Computer-Based Testing Information Handbook For Candidates of the ITCA Tribal Water & Wastewater Operator Certification Program

Transcription

1 Computer-Based Testing Information Handbook For Candidates of the ITCA Tribal Water & Wastewater Operator Certification Program The Tribal Water & Wastewater Operator Certification Program administered by the Inter Tribal Council of Arizona (ITCA) offers Tribal water and wastewater operators and Tribal utility managers the opportunity to take professional certification examinations through computer-based testing as an alternative to conventional paperbased testing. This opportunity is brought to you through a partnership between ITCA, the Association of Boards of Certification (ABC) and PSI. Compliance with this Handbook is mandated by PSI as a condition of receiving computer-based testing at any of PSI s Test Centers. Tribal personnel seeking professional certification through ITCA must have prior written eligibility-approval from ITCA to be admitted into any certification examination session (computer- or paper-based testing). Eligibility for professional certification is based upon prior submittal to ITCA of a completed ITCA certification application, which must describe and document an applicant s qualifying education, training, and work experience. On a case-by-case basis and based on a completed application, ITCA will provide authorization to PSI to allow an individual candidate that meets ITCA eligibility criteria to take a computer-based certification examination at a PSI Test Center. Computer-based certification examinations are available to be proctored at more than 190 PSI Test Centers geographically located throughout the United States. A current listing of PSI Test Centers, including addresses and driving directions, may be viewed at The examinations are administered by appointment only through Saturday at 9:00 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Once authorized by ITCA, there are two convenient ways you can schedule an examination appointment: either online or by phone. Note: Payment of examination fees by check or money order requires submittal of a PSI Fee Payment By Check Registration Form (attached) PRIOR to scheduling an examination (not applicable if paying by credit card). When scheduling your examination appointment, please have your ITCA assigned ID Number available. Your assigned ID number is required when scheduling online. Online Scheduling: You may schedule an examination appointment online any time at Step 1. Click "Candidates" on the home page. Step 2. Select a category choose Water/Wastewater from the drop down menu. Step 3. Select a program choose ITCA Tribal Water & Wastewater Operator Certification Program. Step 4. Select the examination you have been approved to take from the Examination drop down menu. Step 5. Click Register for this Exam. Returning registrants Log In with User name and Password. Step 6. First-time registrants select New User? Enter the information requested to create an account. When finished, select the Continue button to proceed. Step 7. If account creation is successful, a page requesting you to confirm/enter your contact information will appear. Enter the required information. When finished, select the Next button to proceed. Step 8. Select three security questions and provide answers which can be used to verify your identity when retrieving a username or password. Click the Submit button to proceed. Step 9. Begin typing the zip code or city name of your preferred test area and select the name from the list displayed. Click Search to find the closest test centers. The closest Test Center may be in a neighboring state. Step 10. Select a test center location to see available dates. Select the date, then time you want (all available dates are shown in green). Submit your request by clicking on the Schedule button. You will be sent a confirmation of the appointment scheduled. Visit the My Home Page for information about scheduled examinations and to reschedule an appointment (requires two business days notice). 02/12/2018

2 Telephone Scheduling: Call to schedule an examination appointment. PSI Candidate Services is available from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. (Central Time) through, 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Friday and 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Saturday to assist with your scheduling needs. Please have your credit card available for payment of the examination fee. If you contact PSI by 3:00 p.m. Central Time on Friday Depending on availability, your examination may be scheduled beginning Friday/Saturday Special Arrangements for Candidates with Disabilities PSI is interested in ensuring that no individual with a disability is deprived of the opportunity to take the examination solely by reason of that disability. PSI will provide reasonable accommodations for candidates with disabilities. 1) Wheelchair access is available at all established Test Centers. Candidates must advise PSI at the time of registration that wheelchair access is necessary. 2) Candidates with visual, sensory or physical disabilities that would prevent them from taking the examination under standard conditions may request special accommodations and arrangements by contacting ITCA Tribal Water & Wastewater Operator Certification Program at (602) Payment of Examination Fees The full cost of your computer-based testing is partially covered by ITCA through its federally-funded projects. The remainder of the computer-based testing fee is $61 per examination, which is to be paid by you, the applicant, directly to PSI. You may pay the testing fee by credit card, company check, cashier s check or money order made payable to PSI Services Inc. Examination fees are not refundable or transferable. Credit Card Payment: Credit card payment is accepted from Visa, MasterCard, American Express, or Discover cards. Credit card transactions that are declined will be subject to a $25 handling fee. A cashier s check or money order for the amount due, including the handling fee, must be sent to PSI to cover declined credit card transactions. Check Payment: You may pay for your examination fees with a company check, cashier s check or money order made payable to PSI Services Inc. Cash, personal checks, vouchers, and purchase orders are not accepted. To pay for your examination fees by cashier s check, money order or company check, complete the PSI Fee Payment By Check Registration Form (attached), include your payment payable to PSI Services Inc. and mail to: ITCA Tribal Water/Wastewater Operator Certification Program PSI W. 105 th St. Olathe, KS

