Over the summer months, MacEwan University's Exam Services Centre underwent some extensive upgrades to better serve students.

The Exam Services Centre provides a number of exam-related supports to MacEwan and the larger community. In its newly integrated space, located in Room 7-198, the centre will support the entirety of MacEwan's online courses and exams, students with accommodations, deferred exams, and will even provide supervised exam-writing space for non-MacEwan students and other clients.

“Undertaking this work when there was less foot traffic on campus, MacEwan took the opportunity to reimagine this centre as an integrated and inclusive space that respects the needs of all students, supporting their full and equal access," says Dr. Craig Monk, MacEwan University’s provost & vice-president, Academic.

View the gallery below to get a look at the new centre, which now has 98 private carrel desks for students, along with a 44-seat isolation space. The centre also has more accessible stations than ever, including multiple units that accommodate sitting, standing or mobility needs. Upon entering the centre, students will be able to access lockers to keep their personal items safe.

The new space is also designed to ensure an enriching student experience.

"In trying to move to a universal design learning model, there is a lot of natural light, which goes a long way for many of our students," says Petrina Ferreira, manager of Exam Services.

"We now have the right tools and space to support students," says Ferreira, who notes the new space could not have come at a better time. "Pre-pandemic, distance and online learning at MacEwan had been growing, and staff at the centre were putting in long hours to accommodate that level of student growth."

Staff at the centre reflected on the principles of universal design learning in developing their new space, and the pandemic showed that take-home assessments and online and distance learning are viable and can continue to grow and be accessible to a greater number of students.

"I really hope those teachings still stand when the pandemic is over," says Ferreira.