A recent decision to build a testing facility in the basement of the Thomas Building will benefit students at Penn State at nearby schools such as Lock Haven University and Juniata College as they will now be able to take important, and often stressful tests on campus.

The facility will transform the Thomas Building basement into a state-of-the-art testing facility. Officials said the room will be equipped with 200 computer stations and a waiting area.

Now when students are preparing to take important exams, like the Graduate Record Examinations (GREs), their travel time can be greatly reduced. The closest GRE testing facility to State College is located in Harrisburg, 65 miles away. Other suggested test sites are 69 miles away in Indiana and 85 miles away in York.

Students should not be required to drive more than an hour to take a test that is so crucial to their continuing education.

Besides allowing students taking the GREs more efficiently, Penn State's plan to add a testing facility on campus would also help students taking classes at University Park. The new facility will also allow professors to administer tests at the computer stations.

With the availability of online technology, new technology will decrease the likelihood of students cheating. Although officials said they have no specific methods outlined yet, they plan to concentrate on securing each individual's identity and decreasing the ability of students to take tests in the place of other students.

With strict regulations in place, the new facility will lessen at least the most obvious forms of cheating and enable all students to earn a fair grade.

It's great that the university is looking to improve the campus as we continue to enter an era of advancements in technology. However, there are some key components that should be involved in the design of this new testing facility.

Prior to taking a test in the new facility, students should be well educated of the procedures of taking tests online so to prevent confusion, which could impact their scores.

Along with education, the university should take proper measures to ensure that no one can hack into the computer systems.

And although the new facility could potentially make the testing process more efficient, the design should include a backup plan for any technological errors that may occur during the test-taking process.