The proficiency (CAAP) exam is designed to measure students' knowledge of material covered in general education courses. All who are seeking an associate or baccalaureate degree from one of the South Dakota's regental institutions must satisfactorily complete the proficiency tests. The proficiency exam, produced by ACT, consists of four, 40 minute each, multiple-choice exams in science reasoning, math, reading, and writing skills.

The examination is scheduled once each semester, during the first two weeks in November and the last two weeks of March. Bachelor degree-seeking students are required to take the exam as soon as they have passed 48 credit hours at or above the 100-level. Associate degree-seeking students must take the examination as soon as they have passed 32 credit hours.

Prior to sitting for the exam, students should have completed at least three credit hours in each of the following areas: composition, speech, mathematics (at or above the level of college algebra), natural sciences (six credit hours recommended), social sciences and humanities/fine arts. Students who do not take the examination when notified will not be allowed to register at any of the SD regental universities for two academic terms.

As University Center is a location, your home institution has additional test dates, study materials and information on the scoring of your CAAP exam. The CAAP test is administered by the Assessment Offices and delivered to University Center so students can have the convenience of taking the exam locally. Click on the links below to visit your HOME school's Academic Assessment Office:

USD  |  SDSU  |  DSU  |  BHSU  |  NSU  |  SDSM&T

The exam (full and re-takes) is administered on behalf of the Assessment Offices at each SDBOR institution at University Center twice per academic year (November and March). All SDBOR students required to test will be notified by letter approximately three weeks prior to testing.

To ensure that you’re prepared for the exam, incoming freshmen should complete these courses in their first 30 credit hours: completion or current enrollment in college algebra (or an equivalent higher level math course), composition and one general education course in natural sciences, social sciences and humanities/fine arts. You can obtain sample test question packets/information by physically visiting the UC Testing and Resource Center or by visiting ACT's CAAP site.

Students must arrive with a photo ID to be allowed to test, at least 3 sharpened No. 2 pencils with erasers and a calculator for the mathematics portion of the exam. Note: these calculators are NOT allowed:

• Pocket organizers
• Handheld or laptop computers
• Electronic writing pads or pen-input devices
• Calculators built into cellular phones or other wireless communication devices
• Calculator models with QWERTY (typewriter-style) keyboards (calculators with letters are permitted as long as the keys are not arranged in the QWERTY format)
• Calculator models with built-in computer algebra systems including:
  Casio CFX-9970G, Algebra fx 2.0, Class Pad 300 and Class Pad 330T
• Texas Instruments TI-89, TI-92 series and TI-Nspire CAS (unless the 84 keypad is in place)
• Hewlett-Packard HP-40G, HP-48GII, HP-49G and HP-50G

If you are enrolled as a degree-seeking student (eligible for financial aid and earning a degree with one of the SD BOR schools),  you are required to take the exam. If you are a non-degree seeking student (not eligible for financial aid and not pursuing a degree), you are NOT required to take the exam. All degree-seeking students must take the exam to continue with their studies.

Students who do not meet the minimum required score(s) on the exams will develop a remediation plan with help from the Remediation Plan Advisor at their home institution. Remediation involves the use of training materials or resources specific to the exam that wasn't passed in an effort to help the student learn the material. Students who have remediated will be allowed to retest in the specific area(s) of deficiency twice within the allowed time frame (2 semesters). The retests must be completed on the specified testing dates. For additional information, contact the Assessment Office at your home institution.

Prohibited calculators include all calculators in all of the following series:

• Casio CFX-9970G (including, for example, CFX-9970GE)
• Casio Algebra fx 2.0
• Hewlett-Packard HP-40G
• Hewlett-Packard HP-49G
• Texas Instruments TI-89
• Texas Instruments TI-92 (including, for example, TI-92 Plus)

You may use any four-function, scientific or graphing calculator as long as it doesn’t have any of the features on the list.

No – you can take classes from any and all partner universities at UC. Universities and their courses work together seamlessly at UC, so your credits will still add up even outside of your home university. Taking classes from multiple universities gives you more choice, better options and a great way to take a broad range of classes.

A student taking classes from more than one university is described as cross-enrolled. But even though you’re cross-enrolled, you can still complete just one admissions form and make one payment for all classes.  

Call 367-5640 or 866-220-7085 to schedule an appointment.

New and current students may add or drop courses using WebAdvisor or by completing an add/drop form. If you have a restriction or hold on your account, you cannot drop or add a course until the hold is cleared. After you add or drop semester classes, we advise you to look at “My Class Schedule” to verify the correct changes were made.

First, you’ll need to meet with your academic advisor, who will help you plan your schedule and select the right classes for the coming term. Once you have a plan in place, you can register online through your home school's WebAdvisor. In some cases, students may also use a paper registration form.

If an instructor needs to cancel a class, you can check University Center’s homepage for an announcement.  If inclement weather forced us to cancel all classes and close the campus, UC will also notify local radio and television stations to post an announcement. 

You may drop all of your courses for all South Dakota universities by completing a withdrawal form. You can find these at the UC front office or from your advisor. If you have financial aid, we advise you to meet with a financial aid advisor prior to withdrawing, as this may have implications on your financial aid.

Occasionally, classes may be cancelled if enough students don’t enroll. If this happens, a staff member will contact you by phone, email or regular mail. A full tuition refund will be made if tuition has been prepaid, unless you choose to register for another class.

Due to regulations mandated by the Board of Regents, all students, whatever their classification or status, must document their immune status for measles, mumps and rubella (MMR). Proof of two doses of the MMR vaccine; or two doses of measles, mumps and rubella vaccine; or the presence of immune antibody titers for measles, mumps and rubella shall be required. Immunization forms are available at University Center. Students who fail to provide the required, signed proof of immunization or file an exemption for religious or medical reasons shall not be permitted to register for or attend classes at any state institution until in compliance. Students born before January 1, 1957 are exempt from providing immunization documentation. If documentation is not presented at the time of registration or already on file, you will not be registered until the documentation is provided. If you do not know if your MMR documentation is already on file, please call (605) 367-5640 to verify this information.

FERPA stands for the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act of 1974. FERPA is a federal law designed to protect the privacy of a student’s personal education records kept at the university. The law provides that the institution will maintain the confidentiality of each student’s education records and covers matters relating to accessing student records and the disclosure of such records.

WebAdvisor is an online portal that allows current UC students to view semester class schedules, register for classes, add or drop classes, obtain unofficial transcripts, view SDePay accounts, find financial aid information and more.
 

You can log onto your school's WebAdvisor here or by choosing your school on the UC homepage. If you’ve never used WebAdvisor and need a username and password, select a link to your home university, click on “Students” and follow the steps under the “I’m New to WebAdvisor” link. Here you’ll be able to get a username and password, then log on and manage your class activity (See Webadvisor Tutorial).
 

We encourage you to register as soon as you can. Most classes have a limit on the number of students accepted. Registering early will ensure you get the best classes that fit your schedule.

You can find the semester schedule by logging onto your home school's WebAdvisor. Locate classes under the “Search for Sections” link. You can also find course offerings here on our website.

The location of your class will be listed on your course schedule. There are two primary classroom buildings at University Center:

• UC Main Building (FADM) – this is the building in the center of our 3 buildings.  In addition to classrooms, UC Main houses administration offices, advising, the business office and Center Shop.
• Science & Technology Building (FSC1) – this is the southern building.  It has classrooms, science labs and most faculty offices.

To view a map of these locations, see UC Facilities