3 Examination Rescheduling You may reschedule your examination appointment once at no charge by calling PSI at at least two business days prior to your scheduled examination appointment. The following schedule applies: If your examination is scheduled on Friday You must contact PSI by 3:00 p.m. Central Time to reschedule the examination by the previous... Friday/Saturday Missed Appointments / Forfeitures You will forfeit the examination registration and all fees paid under the following circumstances. You wish to reschedule an examination but fail to contact PSI at least two business days prior to the scheduled testing session. You wish to reschedule a second time. You appear more than 15 minutes late for an examination, or You fail to report for an examination appointment. Inclement Weather/Power Failure/Other Emergency In the event of inclement (bad) weather or unforeseen emergencies on the day of an examination, PSI will determine whether circumstances warrant the cancellation, and subsequent rescheduling, of an examination. If the Test Center personnel are able to open the Test Center, examinations are typically not rescheduled. You may visit the website prior to the examination to determine if PSI has been advised that any of its Test Centers are closed. Every attempt is made to administer the examination as scheduled; however, should an examination be canceled at a Test Center, all scheduled candidates will receive notification following the examination regarding rescheduling. If power to a Test Center is temporarily interrupted during an administration, your examination will be restarted. The responses provided up to the point of interruption will be intact, but for security reasons the questions will be scrambled. Identification You must have proper identification to gain admission to the Test Center. Failure to provide appropriate identification at the time of the examination is considered a missed appointment. There will be no refund of your examination fee. You must have two (2) forms of identification. The primary form must be a current tribal, state or other government issued photo identification containing your name and signature, such as a current driver s license, a current state or Tribal identification card, a current passport, or a current military identification card. No form of temporary identification will be accepted. You will be required to sign a roster for verification of identity. The secondary form of identification must display your name and signature for signature verification (e.g., credit card with signature, social security card with signature, employment/student ID card with signature). Employment or student identification cards and any type of temporary identification are NOT acceptable as the primary form of identification but may be used as secondary identification if they include your name and signature. If your name on your registration is different than it appears on your identification, you must bring proof of your name change (e.g. marriage license, divorce decree or court order). 3

4 Security PSI administration and security standards are designed to ensure all candidates are provided the same opportunity to demonstrate their abilities. The Test Center is continuously monitored by audio and video surveillance equipment for security purposes. The following security procedures apply during the examination: Examinations are proprietary. No cameras, notes, tape recorders, pagers or cellular/smart phones are allowed in the testing room. Possession of a cellular/smart phone or other electronic device is strictly prohibited and will result in dismissal from the examination. No guests, visitors or family members are allowed in the testing room or reception areas. Personal Belongings No personal items, valuables, or weapons should be brought to the Test Center. Only wallets and keys are permitted. Coats must be left outside the testing room. You will be provided a soft locker to store your wallet and/or keys with you in the testing room. You will not have access to these items until after the examination is completed. Please note the following items will not be allowed in the testing room except securely locked in the soft locker. watches hats wallets keys Once you have placed your personal belongings into the soft locker, you will be asked to pull out your pockets to ensure they are empty. If all personal items will not fit in the soft locker you will not be able to test. The site will not store or be responsible for any personal belongings. If any personal items are observed in the testing room after the examination is started, the administration will be forfeited. Examination Restrictions Pencils and the ABC Formula Table booklet will be provided during check-in. You will be provided with one piece of scratch paper at a time to use during the examination, unless noted on the sign-in roster for a particular candidate. You must return the scratch paper to the proctor at the completion of testing, or you will not receive your score report. Only your score report (no documents or notes of any kind) may be removed from the Test Center. No questions concerning the content of the examination may be asked during the examination. Eating, drinking or smoking will not be permitted in the Test Center. You may take a break whenever you wish, but you will not be allowed additional time to make up for time lost during breaks. Taking the Examination Please report to the Test Center no later than your scheduled appointment time. Look for signs indicating PSI Test Center Check-in. If you arrive more than 15 minutes after the scheduled testing time you will not be admitted. You may bring a hand-held, battery- or solar-operated, non-programmable calculator to the examination. Before beginning the examination, instructions for taking the examination are provided on-screen. The computer monitors the time you spend on the examination. The examination will terminate if you exceed the time allowed. You may click on the Time box in the lower menu bar on the screen to monitor your time. A digital clock indicates the time remaining for you to complete the examination. The Time feature may be turned off during the examination. 4

