content guides, open educational resources, recommended books, and practice exams, individuals are given the ability to ride the wave towards accomplishing career goals, early degree completion, and overall self-fulfillment.

Conference Track: Prior Learning Assessment

This presentation will look at those technical questions that have been rising with the tide in your testing center. What is a cache proxy anyway? Why can't Java get along with what is already on my testing stations instead of creating havoc at each update? Do I really have to have a separate computer for this testing program? Is an active understanding of the technical side now a prerequisite for staff in a testing center? What about wireless, laptops, and more?. Join us for an informed and lively discussion of technical side questions and issues in the testing environment of the present and future.

Conference Track: Testing Technology

For many of us, our offices could not run without our student workers, both undergraduate and graduate. They work so hard for us, so what can we do to help them as well? That is where managing and mentoring comes in! Managing student employees can be a unique and gratifying experience as young workers develop into productive members of society. It can also be the most harrowing and challenging job. The Online Testing Center at Boise State University and the University of Southern California have the unique perspective of having a mostly student employee staff to help run their offices.

Join us in the exploration of how to "best" manage student employees to help them learn and grow as well as maintain professionalism by looking through a lens of developmental theory and mentoring theory and secure testing standards in the world of assessment. Suggestions and examples will be given such as different tasks and check-ins that can be done with students to make their time at work more meaningful and help with success in the classroom, including events to have and self-care strategies.

Conference Track: Test Center Management and Staff Training

In the past few years, both the legal landscape and the accessibility landscape have changed for students with disabilities who will be taking licensure, certification, and entrance exams. Following the passage of the ADA Amendments Act of 2008, organizations have seen a significant rise in requests for test accommodations, as well as requests to make their exams accessible to candidates with disabilities, especially those with visual impairments. This session will provide an overview of the legal definition of who is considered "disabled," an overview of best practices for managing accommodations requests, and practical considerations when making tests and test content accessible to candidates with disabilities.

This session will explore the range of commonly-requested accommodations and important considerations that must be factored into the decision. In addition, an increasing number of accommodations requests would seem to be unreasonable. Some of these requests may be accompanied by poor documentation and by aggressive candidates and their advocates who believe that the revised law gives them free reign to demand whatever accommodations they choose. Other requests are for accommodations that are so extreme that questions are raised about potential impacts on test validity. Finally, some requests may be unreasonable because they may potentially expose test content or result in other test security breaches. This session will present these issues and allow audience participation in grappling with these difficult issues. Actual case examples (redacted) will be used to demonstrate the concepts discussed.

Conference Track: Accessibility in Testing

Have you ever had a great idea for a project for your office, but the money just wasn't there? Well then, an NCTA Grant may be just the solution to your problem. Your NCTA Grants Committee will walk you through the process of applying for and receiving a grant. We will go through the guidelines of what grant money can and cannot be used for and will also help you avoid those landmines that can upend your request.

But wait....there is more. We will also go over proposals that have been both accepted and rejected and let you know why those decisions were reached. There will be plenty of time for your questions.

So, if you have an idea mulling around in your head that you might like funding for....or if you just want information for future reference, come join us. Remember, this is free money for your worthy project, and we promise that nobody will try to sell you any Florida Swampland.

Conference Track: Certification, Grants, and Standards

As more women rise to leadership positions in higher education, change has been necessary for institutions and the individuals working within them. In this session, presenters will share personal stories to define common barriers that women in higher education face as they pursue leadership opportunities and advancement, including unexpected changes in one's personal and/or professional life, gender-based expectations, and building an authentic leadership style. Attendees will have the opportunity to share their own and learn others' coping strategies and be provided a "survival kit" to help navigate the world of higher education. The goal of this presentation is for attendees to have a better understanding of their own leadership style and how to be successful women of influence.

Conference Track: Professional Development

Join this panel discussion exploring through a live case how one testing center has excelled with online placement testing. You will hear the panel discuss all facets of this large scale online placement testing initiative. Learn how, through innovation and partnership, one testing center was able to offer testing for placement purposes for 6500 students who were starting with the College in the Fall of 2014. Explore the reasons behind the success of over 3000 requests for online testing, 1200 of those within the first 72 hours of offering this service announcement. Learn about the survey results at the end of the test to gauge why students chose online testing. Initiating, planning, executing, delivering, and evaluating of wide-spread online placement testing will be reviewed, and attendees will learn how the testing center has now set itself apart from other institutions by embracing students' demands for online options.

For advanced preparation, attendees can view the following pre-recorded webcast at http://accuadmin.onlineproctornow.com/case-studies.html

Conference Track: Placement Testing

Are you tired of training binders? Is it hard to keep up with all of your training materials? Would you like to standardize your training methods and assess your staff's progress? If you answered "yes" to all of these questions, this session is for you. This presentation will demonstrate the steps taken by the WKU Distance Learning Testing Centers to develop a standardized training program and the methods we use to assess the trainee's progress. Additionally we will discuss the benefits of the program and its limitations.

