NCEES chooses Pearson VUE for FE, FS exam delivery

NCEES has selected electronic testing company Pearson VUE for computer-based delivery of the Fundamentals of Engineering and Fundamentals of Surveying exams. The NCEES Board of Directors voted to approve the electronic testing company at its February 18–19 meeting.

The first CBT exams will likely be released in mid-2013 and delivered through Pearson VUE’s owned-and-operated network of Pearson Professional Centers and other select locations as determined by NCEES.

The FE and FS exams are the first step in the process of becoming a licensed professional engineer or professional surveyor. More than 50,000 examinees currently take these exams each year.

The state licensing boards that compose NCEES voted in August 2010 to begin administering the two exams via computer-based testing at the earliest feasible date. The decision followed a prolonged study by a special task force convened to research the issue.

“We’ve been interested in CBT for a long time but knew that to transition such a large program successfully, we had to choose the right partner,” said Jerry Carter, executive director of NCEES. “Pearson VUE has taken a very collaborative approach to the process—asking questions to make sure they are addressing our unique needs and guiding us through the process so we can maximize the security, test development, and candidate service benefits that will be possible as a result of this transition.

“There is much work to be done, but we’re both committed to an end product that will not only add new layers of security to protect the licensure process and the public it serves, but will also offer greater candidate convenience and provide more uniformity in testing conditions,” Carter added.

Pearson VUE is a global leader in computer-based testing, with the world’s most comprehensive and secure network of testing centers across 165 countries. It provides testing services for academic, government, and professional testing programs, including licensure exams for the National Council of State Boards of Nursing and the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy, as well as the Graduate Management Admissions Test (GMAT). Pearson VUE is part of Pearson plc, the largest commercial testing company and education publisher in the world.

“In engineering and surveying, precision is key. NCEES exam candidates value accuracy and efficiency, so we’re honored that NCEES has placed its trust in Pearson VUE to deliver on that expectation,” said Robert Whelan, president and CEO of Pearson VUE. “We’re committed to exceeding their requirements and validating that they made the right decision in choosing Pearson VUE for CBT.”

For more information, contact NCEES Executive Director Jerry Carter or Associate Executive Director Davy McDowell, P.E.