TOLC-LP

The master degree in Costruzioni, Infrastrutture e Territorio (Constructions, Infrastructures and Territorial management) has a locally programmed number of students. There is an access in chronological order of enrolment with merit enhancement throught the diploma grade. There isn't an entrance test, but is required the partecipation in an entrance test purpose of assessment and self-assessment (TOLC-LP). This is a orientational and non-selective assessment (and self-assessment) test.

Those who after the last session of the test (which takes place in October) have not taken the test themselves or have not exceeded the prescribed score thresholds will be given an additional educational obligation (OFA). At the University of Parma, the TOLC-LP test is considered passed if one obtains:

- an overall total score of at least 10 points out of 30 (excluding the additional section for the "Test of English Language Proficiency) and a

- score in the Mathematics section of at least 2 points out of 10.

All details and information about the test can be found below or on the CISIA website www.cisiaonline.it

The test is delivered on a computer platform and can be taken at the University of Parma facilities (TOLC@UNI) or at home TOLC@CASA.

I TOLC@CASA are in all respects identical to the TOLC@UNI.

The TOLC can be repeated several times, but no more than once per calendar month, regardless of the university location where it is held.

For the degree programmes in engineering at the University of Parma, both test methods are considered valid: TOLC@UNI and TOLC@CASA.

The dates of the TOLC-LP for the year 2024 delivered by the University of Parma are given below:

• April 4, 2024 (Mod. TOLC@CASA)
• April 11, 2024 (Mod. TOLC@CASA)
• May 17, 2024 (Mod. TOLC@CASA)
• May 31, 2024 (Mod. TOLC@CASA)
• July 17, 2024 (Mod. TOLC@CASA)
• July 18, 2024 (Mod. TOLC@CASA)
• July 24, 2024 (Mod. TOLC@CASA)
• Sept. 6, 2024
• Sept. 12, 2024 
• Sept. 13, 2024 
• Oct. 10, 2024
• Oct. 16, 2024 
• Oct. 17, 2024 

Students are reminded that the TOLC@UNI or the TOLC@CASA can be taken at any university that joins CISIA by November 30th 2024 in order not to have the OFA awarded, without any difference in the mode of delivery and/or recognition of the same by the University of Parma.

You should register for the test in time, on the www.cisiaonline.en keeping in mind the following deadlines according to the date of execution:

We encourage students to look at the detailed information on how to take the test which is available at www.cisiaonline.it/area-tematica-tolc-cisia/regolamenti

In particular, with reference to the TOLC@CASA students, before booking, will need to ensure that they have the necessary devices listed in the regulations and that they can set up the room in which they will take the test as indicated by the document TOLC@CASA room setup, testing and network requirements. Those who sign up will need to view and accept these documents during the booking process. The best tool to figure out if their internet connection and computer are suitable to support the TOLC@CASA is to conduct the TOLC simulations in the exercise and placement area. It is important to remind them that in order to take the test, they must have uploaded in their Reserved TOLC area, in Reservation Management, the identification document by 10 a.m. of the day before the TOLC@CASA (by 10 a.m. on Friday if TOLC is on Monday) and have uploaded the photo in View/Edit Personal Data.

In the area dedicated to TOLCs on the CISIA website they will find information on the various steps:

• What is TOLC;
• How to register for TOLC;
• TOLC regulations;
• TOLC exercises;
• TOLC day.

It is important to remind them that in order to take the test they must have uploaded in their Restricted TOLC area, in Reservation Management, the identification document by 10 a.m. on the day before the TOLC@CASA (by 10 a.m. on Friday if the TOLC is on Monday) and have uploaded the photo in View/Edit Personal Data.

The entrance test for the career oriented degree in Costruzioni, Infrastrutture e Territorio (Construction, Infrastructure and territorial management) is used to draw the admission rankings for the degree program, which has a maximum number of students in the first year of 60 (including 10 non-EU students), and is also intended to check whether the aptitude and basic skills of the candidates are adequate to successfully undertake the course of study.

The test covers topics in mathematics, logic, and verbal comprehension. The level of knowledge required to take the test is that acquired in high school.

Those with a high school diploma or students enrolled in the 5th year of high school may take the test.

The test is organized by the CISIA (Interuniversity Consortium Integrated Systems for Access), a consortium formed by most Italian engineering schools, and is called "TOLC-LP" (CISIA OnLine Test for professionalizing degrees), or more briefly "TOLC-LP."

It can be taken on multiple dates starting in April, see in this regard the above list of calendar dates for 2024.

The TOLC-LP test can be taken at any of the CISIA member university locations.

The scores achieved in the test are visible immediately on the screen at the end of the test. You will, however, be able to obtain a CISIA certificate with all of your scores achieved by downloading it at any time from your personal area of the www.cisiaonline.it.

Those who have passed the test (see the item Scores and Passing Thresholds) will not be given any further notice.

Registrants who after the last test session of their first year of matriculation (which takes place in October) have failed the test or not taken it at all, will be assigned an Additional Educational Obligation (OFA), described in the appropriate section. The final allocation of the OFA will take place after the October and November session of the test, and students found to be subject to the obligation will be notified by a special letter sent to them via email a few weeks later.

