Students need CIL tests before sophmore status
Students cannot graduate from Utah State University if they are computer-illiterate.
Everyone must pass six computer and information literacy (CIL) tests, as well as meet the usual general education and major requirements.
USU administrators instated the CIL tests, which focus on e-mail, information law and ethics, information resources, operating systems and environments, document processing and spreadsheets, to meet the demands of a world that requires basic computer skills.
Students like Carenna Martin, a junior majoring in English literature and liberal arts and sciences, may not know where or how to take the tests.
“The first time I went [to take a CIL test], it was a little bit tricky to find out which lab it was,” Martin said.
Tests are administered from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday. All but the e-mail test must be taken in the Eccles Science Learning Center, Room 131.
In 1998, the Utah Board of Regents determined all Utah universities need to require computer-literacy education as part of their curriculums.
Stacie Gomm, CIL director, said USU instigated the requirement shortly thereafter.
“[In 1998] we were sending out college graduates who weren’t computer literate,” she said. “Now that’s not the case.”
To take the tests, students should first fill out a registration form found on the CIL Web site, http://complit.usu.edu. The form will be processed in one or two days. Then students need to pay a $30 fee at the Cashier’s Office. The fee covers the cost of lab maintenance and test grading, as well as wages for the computer consultants.
Students should take the exams before they earn 37 credits.
“We strongly suggest they are done during their freshman year,” Gomm said. “My saddest students are the ones that just found out they need to do it, and they are trying to graduate this semester.”
To motivate the students to take the tests as soon as possible, the university currently charges an additional $15 fee if the tests are not completed before the student earns 37 credits at USU.
Eventually, sophomore registration status may be withheld from students who delay taking the tests, Gomm said.
“We want students to take the initiative,” she said. “But the more seniors I get who are stressing because they haven’t passed the CIL tests, the more I am inclined to want to do something to help motivate them. I would like to see them have the motivation to do it [without withholding sophomore registration status].”
For students unaware of what they need to know to pass the tests, there are several resources available. There are teaching modules, which have information and practice tests, on the CIL Web site.
“I wouldn’t have passed the spreadsheet exam without the module,” Martin said.
Those who have little experience with computers can take USU 1000, a course that teaches all the necessary skills to pass the exams. Several other courses, such as INST 1000, BIS 1400, CS 1020, and ENGR 1010 also teach CIL exam material.
Short courses, or workshops, are held Tuesdays and Thursdays in the CIL lab from 5 to 7 p.m. Each day, a computer consultant teaches the basics of a different CIL exam. There is no cost and no need to register for these workshops.
Gomm said, “Why take a class for just one skill? Come take a short course. The smart ones stay and take the test right after.”
Students who are not completely confident they can pass the tests should still try, she said. There is no penalty if a test is failed. Students can retake tests as many times as they need to pass.
“Come in, take the test, see what you don’t know,” Gomm said. “Then study up. The best thing that could happen is you pass the test.”
Lab consultant Eric Anderson said the most common questions asked by students are “what is my password?” and “how long does the test take?”
A student’s password is the last six digits of his student identification number. Most tests take around half an hour to complete.
The most common problem is students don’t realize it takes a day or two for their registration form to process before they can begin taking the tests, Anderson said. Most students experience little trouble passing the tests.
“The most I’ve seen people retake tests is three times,” he said.
If students do have trouble passing tests, Anderson said he recommends they consult the CIL Web site and take an online tutorial.
Not all the tests focus on computer-use skills. One exam tests the student’s knowledge of computer law and ethics, including issues of plagiarism, privacy, spamming and fraud.
“In order to be a good computer user, you also need to understand what is unlawful and what is lawful,” Gomm said. “Plagiarism is a huge problem. Students need to understand that it is the same as stealing. It is also unethical to send spam e-mail that’s unsolicited.”
While students are free to retake tests as often as they like with no time limit, there have been several instances where students were caught cheating on a CIL exam.
“It’s so easy to catch the cheaters, and it’s sad,” she said. “There’s just nothing positive in that. I hate being a cheating policeman, and my consultants hate it, too.”
Above all, students need to just get started.
“It’s not really that bad. For some students it’s new and difficult. For most students that come straight from high school, they shouldn’t think that this is way hard. It is doable. They have nothing to lose by trying,” Gomm said.
-heidithue@cc.usu.edu