DeKALB – NIU is now offering free test preparation courses for career credentials and exams. 

The program is offered through a partnership between Kaplan, the Illinois Student Assistance Commision and the state of Illinois and offers free test prep materials to all students at public universities and select community colleges. 

The program is the first of its kind in partnering with a state, with previous partnerships involving universities, and is a result of a $10 million investment into higher education by the state of Illinois.  

At NIU, over 150 students have enrolled in over 210 courses, a savings of over $250,000. 

Across the state, over 700 students have enrolled in the test prep program, which represents over $1.3 million in savings for students. 

Students can access Kaplan’s free test prep through the Career Services website. There, students can go through the step-by-step instructions for how to receive free access to these courses. 

The courses are offered through the Prepare for Illinois’ Future Program, and was led by state Rep. La Shawn Ford. 

Alicia Schatteman, vice provost for Academic Affairs and professor in the Department of Public Administration, said the program levels the playing field for access to test prep.

“It’s lowering the barrier for access to those test preps and we’re hoping that as many students take advantage of them as possible,” Schatteman said.

Access to test prep courses can help students achieve higher test scores, which can result in bigger opportunities such as scholarships.

“The only eligibility is any current student that has an NIU email address,” said Schatteman. “New students coming in have their NIU email address so they’re eligible. Even if a student is graduating in May and they want to enroll, they can do that while they’re still a student. They can still access whatever course that they’ve signed up to after they’ve graduated.”

The program is currently set to be available through the end of the year and its renewal will depend on continued funding from the Illinois General Assembly. 

The only course that Kaplan does not offer is teacher licensure. However, NIU still offers free test prep for teacher licensure through Pearson.

“That was the first program to come online in the fall and it is unique because it’s for our particular state,” said Schatteman. “Our licensure requirements are different depending on the state that you’re in.”

Kim Canning, vice president of university partnerships at Kaplan, said the investment by the state allows students to pursue goals they might otherwise have been unable to. 

“Having the state kind of eliminates that financial barrier, gives you more freedom as a student to pursue your dreams and think about what you want to do and not be so limited,” Canning said. “These are resources that a lot of times are just a financial obstacle for students. So eliminating that financial obstacle and having access to these resources really continues to allow them to pursue whatever path they want to go down.” 

These courses can also be brought into the classroom by professors. 

“Students can do these on their own, at their own pace. They’re online, self-paced courses, but faculty can also build them in,” Schatteman said. “So they could build it in as part of their course.” 

If students did purchase test prep courses between August 2024 and before the free test prep launched on Feb. 17 they can apply for a reimbursement.

“Sometimes these are very significant costs. When you go to the Kaplan landing page, there is information about how to get refunded and submit the paperwork to do that,” Schatteman said. 

The funding for the program was received through the state of Illinois. 

“It’s really important that students check it out, go make an account, kind of look around to see all the courses that are available,” Schatteman said. “We want to be able to demonstrate that students are using it, that they find it useful, that they have had some success with the courses. The more we can demonstrate that, the more likely that this will continue to be funded in the future.”

Schatteman also wants to remind students that every undergraduate student at NIU has a career counselor, who they can ask about career readiness, including career test prep. 

“They can always contact their career counselor in Navigate, select an appointment, and talk to them about this particular program,” Schatteman said.