Undergraduate Entrance Examination Gives Universities A Competitive Advantage

India produces over a million school graduates each year, many having the expectation of continuing their studies at the tertiary level, however the challenge of completing their secondary school education pales in comparison to the challenge of securing a place at one of India’s universities. India’s universities also face a significant challenge in selecting those students that best meet the requirements of the universities. For many years, the university selection process was inadequate to determine which candidates have selected the correct course and by extension, the correct university.

Common entrance examinations like the Pearson Undergraduate Entrance Exam offer both the students and the universities one of the most effective university evaluation tests as part of the selection instead of filtration processes, as it significantly saves time, effort, stress, money and unrealised expectations.

The entrance exam allows an independent third party to determine the correct level of expectations and guide the candidate in making correct decisions while choosing universities and courses. If further offers the university a far more wholistic assessment of the students as it measures the verbal, quantitative, and abstract reasoning skills of the candidates through multiple choice questions. This offers the university more information than just secondary school results to make their selection from, and this has extensive short, medium and long-term benefits for the universities.

A far more streamlined selection process

The Pearson Undergraduate Entrance Exam is designed to provide a fair and unbiased examination through a set of multiple-choice questions that determine the candidate’s verbal, quantitative and abstract reasoning skills. All the students that take the test are therefore assessed not on the information that they might have been taught and retained at school, but rather the candidate’s abilities. These abilities are far more likely to help the candidate succeed at the university level, and further, these abilities will provide the candidates and the universities with a clearer view on which courses are more appropriate for the candidate. 

Through this process, the university and the candidate go through a process of matching the student to a university, and the student to course work correctly. This process also allows both the university and the candidate access to customised information dashboards. The candidate can access their results through the dashboard and submit their tests to a variety of universities. The university similarly can access all the information of those that have taken the test and are able to select which candidates they want to promote the university and/or course work to.

In addition, because the Pearson Undergraduate Entrance Exams are performed over a longer window this allows the universities to develop an appropriate and customised communications strategies to reach the candidates of their choice. Similarly, this 8-9 month testing window offers the candidate a greater degree of flexibility and convenience. In addition, the candidate is also allowed to take the test from home (through the Pearson VUE OnVUE online proctoring testing system) or test from a Pearson VUE test centre, and they are also allowed to reschedule and retake the examinations. All of these measures are offered to provide the candidate with the most optimum testing experience, which is part of improving the candidate’s overall outcomes and performance.

Universities benefit from improved student performance

While student dropouts at the tertiary education level are a result of various factors, through the correct placement of students to universities, and students to the correct coursework for their abilities, the dropout factor of coursework and university disillusionment is potentially reduced. Because of the correct fit between the university, the selected coursework, and the students, this may result in students staying for the entire degree period which means that there is less waste of time, money, and resources on the part of the candidate and the university. Valuable placement positions at the start of the degree period are then given to students that represent the best possible fit (in terms of abilities and aptitude) to complete the degree.

This reasoning could also lead to the realisation of a potential consistent growth and improvement of the student over the period of the degree because they are correctly suited to the university and the coursework, and by extension, the student may achieve higher results and/or more advanced skills sets leading better placement. For the university, higher numbers of graduates and higher marks at the completion of the degree will add to the overall performance of the university and add to the university’s prestige, which would lead to more applications in the years to come.

A couple of past candidates have shared their experience of taking the Pearson Undergraduate Entrance Exam.

“I would like to thank Pearson for conducting a fair and unbiased examination. Thanks to the omission of pen-and-paper from this exam, along with prompt proctoring, the test was conducted with relatively minimal inconvenience. The sheer quantity and quality of participating institutions in this exam were enough for me to enrol for it. This SAT-like test pattern allowed me to play to my strengths and secure an adequate score for getting into my most preferred college, along with the choicest branch. In addition, the test pattern is in line with the recommendations of the NEP 2020. Overall, it was a pleasant experience,” saya Saraf Harith Sai.

“I took the Pearson Undergraduate Exam in July 2021. It was a good experience, especially taking it [in] the comfort of my home, while being constantly monitored by the proctor, giving the feel of a real test. The test consisted of mathematical reasoning, aptitude, English language and essay sections, which were equally challenging and fun to attempt. There were quite a number of questions that made me think and analyse, which is absolutely necessary [for] various undergraduate courses across the country. It showed the necessity of lateral thinking and how a question doesn't have a single method of approach. Moreover, the online mode was convenient and the access to the test was made in a simple, organised way. Results appear at that moment itself. It was very user-friendly. It was a great experience and I recommend everyone willing to apply for various colleges and universities to take this test," shares Smrithi Iyer.

With a clear objective of ensuring that students entering the tertiary education system are correctly matched to the coursework and university from the onset of studies, we can hope to ensure that valuable time, money and effort is not wasted. Furthermore, by recognising that both students and universities will equally benefit from a university entrance exam that concentrates on assessing a candidate’s aptitude and ability rather than knowledge retention, we will be able to ensure that the future workforce is far better prepared than ever before.

About the author

The author Suraj Puravankara is Senior Marketing Manager, Asia Pacific, Pearson VUE 

Spotlight Desk

BW Reporters Spotlight Desk