College Establishes National Testing Center at McGuire Air Force Base

The Thomas Edison State College National Testing Center at McGuire Air Force Base, which was made possible through a partnership between the college, the base, Defense Activity for Non-Traditional Education Support (DANTES) and the College Level Examination Program (CLEP), serves military and civilian students who are pursuing a variety of degrees, including baccalaureate degrees in business administration, criminal justice and liberal studies from Thomas Edison State College.

“Providing a more convenient, more efficient and less costly way for our Air Force members to advance their education drove our desire to establish a national testing center on-base,” said Linda Richardson, education service officer at McGuire Air Force Base. “Thomas Edison State College was the quickest to respond to our needs. We anticipate Fort Dix and Lakehurst military members will want to take advantage of the convenience of this on-base testing center. It is a definite win-win-win for our DoD family and Thomas Edison State College.”

Richardson said that Major Robert Snodgrass, commander of the 305 Services Squadron, and McGuire Air Force Base Librarian Kathleen Hanselmann, played a key role establishing the testing center with Thomas Edison State College.

Currently, students may take 34 different CLEP exams at the center. The only exam where results are not available instantly is English Composition, which includes an essay. The tests are free to active duty personnel. Spouses of military personnel and civilians must pay a $70 fee.

“The new testing center offers a convenient resource for military students and their families who are stationed at McGuire, Fort Dix or Lakehurst Naval Air Station as well as civilian contractors and non-military students,” said Louis Martini, director of Military Education at Thomas Edison State College. “The ability to get the results of how a student did shortly after completing an exam is important to our military students, who can be deployed at any time.”

Prior to establishing the testing center, military students at McGuire Air Force Base had to either take a paper-based exam and wait approximately one month for the result or find an off-site test site that required additional fees.

In addition, Air Force personnel and their families may enroll in the Thomas Edison State College/McGuire Air Force Base Blended Program. The blended program enables Air Force students to complete a variety of online courses in nine weeks and provides four sessions in a classroom setting - on McGuire Air Force Base - where students can interact with faculty mentors and each other.

About Thomas Edison State College
Thomas Edison State College provides flexible, high-quality, collegiate learning opportunities for self-directed adults. One of New Jersey’s 12 senior public institutions of higher education, the College offers 15 associate, baccalaureate and master’s degrees in more than 100 areas of study. Students earn degrees through a wide variety of rigorous and high-quality academic methods that can be customized to meet their individual needs. Identified by Forbes magazine as one of the top 20 colleges and universities in the nation in the use of technology to create learning opportunities for adults, Thomas Edison State College is a national leader in the assessment of adult learning and a pioneer in the use of educational technologies. The College is home to The John S. Watson Institute for Public Policy. The New Jersey State Library is an affiliate of Thomas Edison State College. Further information about admission to the College may be obtained by calling (888) 442-8372, via e-mail at info@tesc.edu or by visiting the College Web site at www.tesc.edu