Construction management senior Eric Talley now holds the highest score in the country on the national construction exam, becoming the second UH student to accomplish this in one year.
Talley didn’t see it coming.
“People started texting me, ‘Way to go, man’,” he said. “And I thought, what is going on?”
Talley received 278 out of 300 points on the American Institute of Constructors’ national certification exam, beating every other participant in the U.S. He said that his main goal was just to pass.
“I was shocked. I didn’t really think there was any chance this would happen. People take this exam from all over the country, so what are the odds, you know?” he said. “I think seeing one of my classmates get the highest score last semester helped my confidence going into the exam.”
That classmate was Nicole Rawlins, a construction engineer at Chevron who graduated in December.
“It really motivated us,” Talley said. “If she could do it, there is nothing stopping me from doing it too.”
Talley said the courses he took throughout his major paved the way to his achievement. The College of Technology has programs geared toward what will be on the AIC exam, covering specific questions and material that are laid out in the thick, 800-page study manual.
Rawlins believes the program helped her with the exam.
“I give all credit to the construction management program at University of Houston and the internship that I did while in school,” Rawlins said. “Prior to that, I had no experience in the construction industry.”
The exam is eight hours long — a length that Talley says is a challenge in of itself. During that time, students answer questions in a wide range of categories like project control, scheduling, estimating, cost control, engineering design questions, project management and business ethics.
“We take things seriously in our department,” said Neil Eldin, director of the construction management program. “We made the AIC exam mandatory about three years ago. No other program, department or university dared to do that, because that would mean students wouldn’t be graduating if they didn’t pass.”
The national percent of passing for the AIC is 47 percent.
“It’s not a walk in the park,” Eldin said.
With that in mind, Eldin said he took the exam manual and implemented it into the curriculum for the program. The faculty was instructed to make sure the students had the skills needed for every section of the exam by focusing on specific questions. Eldin said that the support from the faculty was what made his plan a success.
“I pushed them, and they pushed the students,” Eldin said. “I think we have a great system in place now.”
Eldin said that Rawlins’ accomplishment last semester, along with Talley’s this semester, is a win for both the College of Technology and the University.
“We have a lot of people who think highly of UH,” Eldin said. “Before, we didn’t. That’s no secret. All the big oil, engineering and construction companies now hire from us like there is no tomorrow. That never happened in the past. We are talking about the top in the world. Those companies are coming here asking me for not one, not two, but ten of my students.”
Talley said that getting the top score reminded him that he is on the right track in his career. According to Eldin, the goal is for the next batch of students to also feel like they can go beyond what they thought was possible.
“Now they know it’s doable,” Eldin said. “The pressure is on, guys and gals.”
