Freshmen and seniors at American University of Sharjah (AUS) were awarded certificates for their performance in the ETS Proficiency Profile Test at a recognition ceremony held February 19.

Organized by the Office of Institutional Effectiveness and Planning, the ETS Proficiency Profile Test was given in Fall 2012 to 336 students: 154 freshmen and 182 seniors. These students were randomly selected to take the 40-minute test, which allows the university to gain a full perspective on the effectiveness of the AUS general education program in developing areas of competence in the following areas: critical thinking, reading, writing and mathematics. The findings are used to improve the quality of general education courses at AUS. 

The awards ceremony was held to recognize the top 10 percent of test performers. Following an introduction by Heba Syed, Data Analyst at AUS, AUS Chancellor Dr. Peter Heath awarded the recipients with certificates. "What we are trying to discover through this test and other such mechanisms is a good sense of how we are doing as a university," said Dr. Heath. "From the institutional effectiveness point of view, we want to be on a trajectory where we are good this year but even better in the future."

In addition to the certificates, two senior and two freshman students were selected randomly as recipients of AED 2,000 gift vouchers from Emax Electronics.