Senior Exit Exams

THEC and MTSU require seniors to take specific proficiency exams during their final semester. The required exams are General Education and Major Field Tests.

Academic Performance Awards

• Academic Performance Awards

General Education

All university graduates must complete a group of basic courses known as the General Education Core. The courses provide students with a solid foundation for acquiring higher-level knowledge in their chosen field of study. Undergraduate students demonstrate their basic knowledge by taking a General Education exam the semester they graduate. MTSU’s current General Education exam is the California Critical Thinking Skills Test (CCTST).

The exam, which is administered by the Office of Institutional Effectiveness, Planning, and Research (IEPR), is given to all seniors who will graduate with a bachelor’s degree. Test dates are scheduled during summer, fall, and spring semesters. Testing sessions last approximately one hour.

For additional information, you may send an email to iepr@mtsu.edu.

Fall 2024 General Education Exam (Exit Exam) is administered on the computers in KUC 107 between August 21 and October 18, 2024.  Please take it as early as possible.  To schedule the time, please go to www.mtsu.edu/flextest.  Click “General Exit and Major Field Testing”. Then select “Graduation Exams” (on the drop-down menu) for no.1; and select “General Exit Exam” (on the drop-down menu) for no. 2, and complete the rest of the required sections.  Don’t forget to add your appointment(s) to the “Cart” and “Complete Registration” (no fees involved).

Please bring your MTSU ID card or M number and photo ID.  For questions, please send email to iepr@mtsu.edu.

General Education Reports

The general education reports (It requires login).

• General Education Test Reports
• CCTST Score Interpretation

Major Field Test

Some major field tests are not administered in summer semesters. Therefore, the students need to take it in the spring semester prior to the summer graduation.

Fall 2024 major field tests for the following majors are administered on the computers in KUC 107 between August 21 and October 18, 2024 : Accounting, Agribusiness, Animal Science, Biochemistry, Business Administration, Business Education, Business Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Chemistry,  Commerce, Computer Science, Economics (BBA and BS), English, Finance, History, Horse Science, Information Systems & Analytics (Computer Information Systems), International Relations, Management, Management & Leadership, Marketing, Music, Physics, Plant & Soil Science, Political Science, Psychology, Risk Management & Insurance, Social Work, Sociology, Supply Chain Management. 

Please note: The Biology major field test will be administered October 21 through November 8, 2024. The Actuarial Science and Mathematics major field tests will be administered November 18 through November 26, 2024.

Students should schedule the above major field tests by visiting the website www.mtsu.edu/flextest. Click “General Exit and Major Field Testing”. Then select “Graduation Exams” (on the drop-down menu) for no.1; and select “Major Field Test (MFT)” (on the drop-down menu) for no. 2. Then select your major (on the drop-down menu) for no. 3, and complete the rest of the required sections.  Don’t forget to add your appointment(s) to the “Cart” and “Complete Registration” (no fees involved). Please bring your MTSU ID card.  For questions, please send email to iepr@mtsu.edu. 

Major field tests for the following majors are administered by the department (please contact the department for date, time, and location):  Aerospace, Animation, Anthropology, Art, Athletic Training, Audio Production, Communication, Concrete Industry Management, Construction Management, Criminal Justice Administration, Engineering Technology, Exercise Science, Family and Consumer Studies, Geosciences, Global Studies & Human Geography, Industrial/Organizational Psychology, Interactive Media, Interior Design, Journalism (Advertising, Public Relations etc), Leisure & Sport Management, Mechatronics Engineering, Media Management, Nutrition & Food Science, Philosophy, Photography, Public Health, Recording Industry, Religious Studies, Speech-Language Pathology & Audiology, Textiles, Merchandising, & Design, Theatre, Tourism & Hospitality Management, and Video & Film production.

Major Field Test Results:

• Basic and Applied Sciences
• Behavioral and Health Sciences
• Business
• Liberal Arts
• Media and Entertainment

The purpose of the major field test (MFT) is to evaluate students’ knowledge in their major field and to assess the curriculum within each major. All graduating seniors complete various assessment activities specific to their major field of study. Some programs establish the MFT as part of the graduation requirements and require their students graduating in either the fall or spring semester to take the exam. Graduating seniors in some majors are not required to take a major field test, per regulations within the Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC) Quality Assurance Funding Program. Alternate assessment methods are utilized in those majors.

An academic program maybe exempted from administering a major field test to graduating seniors if one of the following conditions applies: (From Tennessee Higher Education Commission, Quality Assurance Funding 2015-20 cycle standard).

• Program is a certificate program.
• Program is interdisciplinary, multidisciplinary, or self-designed to include several related fields.
• Baccalaureate programs that have not generated an average of 10 students per year, or a minimum of 50 graduates during the time period 2015-16 to 2019-20. 
• Program is in phase-out or inactive status at the beginning or during the cycle.  If a program becomes inactive during the cycle, the scheduled program shall be exempt from the major field test requirements.
• New programs approved during the 2020-25 Quality Assurance funding cycle that have not reach maturity will be exempt from the testing requirement.  Program maturity for  baccalaureate  programs is a five year period after implementation.  Since baccalaureate  programs require five years to reach maturity, new baccalaureate programs that were approved after July 2020 would not mature until 2025 and thus would be exempt from the major field testing requirement.
• Institutions may submit other programs for exemptions through their respective governing board for consideration by THEC.

Administration of the major field test is coordinated by the Office of Institutional Effectiveness, Planning, and Research (IEPR). For additional information, you may send an email to iepr@mtsu.edu.

• MFT Quality Assurance Funding Reporting Year
• Creating a Locally-Developed MFT

Departments wishing to change to a different national exam or modify the locally developed tests should contact the office of IEPR for requirements.
Test instruments used in the major field assessment vary by program. Provided below are the assessment instruments currently in use.