Students may not be exempted from Communications 210 anymore,but they can try to test out.
The testing is a two-step process: Students must first completean online test and then prepare and deliver a speech tofaculty.
Students can register for the test in the communicationsdepartment office. The deadline is Sept. 19.
A $60 fee is charged to administer the exam.
The test is open to anyone who has not yet registered for COMM210.
Students should use www.comm210.com to study after theyregistered for the test.
Students will have to answer 50 questions over each of thechapters covered on the Web site, communications instructor FrankGray said.
The online test is similar to the one given at the end of theCOMM 210 class.
Once students pass the online test, they will be given morespecific information about the persuasive speech they willgive.
"It may be intimidating for some people to give a speech infront of faculty, but some may think it is less intimidating thangiving a speech in front of their peers," communications associateprofessor Beth Messner said.
Only about four students in the past three years have tried totest out, Gray said.
"This option is not good for someone who has anxiety aboutpublic speaking," Gray said. "Students begin to lose some of theirapprehension during the course of this class."
Before this year, students could apply for a waiver from therequired public-speaking class by acquiring a B or better in ahigh-school class and receiving high-enough scores on astandardized test.
But a review from the Core Curriculum Committee revealed thatnot all students who take high-school speech classes acquire thenecessary public-speaking skills.
Also, standardized test scores are not representative ofpublic-speaking skills, Messner said.
The decision was made a year and a half ago to change the rules,Messner said.
"We would like to encourage students to take the challenge,"Messner said. "It should be challenging but not impossible forthose who are confident in their public-speaking skills."
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