Testing Center examined

Testing is already difficult.

According to at least nine complaints from students and faculty members in the last year, North Lake College’s testing center doesn’t help ease the pain.

Most grievances were submitted to the listening box, a system created to allow students to suggest ways on how NLC can improve its campus.

“We take complaints seriously,” said Mary Ciminelli, vice president of student services and enrollment management. “We want students to have a good experience on campus.”

Ciminelli usually responds to complaints from the listening box regarding student development. However, Ciminelli directs complaints about the testing center to Susan Littlejohn, director of testing. Littlejohn declined to comment.

Most complaints about the testing center refer to the faculty there.

“We don’t want our staff to be rude,” Ciminelli said.

Not all students have a problem with the testing center.

Paola Izaguirre, a NLC student who frequently utilizes the testing center, said: “Usually it’s pretty good, except for when it’s crowded.”

When asked if she had any concerns about the staff, Izaguirre said, “No. They’re kind of serious, but not rude. They could smile a little more.”

Carole Gray, dean of student support services and Disability Services, said, “This is not such a huge problem that there is no solution. We’ll figure this out.”

One solution to the problem is mandatory professional development activities on customer service that will be required of the testing center staff by the end of this semester. Ciminelli feels it is important to “reinforce the basics.” NLC will bring someone in to work through specifics, even role-playing and modeling to address difficult situations.

The customer service activities will involve not only the testing center staff, but all student service departments, including admissions and advising. The testing center staff previously participated in a skills training PowerPoint on customer service in 2006.

Ciminelli did stress the importance of the students and faculty being specific when submitting complaints. “We want criticisms to be constructive. Who in particular are they talking about, and what do they consider rude?”

Although all suggestions and grievances are anonymous when posted online, students and faculty are encouraged to submit their name along with their complaint so a response can be sent directly to them.

The listening box can be found online at www. northlakecollege.edu by typing listening box in the search box.

There are also five locations around campus where complaints can be manually dropped into an actual box – the T-Building, the Student Learning Resource Center in the K-Building, the foyer of the C-Building, the cafeteria, and by the front entrance to the A-Building.