Illinois Valley Community College Assessment Center expands services and hours

Illinois Valley Community College’s Assessment Center is seeing growing demand beyond the classroom. Of the 3,262 people who tested there last year, one-third came from the workforce for licensing and certification exams. The center, now relocated and remodeled in IVCC’s A Building, offers expanded testing rooms, 40 lab computers, dedicated Pearson testing stations, secure check-in, lockers, cameras, and trained proctors. Coordinator Summer Studstill says the goal is a quiet, distraction-free setting where knowledge is the only thing being tested. IVCC expects numbers to rise in 2026, with longer hours and more exam options planned.

The Assessment Center supplies test materials, technology, security, and supervision, but Studstill says its foremost function is to be a distraction-free environment “where nothing impacts your ability on that test except your knowledge. We want testers to feel comfortable here so they set themselves up for success.”

Exams support careers in fields including insurance, food service, pharmacy, nursing, teaching, and public safety.

High schools can schedule placement testing at IVCC’s main campus, the Ottawa Center, or even in their own classrooms. Fees generally run from $15 to $25, but students and first-time placement testers pay nothing. IVCC also offers some exams not available at other nearby sites, making it useful for university students, online learners, and professionals needing proctored testing. Appointments and details are available at ivcc.edu/assessmentcenter, by emailing [email protected], or by calling 815-224-0542.