5 Only one examination question is presented at a time. The question number appears in the lower right portion of the screen. Choices of answers to the examination question are identified as A, B, C, or D. You must indicate your choice by either typing in the letter in the response box in the lower left portion of the computer screen or clicking on the option using the mouse. To change your answer, enter a different option by typing the letter in the response box or by clicking on the option using the mouse. You may change your answer as many times as you wish during the examination time limit. To move to the next question, click on the forward arrow (>) in the lower right portion of the screen. This action will move you forward through the examination question by question. If you wish to review any question or questions, click the backward arrow (<) or use the left arrow key to move backward through the examination. An examination question may be left unanswered for return later in the examination session. Questions may also be bookmarked for later review by clicking in the blank square to the right of the Time button. Click on the hand icon to advance to the next unanswered or bookmarked question on the examination. To identify all unanswered and bookmarked questions, repeatedly click on the hand icon. When the examination is completed, the number of examination questions answered is reported. If not all questions have been answered and there is time remaining, return to the examination and answer those questions. Misconduct If you engage in any of the following conduct during the examination you may be dismissed, your scores will not be reported and examination fees will not be refunded. Examples of misconduct are when you: create a disturbance, are abusive, or otherwise uncooperative; display and/or use electronic communications equipment such as pagers, cellular/smart phones; talk or participate in conversation with other examination candidates; give or receive help or are suspected of doing so; leave the Test Center during the administration; attempt to take the examination for someone else; are observed with personal belongings, or are observed with notes, books or other aids without it being noted on the roster. Score Report Upon completion of the examination, your answers will be automatically graded electronically. You will then immediately be provided your overall examination score as well as a diagnostic mastery report measuring your understanding of the examination subject areas. A print out of your examination score and diagnostic report will be provided to you prior to you leaving the Test Center. Your examination score and diagnostics report is automatically reported to ITCA. ITCA will subsequently send you written correspondence regarding the status of your certification application. If you have any questions regarding the results of your examination or the outcome of your application for certification, please contact the ITCA Tribal Water & Wastewater Operator Certification Program at (602) You are entitled to receive free duplicate examination score reports upon request to ITCA. Alternatively, requests for a duplicate score report may be made in writing to PSI within one year of the examination date along with a fee of $25.00 payable by check or money order. Duplicate score reports will be processed and mailed within 10 business days following receipt of the request. Retesting If you do not achieve a satisfactory examination score, you may contact ITCA to request authorization to retake the examination. To retake the examination through computer-based testing, you must first obtain written authorization from ITCA. You will not be allowed to retest at PSI Test Centers without ITCA first providing PSI with authorization of your retesting. Applicants must wait a minimum of 30 calendar days after initial testing to be potentially eligible to retake a certification examination. 5

6 ITCA Tribal Water & Wastewater Operator Certification Program COMPUTER-BASED TESTING PSI FEE PAYMENT BY CHECK - REGISTRATION FORM Submit this form ONLY if you are paying your examination fee by cashier s check, company check, or money order. Visit or call two (2) weeks after mailing this form to schedule an examination appointment. If payment is to be made by credit card, do not use this form. Instead, visit the website or call PSI at to schedule your appointment. 1. NAME Last Name First Name M.I. 2. MAILING ADDRESS Number, Street and Apartment Number City State Zip Code 3. TELEPHONE NUMBER ( ) and ( ) Daytime Telephone Number Evening Telephone Number. 4. EXAMINATION FEE Your examination fee must be submitted with your registration form. Payment may be made by cashier s check, company check or money order made payable to PSI Services Inc. Payment by personal check, cash, or purchase order is not acceptable. 5. CHOOSE EXAMINATION TYPE Water Treatment $61 Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Water Distribution $61 Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Wastewater Collection $61 Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Wastewater Treatment $61 Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Tribal Utility Management Certification Level 1 $61 Very Small Water System $61 6. ITCA ELIGIBILITY AUTHORIZATION To be eligible to take the certification examination, you must first receive written authorization from the ITCA Tribal Water & Wastewater Operator Certification Program. A copy of the written authorization from ITCA must be submitted with this registration form. 7. SIGNATURE AND DATE I attest (and have attached proof) that I meet the eligibility requirements to take this examination. I have read and understand the information provided in the ITCA Tribal Water & Wastewater Operator Certification Program Computer-Based Testing Information Handbook, and the information I have provided on this registration form is true and complete to the best of my knowledge. Signature: Date: Mail this form along with your payment (cashier s check, company check or money order) to: ITCA Tribal Water/Wastewater Operator Certification Program Computer-Based Testing Services W. 105th St., Olathe, KS 66061