Assessment Day wasn’t just another day off for the students of Winona State University, it was a day to test how Winona State students rank against students across the nation in university studies examinations.
Susan Hatfield, assessment coordinator for Winona State, worked over the past year with Student Directors Marcia Benish and Kristina Murphy to organize this annual event.
This year, Assessment Day fell on Tuesday, Feb. 12.
All classes that met before 3:30 p.m. were cancelled, except for labs and classes that meet once per week.
All students who have completed between 45-70 credits were encouraged to take the University Studies Exam, which was approximated to last an hour and a half, according to Hatfield.
The University Studies Exam is made up of five different test modules: reading, writing, math, science and critical thinking. Students took two of the tests and the type was chosen at random.
In addition to the University Studies Exam, which tested sophomores and low-credit juniors, an exam in writing and critical thinking was offered for seniors with over 110 credits. Students may want to include the score in their portfolio.
“It is like a class rank,” Hatfield said, “being able to say you are better than 75 percent of the students across the nation is a big deal.”
The incentives for taking the University Studies Exams included door prizes and early registration on a special “advantage” day, where test takers will be able to register earlier than the students who chose not to take the test.
This is a plus to those students who do not always have the adequate amount of credits to sign up for the classes they need or want. Seniors who obviously do not need the early registration incentive received $20 for taking the exam.
For those students who score in the top percentiles there are $50 cash rewards.
While many students are not in the credit range to take the exams, Hatfield encourages all students to take the Assessment survey, which should only take between 20 to 25 minutes to complete, starting on Feb. 12, and ending 10 days later. Students interested in taking the online survey should go to www.winona.edu/air and then click on student surveys.
The information on the Assessment surveys in the past have been used to improve on campus resources such as the bookstore, health services and parking services, just to name a few. Assessment Day is a chance for Winona State to find out what you are thinking and feeling about the university and also how students are doing in general education and major courses.
Hatfield thought that the incentives to taking the exam should have brought it approximately 350 sophomores and juniors and 175 seniors.
“We are really hoping for a good turnout with students,” Hatfield explained, “we need feedback to say what is working and what isn’t, and we don’t know what to fix if no one tells us.”

Contact Claudia at CDCappie9866@winona.edu