Most Ball State University students likely think the Writing Competency Exam is just another step on the road to graduation. This year, however, the university started using content from the exams to initiate changes in policy - without telling students their answers would be used in such a way.
Ball State should always be receptive to student opinions, but only in a responsible manner. If university officials want to use content from Writing Competency Exams to affect policy change, they should inform students of their intentions before students' pencils hit the paper.
Earlier this semester, answers from the exam were used to help the University Senate pass a bill about technology in classrooms. Graders noticed many students chose to write about the misuse of technology in the classroom, and students' responses became the basis for research. Regardless of the validity of the bill, the process by which the legislation was initiated was questionable at best and unethical at worst.
The Writing Competency Exam provides a way for students to "demonstrate the written and communication abilities outlined by the University Core Curriculum goals," according to Ball State's Web site. The stated purpose of the exam has nothing to do with using opinions expressed in answers to shape policy at Ball State. At the very least, students should be informed the exams are no longer purely evaluation-based.
Student opinion is vital at Ball State, and the university's willingness to seek it out is commendable. In the case of the writing exams, however, the university was overzealous and inappropriately lifted opinions from exams that were undertaken with a completely different purpose in mind. The university should continue to search out opinions, but not without full disclosure of their intentions.
The simple solution to the current issue with the Writing Competency Exam is to fully inform students how their answers will be used. In addition to explaining how the exams will fulfill graduation requirements, the university should tell students their answers could be used to evaluate policy at Ball State. The university owes students the respect to fully disclose how and what their information and exams are used for.
The process could work for the better. Students are more likely to respond to a passionate topic if they know their views are being heard. And with targeted and provocative prompts from the university to solicit said views, maybe the exam will finally serve a legitimate purpose.
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