Comprehensive Exam

Registering
Students wishing to take the Comp Exam should do so no later than one month prior to the conduct of the exam (e.g. register no later than September 12, 2012, for the exam to be given on October 12-13, 2012). The registration announcement is posted on the Department calendar in Moodle, usually the first week of the semester you are taking the exam. Students taking comps as their culminating activity do not have to form a committee.

Test Logistics
We have a special examination review course in Moodle to help you prepare for and administration of the exam, called EDTECH 690 – Master’s Comprehensive Examination. You will automatically be added to the course site by completing the registration form. You do not need to pay to register unless you are not enrolled in other coursework during the semester you graduate. If you are taking no other EDTECH courses during the term you take the exam, you will be required to enroll in EDTECH 690 through BroncoWeb rather than through the registration form and will have to pay a 1-credit course fee.
This course site will be made available to students approximately one month prior to the exam. It will contain test information, preparation tips, and discussion forums to set up study groups with peers, ask questions, and to complete a sample test question activity. At 7:45 a.m. (Mountain Time) on both days (Friday and Saturday) of the exam, the questions become available in the Moodle course and remain available until 12:15 p.m., by which time students are to have submitted their responses to questions. Students residing outside the continental United States may request an adjustment of time; we do not expect you to take the exam at 3 a.m. Please provide accommodation requests, if any, at the time you register.

Exam Content
Each test day, you will be given two questions, of which you will select one to answer. You will have four hours to prepare a response to the question, from 8:00 a.m. to noon, MST. The four questions presented over the two days of the test are designed based on objectives from your core classes although anything that you can apply from your elective courses to support your response is expected.
The questions stress synthesis and analysis across concepts from your core classes. Each question begins with a scenario. Students are expected to answer the essay question as fully and thoroughly as possible. Answers are evaluated based on the content and thought processes exhibited in the written response. The tone of this examination is formal, and APA formatting is important, so students should use the final hour each day to polish their writing accordingly. The exams take about one week to grade and the results will appear in the Moodle exam course.

What happens if I fail the exam?
University policy (see the Graduate Catalog) states:
A comprehensive examination or final oral examination that is failed on the first attempt can be repeated once but only if a repeat attempt is requested by the student and approved by the academic unit responsible for the program. The student request must be in writing to the head of the academic unit and must be made within five working days after the student is notified of his or her failure. If a repeat attempt is not requested by the student, or if a request is made by the student but not approved by the academic unit, then the student is administratively withdrawn from the program by the Graduate College. If the student’s request is approved by the academic unit, then the repeat attempt must occur within twelve months after the first attempt. If the student does not repeat the examination within twelve months after the first attempt, or if the student fails the repeat attempt, then the student is administratively withdrawn from the program by the Graduate College. Any extension of the twelve-month limit on the repeat attempt must be approved by the academic unit and by the graduate dean.