CAS Welcomes Two New Member Organizations: National College Testing Association and National College Learning Center Association

Washington, D.C. The Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education (CAS) is pleased to announce that the consortium recently admitted the National College Testing Association (NCTA) and National College Learning Center Association (NCLCA) to its membership. CAS was founded 35 years ago as a consortium of 11 associations; today, 41 professional organizations reflecting a wide range of student-oriented functions across higher education institutions comprise the CAS membership.

Members of NCTA include testing professionals in post-secondary institutions and other professional testing venues, as well as companies with test-related products and services. NCTA promotes professionalism and quality in the administration of testing services and programs, including issues relating to test administration, test development, test scoring and assessment. Currently, NCTA has more than 2000 members, representing over 600 post-secondary institutions and more than 40 corporations and certification agencies in the United States and Canada.

According to Kristen Vickery, NCTA board member and Director of Testing at Anne Arundel Community College, CAS membership will help NCTA "promote the improvement of testing programs and services, allowing for the enrichment of quality student learning and development." More information about NCTA can be found at http://www.ncta-testing.org/.

NCLCA supports learning center professionals as they develop and maintain learning centers, programs and services to enhance student learning at the post-secondary level. NCLCA disseminates information and creates networking opportunities for its members though a yearly national conference, a yearly institute, webinars and online workshops, a peer reviewed journal and a quarterly newsletter.

"Our hope in joining CAS as a member organization is to continue to promote standards of learning centers to our membership," explained Jack Truschel, an NCLCA Past President and Chair of the Department of Academic Enrichment and Learning at East Stroudsburg University. "We would like to continue to contribute to standards in the field and connect with other best practices." Additional background regarding NCLCA is available at http://www.nclca.org/.

About the Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education (CAS)
CAS was established in 1979 to develop standards that promote college student learning and self-assessment for institutional effectiveness. There are now 44 CAS Standards in diverse areas of the college student experience.

CAS standards and guidelines are available from the online store at www.cas.edu. The eighth edition of the CAS Professional Standards for Higher Education was released in August 2012. The book of standards is the defining source of professional standards for many of the services provided to students in higher education. CAS publications and other materials can be ordered at https://www.cas.edu.

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