Conference Track: Test Center Management and Staff Training

In order to address the projected and existing shortage of underrepresented minorities earning degrees in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), colleges need to take advantage of the asset that many students arrive on campus possessing: prior learning, which can be measured by CLEP Exams. This session (which will be interactive with audience Q&A) will include presentation of data focusing on Hispanic students who have taken CLEP exams, their assessment scores, and their later success in STEM-related classes. These figures will be compared to the grade point averages and classroom successes of traditional STEM students who entered North Lake College (NLC) at the same time. A compare/contrast style will be used to show how students with prior knowledge validate it by taking CLEP Exams to achieve college credit before they enroll in STEM courses at NLC. CLEP also allows students who speak Spanish as a first or second language or who have been trained in nursing or computers and information systems in the military to place into STEM classes sooner, paving the road for higher completion rates. By accurately placing prepared, engaged, and motivated Hispanic students, the NLC CLEP/STEM partnership helps create outcomes that include a more dynamic classroom experience, which leads to the filling of needed STEM positions by qualified, energetic Latina/Latino scholars.

CLEP Exams allow students who have no need for certain lower level courses to place into advanced STEM-related classes sooner, paving the road for higher college completion rates as well as more successful and dedicated Hispanic students entering graduate STEM programs. While this is a valuable key to success for any college or university, the real reward is for the students who graduate early and enter the workforce or a graduate program to become experienced, productive members of their chosen professional field. This in turn leads to economic and personal satisfaction not only for themselves but also for society as a whole.

Conference Track: Prior Learning Assessment

The NCTA encourages every state to have a state or regional organization. Have you been planning to develop/strengthen a state or regional organization but are not sure where to start? Here is your opportunity to hear how the state of Florida did it. Welcome to the Florida Association of College Test Administrators (FACTA) Journey Continues! FACTA, begun in May 2008, has developed into a fully organized association with a name and logo, mission and vision statement, bylaws, elected officers, a representative council, committees, annual conference plus two additional meetings throughout the year, a website, a newsletter, a listserve with 278 members, and 12 business members. FACTA has been a vital link for colleges, universities, and testing companies throughout the state of Florida as various issues have impacted our institutions. This session will describe how FACTA has matured into a very active organization. Leaders from other selected NCTA State and Regional Organizations will also share their organizational highlights with you. If you are a member of a state or regional organization looking to strengthen your organization or wish to start one in your state, this session is for you.

Conference Track: Professional Development

Proper identification of candidates is a crucial part of test integrity. How can you tell if the identification a candidate hands you is valid, authentic, and representative of the correct person? The "Novelty ID" market is a billion dollar industry with no limits as to the type of ID that can be purchased. This workshop will show you some simple techniques and the latest technology to help combat identity fraud at your testing center. You may be surprised at how a few inexpensive tools can help. Discover the differences between authentic and fake ID's and tips to evaluate a candidate's behavior to help identify those being less than honest. Plus, find out what you should do if you discover a fake ID. And no - this is not a make and take workshop.

Conference Track: Test Security

Attendees will learn about the ETS HiSET assessment and the collaborative effort of many states and non-profit organizations working to deliver a fair and reliable high school equivalency assessment to the nation. The session will provide a demonstration of the ETS HiSET registration and scheduling portal. The ETS HiSET test is compatible with current professional development materials used for high school equivalency assessment and will cover five core areas: Language Arts–Reading, Language Arts–Writing, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies.

ETS is working with the states and other non-profit stakeholders to meet the needs of the high school equivalency test taker. The ETS HiSET is available paper-based and computer-based, leaving the testing format option as a test taker decision. The cost will remain low ($50), and the existing test centers authorized by the state can be used.

Conference Track: High School Equivalency Testing

Does your educational institution allow retesting on entrance exams? How many students retest annually? Do students' scores on retests improve and, if so, by how much? Is there one test that is rewritten more than others? Although retesting for admission or placement in higher education is quite common, this type of information appears to be lacking. To fill this void, retesting activity at one North American university was studied utilizing five years of testing data. In this session, the results from this study will be presented, providing answers to all of these questions and more. Although this information is institution-specific, it is hoped that this session will invite discussion about retesting activities and policies at other educational institutions, starting with the basic question of whether or not retesting should be allowed and, if so, under what conditions.

Conference Track: Assessment Design and Psychometrics

We developed the first Pearson VUE mobile wireless testing center and want to share the process, technology, challenges, and successes with others. Currently, we use our mobile wireless testing center in the correctional environment to bring the new computer-based GED testing to inmates, but it could also be used to bring testing to rural communities that lack access.

One of the benefits of PV mobile wireless testing is that no internet connection is necessary at the delivery site. Instead, tests are pre-loaded into an administrative laptop and delivered via a closed network router to computer or laptop stations. Although initially we had help from IT staff with the set-up of hardware and software, we are not particularly skilled in technology yet are able to take the mobile center out and administer tests without IT help.

We believe that others can benefit from our mobile testing journey by learning about what is possible and what mistakes to avoid.

Conference Track: Testing Technology

The conference officially begins with the welcome by NCTA's president Francesca Taylor and her state of the association address, "Going for the Gold." This is the perfect time to hear updates on current and upcoming initiatives that the association is pursuing as it strives to provide its membership with additional opportunities for professional growth.

Join Rachel R. Watkins Schoenig, J.D., Assistant Vice President and Head of Test Security for ACT, Inc., as she reviews the current testing landscape and highlights trends that promise to impact the next generation of assessment design and delivery. Learn more by clicking here.

Three sponsors, Castle, College Board, and the Law School Admissions Council, will each provide condensed versions of the workshops that they will be offering on Wednesday for in-person attendees. These mini workshops will provide those attending the virtual conference with important updates about the various programs offered by these sponsors. More specific information about the content of these workshops will be posted as it becomes available.