UKCAT Consortium announces continuation of test partnership with Pearson VUE to help identify tomorrow’s doctors and dentists
Applicants for medical and dental degree programmes across the UK will continue to benefit from one of the most advanced and efficient computer-based aptitude tests on the market, thanks to the renewal of the partnership between Pearson VUE and the UKCAT Consortium.
The new contract represents good value for money for the Consortium and involves enhancements to both the candidate experience and services to Universities. Candidates will see improved levels of dedicated customer support and improvements to test preparation resources provided free of charge through the UKCAT website.
Pearson VUE, UKCAT and the Work Psychology Group will work together to develop Situational Judgement Tests (SJTs) for the assessment of professional attributes relevant to medical and dental training. The Work Psychology Group leads the way in developing SJTs for use in postgraduate and medical training. This represents a significant and exciting development for the Consortium.
Comprising 26 UK universities, the Consortium uses its Clinical Aptitude Test as one of the measures to identify whether applicants possess the ability, attitude and professional behaviour required to pursue clinical careers. Having delivered the test through its global network of centres since 2006, Pearson VUE has helped thousands of applicants to take their first step towards becoming a doctor or dentist.
Pearson VUE’s delivery of the test – which measures a range of abilities including verbal, quantitative abstract reasoning, and decision analysis – ensures a distraction-free and highly secure assessment environment. The bespoke solution features an automatic marking function and the prompt production of results. In addition to administering the test, Pearson VUE is responsible for many additional services, including test registration, booking and payment. The Pearson business will continue to undertake extensive marketing activity on behalf of the Consortium, such as campaigns, candidate surveying and the day-to-day management of the UKCAT website, www.ukcat.ac.uk.
Dr. Sandra Nicholson, UKCAT Chair, said: “We are committed to working with Pearson VUE to improve both the quality of the candidate experience and of the actual test over the next five years.”
From 2008 to 2010, the UKCAT Consortium witnessed a 25% increase in the number of Clinical Aptitude Tests delivered by Pearson VUE. Over 25,000 candidates took the test in 2011.
Matthew Poyiadgi, Managing Director, Pearson VUE Europe, commented: “This renewal is a testament to the ability of CBT to deliver fairer testing which generates meaningful results for the Consortium. Given the increasing popularity of medical and dental degree programmes, the assurance of a truly robust testing solution is more important than ever before. We are delighted that in an open, competitive bid process, UKCAT chose Pearson VUE’s proven and robust services to further enhance the UKCAT programme in the coming years.”
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Media contacts: Jack Gibson, +44 (0)207 010 2139, jack.gibson@pearson.com