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Board hears that vendor scheduling changes are forcing graduates to travel 60–112 miles for licensure exams
Summary
An educator told the board that Pearson's scheduling model removed dedicated 4‑hour NBCOT testing slots, causing Sacramento City College graduates to travel long distances for prompt exam dates; staff said the vendor change cannot be remedied in the sunset report but will collect information for follow-up.
An educator representing Sacramento City College told the California Board of Occupational Therapy on Dec. 5 that a test-center vendor change has made it harder for graduates to schedule NBCOT examinations promptly.
"We have students from Sacramento City College who are now traveling 60 to 112 miles from home to get a test," the presenter said, explaining that Pearson (formerly Prometric) no longer shows dedicated four-hour NBCOT slots and instead offers a single block of slots shared among multiple disciplines. The speaker said the change has delayed testing after graduation, forced students to save for travel costs and disrupted routines — concerns the presenter said could affect exam outcomes.
Board staff acknowledged the problem and said they could not change vendor practices through the sunset report process. "I don't think we can change any of that within the sunset report," a staff presenter said, but added that the board could gather names and other information now and consider follow-up outside the sunset materials.
Members discussed the practical effects and asked staff to collect details so the board can assess the scope of the problem. The board did not take immediate regulatory action at the meeting; staff said the information will be used for future engagement with relevant stakeholders, including exam vendor and educational institutions.
Next steps: staff will collect specifics (testing-center names and affected candidates) and explore possible avenues for follow-up with NBCOT, Pearson and educational partners; the board suggested the issue could be raised at a future meeting.
