April 2013 NUI Galway Spin-off Company Secures Membership to Association of Test Publishers

Qpercom, a spin-off company of NUI Galway, which provides observational assessment software to medical schools have announced their membership into the Association of Test Publishers. Based in the Clinical Science Institute at NUI Galway, Qpercom has developed a fully fledged system for administering observational clinical exams online with laptops and/or tablets as well as including WEB2.0 real time data analysis.

Qpercom, an Enterprise Ireland client company, plans to become the leading edge associated in the field of practical e-assessment with their proven product, large client base and continuous enhancements.

Established in 1992, The Association of Test Publishers is a non-profit organization representing providers of tests and assessment tools and/or services related to assessment, selection, screening, certification, licensing, educational or clinical uses. The ATP promotes and advances the integrity of assessment services and products and is dedicated to the highest level of professionalism and business ethics within the test publishing community.

Dr Thomas Kropmans, Chief Executive Officer at Qpercom, said: “We are proud to be acknowledged by an association which recognises validity and reliability in exam systems and it displays our commitment to provide the highest quality assessment system to our clients at home and around the world.”

This announcement coincides with the release of the latest version of the OSCE Management Information System (OMIS) which delivers new functionality, further empowering universities to move beyond basic testing to achieve detailed and quality assured skills assessments. One such innovation is the Student Tracking System which allows users to search for a particular student in the system and view their results over previous years. OMIS can be used not only to guide an individual’s future learning through detailed feedback but to improve the curriculum content and development using cohort performance data.

Dr Kropmans said the new features came as a direct result of feedback from Qpercom’s existing customers: “I’m delighted with the new update to OMIS and the added functionality it brings. It demonstrates our commitment to the needs of our academic partners and our desire to continually enhance and improve our observational assessment software.”

"Educators want confidence that they can maintain reliability for their examinations when migrating to virtual platforms. To meet the needs of modern educators, Qpercom have developed a robust system capable of compiling, analysing and distributing results electronically without fear of technical difficulties.”

Over the past 5 years the system has been used to successfully assess clinical skills in ten universities including the Karolinska Institute, Sweden; Erasmus University Rotterdam, Dundee University and University of St Andrews in Scotland, and NUI Galway (School of Medicine).

For more information visit www.qpercom.ie

ENDS