(e) Independent administration and
evaluation of ability-to-benefit test. For purposes of meeting the eligibility
requirements for awards under section
661 of the Education Law, the institution
shall independently administer and evaluate ability-to-benefit tests approved
by the Board of Regents in accordance with the requirements of this
subdivision. The department will consider an ability-to-benefit test to be
independently administered and evaluated if the following requirements are met:
(1) The test is administered at one of the
following locations:
(i) a testing center
that is not located at and/or affiliated with the institution for which the
student is seeking enrollment and the test administrator is an employee of such
center; or
(ii) a degree-granting
institution that confers two-year or four- year degrees or an institution that
qualifies as an eligible public vocational institution and the chief executive
officer of such institution certifies annually, in a form prescribed by the
commissioner, that:
(a) the test is
administered by a unit of the institution that is responsible for other forms
of testing or for provision of academic support services, or both, and such
unit does not report to officers responsible for admissions or the
administration of student financial aid for such institution;
(b) the test is administered in an
environment that is separate, secure, closed and continuously monitored during
testing;
(c) students are required
to provide written verification of identity, such as a photo identification,
and to sign in prior to taking the test and students are prohibited from
bringing into the test area any materials prohibited by the test publisher and
are required to leave the test area immediately upon completion of the
test;
(d) the test is proctored by
professional employees who have been trained in test administration and Federal
guidelines regarding the administration of ability-to-benefit tests and who are
not employed through the admissions, student financial aid, or registrar's
offices of the institution;
(e) the
scoring of ability-to-benefit tests is in accordance with the test publisher's
instructions and is overseen by institutional employees who are not employed
through, or perform the functions of the admissions, student financial aid, or
registrar's offices and such scores are verified by more than one
employee;
(f) all tests, test
results, and test databases, if any, are kept secure;
(g) the test administrator has no prior
financial or ownership interest in the institution, its affiliates, or its
parent corporation, other than the interest obtained through its agreement to
administer the test;
(h) the test
administrator is not a current or former member of the board of directors, a
current or former employee of or a consultant to a member of the board of
directors or a chief executive officer;
(i) the test administrator is not a current
student of the institution;
(j) the
test administrator is not scoring the test; and
(k) the annual certification shall also
include the following information relating to the previous academic year: the
number of students examined, the number of re-tests administered, the scores on
all ability-to-benefit tests for each student examined, the number of students
achieving passing scores on such tests, the number of students tested that are
enrolling in such institution and the success of tested students in terms of
retention and graduation; or
(iii) an eligible institution that does not
have degree-conferring authority and such institution is not a public
vocational institution and the test is given by a test administrator who:
(a) has no current or prior financial or
ownership interest in the institution, its affiliates, or its parent
corporation, other than the interest obtained through its agreement to
administer the test, and has no controlling interest in any other educational
institution;
(b) is not a current
or former employee of or consultant to the institution, its affiliates, or its
parent corporation, a person in control of another institution, or a member of
the family of any of these individuals;
(c) is not a current or former member of the
board of directors, a current or former employee of or a consultant to a member
of the board of directors, chief executive officer, chief financial officer of
the institution or its parent corporation or at any other institution, or a
member of the family of any of the above individuals; and
(d) is not a current or former student of the
institution;
(e) is certified by
the test publisher to give and score the publisher's test;
(f) administers the test in accordance with
instructions provided by the test publisher and in a manner that insures the
integrity and security of the test;
(g) makes the test available only to a
test-taker, and then only during a regularly scheduled test;
(h) secures the test against disclosure or
release;
(i) submits the completed
test to the test publisher within two business days after test administration
in accordance with the test publisher's instructions; and
(j) upon request, gives the Commissioner,
guaranty agency, accrediting agency, and law enforcement agencies access to
test records or other documents related to an examination, audit,
investigation, or program review of the institution or test publisher; or
(iv) where testing
centers and institutions are unable to administer and proctor the test at such
locations identified in subparagraphs (i), (ii), or (iii) of this subdivision
due to the COVID-19 crisis the test may be administered and proctored remotely
provided such remote administration and proctoring is in accordance with
federal requirements.
(2) The commissioner will not consider a test
independently administered if an institution:
(i) compromises test security or testing
procedures;
(ii) pays a test
administrator a bonus, commission, or any other incentive based upon the test
scores or pass rates of its students who take the test; or
(iii) otherwise interferes with the test
administrator's independence or test administration.
(3) Any institution administering an
ability-to-benefit test shall maintain a record for each student who sat for an
ability-to-benefit test under this section, including the name of the test
taken by such student, the date of the test and the student's scores on such
tests. This information shall be retained in the student's permanent
record.
(4) Upon request, the
eligible institution shall provide the commissioner with access to test records
or other documents related to an audit, investigation or program review of the
institution.
(5) If the
commissioner finds that an institution has violated the certification
procedures or the ability-to-benefit test procedures under this section, the
commissioner shall have the authority to require an eligible institution to
employ a testing center independent of such institution.