College of Education

The Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC) requires all State of Tennessee universities to evaluate their general education curriculum's effectiveness in student learning and critical thinking.

THEC also includes these test scores in funding formulas to state institutions. To meet these requirements,Tennessee Tech requires all graduating seniors to participate in an exit exam that evaluates general education.

Tennessee Tech uses the California Test of Critical Thinking Skills to evaluate how well the general education core prepares students to think critically.

All graduating seniors, regardless of major or college, are REQUIRED to take the Senior Exit Exam.

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Advisors and Faculty

If a graduating senior states they need to take the exam, please have them email their name, T-number, Tennessee Tech email address, and major to edexitexam@tntech.edu.

Students may be exempt from the exam, if they meet one of the following criteria:

• Attended high school outside of the United States/English is the student's second language.
• Have already obtained a bachelor’s degree.
• Attend all classes online. ( E-Campus)

All exemptions are reviewed and verified. Students will be contacted only if there is an issue with their selected exemption. If they do not qualify for the exemption, students will be asked to complete the exam.

Since the Spring of 2020, students may take the exam online from any device with internet connection. No registration appointments are necessary for online, remote testing. If you are wanting to see about taking the exam in person, we do offer some dates each semester. Please see the test registration section on our page to view available dates and times. If you have any questions, please contact the testing center at testingcenter@tntech.edu

No class excusals will be granted for online, remote testing sessions.

Students that do not complete the exam requirement by the deadline will receive an email requesting them to complete the exam immediately.

Advisors, instructors, and others may also be contacted to assist in this process.

The list of verified student exam completions and exemptions is returned to the Provost's Office around the last week of classes.

If the student's name is on this list, the hold will be released on their diploma for graduation.