Institutional Effectiveness & Student Success

The services provided by the Division of Institutional Effectiveness and Student Success are designed to promote the growth and development of the whole student – intellectually, physically, emotionally, socially, financially, environmentally, occupationally and spiritually – to allow students to develop skills that lead to success both during school and throughout life. An integrated, holistic approach to inclusion, civic and social responsibility, wellness, achievement, and involvement programs links students to both curricular and co-curricular learning by providing support, activities, and engagement that enriches the student experience on campus and better prepares them to be an active and engaged citizens in our global community.

New Student and Family Programs (NSFP)

New Student and Family Programs helps you and your family transition to UNO. Learn more on the New Student and Family Programs website. NSFP is primarily responsible for Campus Visits, Recruitment Events, New Student Orientation and Family Orientation.

Ambassadors

Our Ambassadors serve as guides for your transition experience. They are university students committed to helping first-year and transfer students by sharing all of the need-to-know information about policies and procedures, student services, academic support programs, and opportunities for involvement. The goal of our Ambassadors is to ensure that you know all about the university and to inspire you to make the most of your college experience.

Maverick Advising Center (the MAC)

The Maverick Advising Center (MAC) supports students in Exploratory Studies for up to 45 credit hours. The MAC prepares students to choose an academic major with confidence and guides them to stay on track for graduation. Students work with their advisors to strive for academic success by:

• Determining personal, career, and academic goals
• Exploring majors and courses of interest through Academic Focus Areas
• Working to find a balance between education, work, and family

Career Services

Career Services empowers students to explore, develop, and succeed at UNO and beyond. We prepare students for meaningful work by building bridges with campus, community, and employers. We offer career exploration advising, career readiness resources, job and internship preparation, career fair and hiring events, experiential education opportunities, and more. Students can explore internship and job opportunities using Handshake, UNO’s official career platform.

The Student Service and Leadership Collaborative

The Student Service and Leadership Collaborative is dedicated to developing students into servant leaders who are self and culturally aware through nonprofit internships, experiential learning and local and national professional student leadership and development symposiums. UNO believes service and engagement are vital components for the educational development of all students in becoming global influencers of change. Learn more on the Student Service and Leadership Collaborative.

Maverick Student Employment

Maverick Student Employment at the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) represents all on-campus positions and is a great option for students interested in flexible scheduling, building campus connections, learning new professional skills, and more that will help with career readiness. Student employees make up a large percentage of our workforce in the UNO community. Our students are engaged in the critical work that helps keep our colleges, divisions, and departments operating. It is in acknowledgement of this, that Maverick Student Employment provides an enriching experience for students to keep our university strong and focused on student success. Using Handshake, UNO’s official career platform, students can review and apply for on-campus jobs.

Testing Center

The University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) Testing Center provides a variety of services to UNO students, faculty and staff. These services extend into the metropolitan Omaha region and beyond to persons needing testing related assistance. The types of services include university placement exams, university make-up exams, certification/licensure exams, online distance education exams, admission exams, proficiency exams, national exams, credit by examination, proctored correspondence exams and testing accommodations for students with disabilities. The Testing Center will also consider special requests associated with individual needs. For more information regarding testing services, please contact:

The University of Nebraska at Omaha
Testing Center
522 Kayser Hall
Omaha, NE 68182-0318
402.554.4800
testingcenter.unomaha.edu

Placement Exams

Placement exams may need to be taken prior to registering for an English, mathematics, chemistry, or foreign language course. Placement exams help ensure that a student enrolls in the correct courses based on their academic skill level. Additional information for placement exams can be found here.

Accommodated Testing

UNO supports students with disabilities and encourages their full participation in all academic programs. The Testing Center is available to UNO students with a disabilies who require testing accommodations that are approved as part of their UNO Accessibility Services Center Accommodation Plan. The Testing Center works with the Accessibility Services Center to provide a secure, quiet, and controlled environment for accommodated testing exams.

Advanced scheduling is necessary for testing accommodations which are determined by referral from the Accessibility Services Center director. Available accommodations include, but are not limited to:

• A separate room
• Reduced distraction space
• Reader
• Scribe
• Word processor
• Large print
• Extended time
• Job Access With Speech (JAWS)

In accordance with Section II of the Americans Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, UNO's Accessibility Services Center is the designated office to work with students with disabilities to identify and set up a plan to provide reasonable accommodation so they may enjoy the same benefits, experiences, and opportunities as persons without disabilities. The Testing Center is the designated office on campus to provide any identified student accommodations that involve testing. For more information about accommodation plans, contact the Accessibility Services Center at 402.554.2872.

Credit by Examination at UNO

Credit by Examination allows students the opportunity to gain academic credit for prior learning they have acquired by self-study or experience. Tests may be taken in many subject areas and credit may be earned by achieving acceptable scores on these tests. Benefits include saving tuition dollars and shortening the time it takes to earn a degree.

