BYU Testing Center
Encyclopedia
The BYU Testing Center, the largest college testing center in the nation, is located in the Heber J. Grant Building at Brigham Young University
. It serves the purpose of administering tests to students. Tests are often administered in the Testing Center instead of during class time. By doing this, instructors allow students to take as much time as they need for the test, do not waste class time on testing, and allow students to take tests at their convenience.
, the first building completed while Franklin S. Harris
was president of BYU. Designed primarily as the library, the second floor where the testing center is located today was the library while the first floor contained classrooms, as it still does to the present.
After the building of the Harold B. Lee Library
the building was used as a museum by the College of Biology and Agriculture until this was moved to the Monte L. Bean Life Science Museum
.
In order to avoid long lines during Finals
, the testing center opens remote locations around campus. Generally the Wilkinson Student Center (WSC) serves all religion finals while the Joseph Smith Building (JSB) Auditorium is used for larger classes such as American Heritage. Lines are usually shortest before 11:00 AM, in the early afternoon, and after 8:00 PM.
Incidentally, the Testing Center served as BYU's main method of enforcing its dress and grooming standards. However, after receiving National Testing Center status (allowing the Testing Center to administer standardized tests from outside the university), the Testing Center is unable to enforce the University Honor Code.
Brigham Young University
Brigham Young University is a private university located in Provo, Utah. It is owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , and is the United States' largest religious university and third-largest private university.Approximately 98% of the university's 34,000 students...
. It serves the purpose of administering tests to students. Tests are often administered in the Testing Center instead of during class time. By doing this, instructors allow students to take as much time as they need for the test, do not waste class time on testing, and allow students to take tests at their convenience.
Building History
The Heber J. Grant building was originally built as the BYU library. It was dedicated in 1925 by Heber J. GrantHeber J. Grant
Heber Jeddy Grant was the seventh president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . He was ordained an apostle on October 16, 1882, on the same day as George Teasdale...
, the first building completed while Franklin S. Harris
Franklin S. Harris
Franklin Stewart Harris was president of Brigham Young University from 1921 until 1945, and president of Utah State University from 1945 to 1950....
was president of BYU. Designed primarily as the library, the second floor where the testing center is located today was the library while the first floor contained classrooms, as it still does to the present.
After the building of the Harold B. Lee Library
Harold B. Lee Library
The Harold B. Lee Library , located in Provo, Utah, is the main academic library of Brigham Young University, the largest religious and second-largest private university in the United States. The library has approximately of shelving for the more than 6 million items in its various collections, as...
the building was used as a museum by the College of Biology and Agriculture until this was moved to the Monte L. Bean Life Science Museum
Monte L. Bean Life Science Museum
The Monte L. Bean Life Science Museum is a natural history museum housed at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah.The museum is named for Monte Lafayette Bean, a self-made Seattle-based magnate who entirely funded and paid for the museum building's construction. The Bean Museum opened in 1978,...
.
Current Functions
The main portion of the Testing Center is a large main testing room, which originally served as BYU's library, and now is filled with approximately 650 desks. Students enter through the center's administration area. The center also has a few smaller rooms with even more desks (one of which, the music room, has soft classical music playing through wall-mounted speakers), study hall rooms downstairs for test preparation, and faculty offices. When students exit the testing center, they can see their scores immediately on TV screens on the bottom floor (for multiple-choice tests). Earlier, those taking multiple-choice tests waited for a moment or two in the administration area to receive a printout of their results, which usually resulted in the exit area being crowded.In order to avoid long lines during Finals
Finals
Finals may refer to:* Final , the final stages of a sporting competition* Final examinations, tests given to students at the end of a course of study or training.* Finals , a four-issue comic book mini-series....
, the testing center opens remote locations around campus. Generally the Wilkinson Student Center (WSC) serves all religion finals while the Joseph Smith Building (JSB) Auditorium is used for larger classes such as American Heritage. Lines are usually shortest before 11:00 AM, in the early afternoon, and after 8:00 PM.
Incidentally, the Testing Center served as BYU's main method of enforcing its dress and grooming standards. However, after receiving National Testing Center status (allowing the Testing Center to administer standardized tests from outside the university), the Testing Center is unable to enforce the University Honor Code.