Appendix C National Test Center Support.pdf

Appendix C National Test Center (NTC) Support

1.1 The Contractor awarded Liberal Arts degree programs shall provide National Test Center (NTC) service to include College Level Examination Program (CLEP) and DSST internet-based testing (iBT) exams, Pearson Vue, on-line credentialing examinations, and other DANTES-funded electronic exams to eligible military and civilian examinees, and other exams as needed. The Contractor shall support other examinees, on a space-available basis, after approval from the appropriate ESO/SSTA and installation commander. The Government will provide the facility and utilities for the operation of the NTC. The Contractor shall provide a test administrator, computer equipment, commercial internet service, technical support, and any other equipment/support necessary to operate the NTC. If permitted by applicable regulations, access to installation commercially procured internet service may be provided to the Contractor.

1.2 The Contractor shall provide electronic testing services to eligible military and civilian personnel. Types of exams given must be mutually agreed upon between the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) and the NTC. The contractor shall proctor electronic exams for students enrolled in distance education courses with non-contracted colleges and universities on a space available basis. The Contractor may charge students a test administrative fee for each three-hour long test. The Government is not responsible for paying any fees charged by the NTC.

If the exam is over three hours in duration, the Contractor may charge an additional fee per additional hour, but the total non-refundable advance test administration service fee shall not exceed $75.

1.3 The Contractor shall complete an application and payment agreement with the various testing agencies as required for the base-sponsored National Test Center establishment. The Contractor shall have sixty (60) days to obtain the necessary agreement for a test examiner to become certified to provide required testing services. The Contractor shall be paid the test administration fee directly from the test vendor. The test administration fee is based on the rate paid by DANTES under contracts with The College Board and with Prometric Inc.

1.4 The Contractor shall provide test proctoring services for exams delivered electronically. Exams proctored shall include college/university exams and any other type of electronic exam executed at the installation Education Center. The contractor may charge students a test administration fee, up to but not exceeding the standard administration fee established by Government policy and paid by DANTES under contracts with The College Board and with Prometric for administration of CLEP eCBT and iBT DSST tests, respectively. However, the Government assumes no liability for the payment of fees charged for NTC services.

1.5 National Test Center service shall be supported at locations mutually agreed upon with the Government (See Attachment A Service Locations). Additional locations may require NTC services in the future.

1.6 The National Test Center Service shall operate in accordance with the Service Schedule provided below:

Total Average Tests per week Session Schedule Per Week

No less than 8 or below 3 9-11 5

12-24 7 25 or above 9

1.6.1 A session is defined as a 2-3 hour block before or after lunch. There are 10 blocks in a week. Some certification and credentialing exams, due to their varying lengths, may extend through multiple testing blocks on a given day.

1.6.2 If coordinated with and approved by the ESO/SSTA or education center personnel, NTC sites with volumes averaging 8 tests or below per week, may conduct the three sessions schedule in one day, with two sessions before lunch and one session after lunch, or one session before lunch and two sessions after lunch.

1.6.3 All session schedule testing blocks offer testing by a scheduled appointment thus an NTC staff member will know in advance if testing has not been scheduled for a session schedule block.

1.6.4 Staffing shall be based on the average number of tests conducted at the NTC for the previous 12 months. The Contractor shall obtain ESO/SSTA concurrence on the NTC operating hours in accordance with the Service Schedule above. In calculating the average number of annual tests conducted at an NTC for purposes of determining staffing, months with testing volume affected by major atypical events such as pandemics or hostilities shall not be included.

1.6.5 Deviations from this Service Schedule are not permitted unless mutually agreed upon by the Contractor and the ESO/SSTA. If the Contractor and ESO/SSTA cannot agree on a schedule or hours of operation, the COR shall make the determination. At a minimum, the Contractor shall provide NTC testing services at each location with a testing center on a quarterly basis.

1.7 The Contractor shall have an established policy for acceptance of CLEP and DSST examinations that identify minimum passing score requirements for individuals’ CLEP and DSST exams with corresponding course requirements.

1.8 The Contractor shall comply with all terms and conditions of the Test Center Agreement and CLEP Addendum between the Contractor and Educational Testing Service (ETS) for the administration of CLEP eCBT examinations and with the Letter of Agreement and DSST Internet Based Test Administration Guide with Prometric for the administration of the iBT DSSTs. The above stated agreements must be completed prior to the start of the first NTC testing event after the contract start date.

1.9 The Contractor shall provide required resources for administering CLEP eCBT and iBT DSST examinations as described in the Test Center Agreement and the DSST Internet Based Test Administration Guide, respectively, to include computer equipment, commercial Internet service, technical support, and test administrator support.

1.10 The Contractor shall meet all operating guidelines and requirements as specified in the CLEP Test Center Handbook and DSST Internet Based Test Administration Guide.

1.11 The Contractor shall accept the DANTES-determined standard test administration fee for eligible DANTES-funded military and civilian examinees. DANTES will pay the fee to The

College Board or Prometric, as applicable, who will in turn pay the Contractor for the total number of administered exams provided to eligible DANTES-funded examines. For unfunded testing, the Contractor shall not charge the examinee a service fee more than DANTES determined standard test administration fee for eligible DANTES-funded military and civilian examinees.

1.12 The Contractor shall provide the COR with a quarterly report containing the number of DANTES funded students with a pass/fail result (based on American Council on Education (ACE) recommended scores), a breakdown of tests taken by test provider, and the total number of tests taken by each branch of service. The Contractor shall also provide a copy of CLEP eCBT test results to all examinees upon completion of exam, with the exception of exams with a writing component.

The report is due NLT COB on the 15th business day after each quarter of contract performance.

Quarters shall align with the academic year: Aug-Oct, Nov-Jan, Feb-Apr, and May-Jul.

The contractor shall provide the COR with an annual report containing pass/fail results for all DANTES funded students, a breakdown of tests taken by test provider, and the total number of tests taken by each branch of service. Annual report is due at the time of the last quarter report.

1.13 The Contractor shall notify the COR, ESO/SSTA, and testing agency in writing within 24 hours of any test compromise or security breach. The notification shall detail the circumstances and, for the testing agencies, be made as follows: a) For the CLEP eCBT exam notify The College Board, b) for the iBT DSST program, notify Prometric, c) for credentialing exams, notify the credentialing agency. Any security breach or compromise will result in immediate stoppage of administering the test in question until cleared by the appropriate command or agency to recommence.