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Wonderlic Helps Long Technical College Change People’s Lives

The Client

Long Technical College is an institution of higher education based in Phoenix, Arizona.

The school offers quality programs, primarily for careers in the medical industry, that integrate professional skills and career-focused education, empowering students to develop and achieve their personal and career potentials.

Programs include veterinary technology, respiratory therapy, sports medicine and orthopedic assistant, medical assistant, veterinary assistant, and pharmacy technician.

The school is accredited by The Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges of Technology (ACCSCT); the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Educational Programs (CAAHEP); The Committee on Accreditation for Respiratory Care (CoARC); The Arizona Board of Osteopathic Examiners, and approved for certification from the Board of Chiropractic Examiners, in the State of Arizona.

The Product

The Wonderlic Basic Skills Test for the Ability to Benefit program (WBST/ATB): This forty-minute timed test measures basic math and verbal skills of Long Technical College applicants who do not have high school diplomas or GEDs.

If they pass the Wonderlic Basic Skills Test, which has been approved by the U.S. Department of Education to determine student eligibility for Federal funding under the Title IV of HEA (1965) “Ability-to-benefit” program, applicants who do not have proof of high school equivalency can participate in one of four higher education programs at Long Tech.

As part of an intensive interview process, the WBST helps Long Tech effectively identify the skills of each applicant, regardless of their high school graduation status, and to give every ambitious student the opportunity to pursue a medical career.

Since 1972, Long Technical College in Phoenix, AZ, has been helping students build careers in the medical industry. But Long Tech offers more than just medical training classes. It has a history of helping its students create new futures for themselves, says Rick Stillman, director of admissions. “We are in the business of changing peoples’ lives by increasing their marketability through education.” And for more than 20 years, Wonderlic has helped them achieve that mission.

“We love the Wonderlic test because it helps a lot more students get their careers started so they can achieve their dreams.” - Rick Stillman, Director of Admissions, Long Technical College

Long Technical College uses the Wonderlic Basic Skills Test (WBST) to determine whether students who do not have high school diplomas or General Education Development Certificates (GED) are suitable candidates for their academic programs. The WBST has been approved by the U.S. Department of Education to determine student eligibility for the Ability-to-Benefit (ATB) program under Title IV funding for financial aid.

Normally these students would have to complete a high school diploma or equivalency test before they could be accepted into college courses, but thanks to the Wonderlic Basic Skills test they can prove their math and verbal skills and get started immediately on professional training. “We love the Wonderlic test because it helps a lot more students get their careers started so they can achieve their dreams,” Stillman says, which is why the school promotes their use of the test in its advertising and marketing efforts. The school wants potential students, who may think that they are ineligible for college training, to know that they have options, he says.

The paper-based test is given to appropriate applicants during the initial application process at Long Tech. It takes less than an hour and students are monitored by independent test administrators to ensure no cheating takes place. When they complete the test, their answers are sent to Wonderlic where they are immediately graded and returned to Stillman.

“Wonderlic’s test gives people without high school diplomas or GEDs a chance to get a career started,” Stillman says. “If we didn't have the test, we couldn't help them. That’s the cool thing about Wonderlic.”

In order to pass the test, applicants must receive a minimum Verbal Test Score of 200 and Quantitative Test Score of 210 (scores are based on standards set by the U.S. Department of Education). If they do, they are eligible to participate in one of four Long Tech programs: Medical Assistant, Sports Medicine, Orthopedic Assistant, or Veterinary Assistant.

In 2002, 147 applicants took the Wonderlic test to gain admission to Long Tech, and of those 90 of them—or 61 percent—passed. However, passing the test alone is not enough to win admission to the school. Whenever anyone applies to Long Tech they must undergo anintensive interview session with Stillman, who examines their academic and employment background as well as exploring what drives them. “It takes three things to get into this school,” Stillman says: “Interest, motivation and a willingness to put in the effort.”

It’s the motivation and ambition—not just a diploma—that indicates whether a student is a good candidate for LongTech, and that’s why Wonderlic’s Basic Skills Test is such a valuable tool for the school, Stillman says. “The test gives people without high school diplomas or GEDs a chance to get a career started. If we didn’t have the test, we couldn’t help them. That’s the cool thing about Wonderlic.”

 

Last Updated: 1/1/08

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