Two types of examinations may be taken for credit at UNO: The College-Level Examination Program (CLEP) and UNO’s Special Examination Program – Challenge Exams.

Many postsecondary institutions now offer credit based on CLEP examinations annually. The CLEP exams include General Examinations and Subject Examinations. Both are designed to measure factual knowledge and understanding, problem-solving ability, and mastery of college-level, introductory course content in a wide range of disciplines.

UNO’s Special Examination procedure involves “challenging” one of the courses taught at this university by attempting a Departmental Examination. These examinations are constructed by the department for the purpose of measuring knowledge in a particular course being offered at UNO. Credit is granted for the course upon successful completion of the examination.

• An examination may not be attempted more than once.
• A student who has failed to earn credit in an attempted college course may not receive Credit by Examination in the same course. Neither will credit be granted to raise a grade earned in any course.
• A maximum of 30 hours Credit by Examination (the College of Business has a limit of 24 hours) may be applied toward graduation, e.g., CLEP, by Challenge, etc.
• Credits earned by examination may not be used as part of the terminal residency requirements, so you should check the requirements of your college.
• Students taking Departmental Examinations must be registered at UNO at the time they attempt the exam. (Registration is not required to take CLEP exams.) You must be a UNO student to have the credit applied to UNO.
• Students attempting Credit by Examination in courses in which they are currently enrolled must do so before they have completed one month of the course.
• Credit by examination will not be given for courses that are prerequisites for courses that the student has already earned credit. For exceptions, check with the department.
• Credit earned on a General Examination will be reduced by the amount of comparable credit already earned in the division.

The fee for each CLEP exam is $90.00. This is paid online directly to CLEP. A ticket containing the exam name and ticket number is printed after completing the online transaction and brought to the Testing Center (required) on exam day. (You must pay separately for each exam you take). There is also a $25.00 fee for administering the exam paid to the UNO Testing Center on exam day prior to taking the exam. Visit clep.collegeboard.org to see the CLEP informational bulletin for more details and Military Benefits. There is a $40.00 fee for each Departmental Exam (Challenge Exam) paid to the UNO Testing Center.  (Fees are subject to change.)

Credit earned by examination will be recorded as “CR” on the transcript, and this credit will not be used in calculating grade point average.

If you need additional information or have any questions, feel free to stop by (522 KH) or call the Testing Center at 402.554.4800. Questions regarding Departmental Challenge Examinations other than those noted should be directed to the appropriate department.

DE (Online Distance Education) Exams

Online Distance Education (DE) Exams are proctored for faculty who have made arrangements for this service with the Testing Center. A student enrolled in a DE course that has an exam to be taken at the Testing Center will need to register for their testing appointments via MavLINK.

Note: A student should check-in on the day, prior to the exam time they scheduled, when they registered in MavLINK. You will not be able to take the Exam if you check-in outside the date/time window established by your professor

The UNO Testing Center administers Online Distance Education (DE) Exams Monday–Friday in the Testing Center, on the day and time scheduled by the student within the date/time window established by the professor.

Correspondence (Proctored Exams)

The UNO Testing Center offers proctoring services to individuals that need to take proctored exams from institutions other than UNO. 

These include, but are not limited to:

• College course exams
• College entrance exams
• Certification exams

The examinee is responsible for following the institution's procedures for completing the exam(s). This may include but not be limited to completing the institution's proctor agreement form.

Examinees must contact the UNO Testing Center in advance with testing dates and any other institution requirements needed to schedule an appointment.

For additional information and/or to schedule an appointment for a Correspondence Proctored Exam, contact the UNO Testing Center Office at 402.554.4800.

National Exams

The Testing Center administers many types of national exams including those for Admission, Proficiency, Certification, or Licensure purposes. Among exams offered are the Graduate Record Exam (GRE), PRAXIS series exams, Law School Admission Test (LSAT), ACT Assessment, Miller Analogies Test (MAT), Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), Test of English for International Communications (TOEIC), DSST exams formerly known as DANTES Subject Standardized Tests, Counselor Education Comprehensive Exam (CECE), Crane Institute Certification (CIC) Exams, International Fluid Power Society (IFPS) Exams, and Major Field Test (MFT). The Testing Center contracts with the following testing companies to administer many other certification/licensure exams: PSI, PAN, Meazure Learning, Kryterion, Iso-Quality, and Educational Testing Service (ETS). Each testing company may have a suite of 400-4,000 different exams.

Make-Up Exams

Make-Up Exams are proctored for all UNO faculty who have an arrangement with the Testing Center for this service.

Faculty approved students who have a Make-Up Exam to be taken at the Testing Center will need to schedule their testing appointment in MavLINK.

Students wanting to use their UNO Accessibility Services approved testing accommodations should contact the Testing Center at 402.554.4800 or email at unotestingcenter@unomaha.edu ahead of their scheduled test date and time to discuss their accommodations.