Registration in the degree course Costruzioni, Infrastrutture e Territorio and taking and passing the test are separate and independent procedures and neither automatically implies the other. Matriculation can take place even in the absence of the test; however, taking and passing the test by the remedial session (October and November) is necessary so that the matriculate is not assigned an additional educational obligation (OFA) (see below).

For matriculation in Parma, the score obtained in the test taken Parma or in any of the sites consortiumed with CISIA is valid. Of course, the vice versa also applies, i.e., the test score obtained in Parma is valid at all the universities consortiumed with CISIA, although each location may have different passing criteria and consider only certain test methods valid.

Those who wish to matriculate in Parma having taken the TOLC-I test at other university locations that are members of CISIA in the current or previous year do not have to take any special action: the scores they obtained will automatically be recognized as valid for Parma as well. 

The TOLC-LP is an individual test, different from candidate to candidate composed of questions automatically and randomly selected from the CISIA TOLC database through proprietary software made and managed by CISIA. All generated TOLC-LP of the same type have a similar difficulty.

The TOLC-LP test consists of a series of 30 multiple choice questions, only one of which is correct, broken down into the following sections:

30 questions

To determine whether or not the test is passed, the Parma office uses only the scores achieved in the first three sections, thus excluding the additional section for the "English language proficiency test". The latter is still dispensed because the score in it could be used by other venues.

The duration of the TOLC-LP test is 90 minutes + 15 minutes for the English language section. Students not interested in the English language section may close the test before beginning that section.

The list of topics on which the TOLC-LP will focus is as follows ("Syllabus"):

• LOGICS AND VERBAL UNDERSTANDING

The Logic and Verbal Comprehension questions are intended to test candidates' aptitudes rather than to ascertain acquisitions achieved in higher studies. They do not, therefore, require specific prior preparation.

• MATHEMATICS

Insemistics
Insets and main set operations (union, intersection, difference, complement, and Cartesian product); combinatorial calculus (combinations, permutations, and arrangements).

Arithmetic
Number sets and main arithmetic operations. Decimal numbers and rounding; greatest common divisor, least common multiple; arithmetic mean. divisibility, prime numbers and decomposition into prime factors.

Algebra
Monomials and polynomials; algebraic expressions, fractions and simplification of expressions; powers with integer and fractional exponent. Algebraic equations and inequalities; systems of equations and inequalities.

Exponentials and Logarithms
Algebraic operations with exponentials and logarithms; changes of basis; simple exponential and logarithmic equations and inequalities.

Analytic Geometry
Cartesian coordinates in the plane; equation of a line for two points; slope of a line; equation of a line for a point and parallel or perpendicular to a given line. Distance between two points in the plane; geometric places.

Planar Geometry
Planar figures and their elementary properties. Pythagorean theorem; properties of similar triangles; perimeter and area of major plane figures. Goniometry and Trigonometry.

Solid Geometry
Solids in space and their elementary properties; surfaces and volumes of the principal solids.

Mathematics

Percentals and proportionality; calculation of probabilities of an event in simple situations; units of measurement; reduction of a concrete problem to a mathematical one.

• ENGLISH SECTION

Depending on the result obtained in the test, the grid below provides indications of the level of initial preparation and consequent actions.

≤ 6 Take an English course at beginner level (A1*)

7 - 16 Take a first-level English course (A2*)

17 - 23 Take an intermediate level English course (B1*)

24 - 30 Take the B1* level English exam without the need to take a course

The level of knowledge required to take the test is that acquired in high school.

The maximum score obtainable on the TOLC-LP is 30, and is calculated according to the following scheme:

• 1 point for each correct answer
• 0 points for each answer not given
• -0.25 points for each incorrect answer

At the University of Parma, the TOLC-LP test is considered passed for OFA purposes only if you obtain:

an overall total score of at least 10 out of 30 points
and
a score in the Mathematics section of at least 2 out of 10 points.

The scores achieved are visible immediately on the screen at the end of the test. It will be possible to obtain a CISIA certificate with all the scores achieved by downloading it at any time from the personal area of the www.cisiaonline.it.

On the Statistics of CISIA's website are the distributions of scores obtained by students nationwide in previous years as well as many other useful statistical data about the test.

For matriculated students who after the last session of the test ("TOLC-LP make-up, which takes place in October and November) have not taken the test or have failed to meet the required score thresholds will be given an additional educational obligation (OFA), described in the following section, and will be notified by a special letter sent to them via email some time after the last session of the test ("TOLC-LP make-up") is held.

In the case of a test repeated several times (in Parma or elsewhere), the final outcome awarded to the student will be the one corresponding to the highest total score (among the outcomes that do not result in OFAs, if any).

PLEASE NOTE - The criteria for passing the test may differ from different Universities.

The TOLC-LP,  it's used to determine whether or not candidates will be awarded an Additional Educational Obligation. The test is considered passed for OFA purposes if the minimum thresholds for total score (10 out of 30) and score achieved in the Mathematics section (2 out of 10) are reached. Matriculated students who, after the make-up sessions of the test in their first year of matriculation, have failed the test or have not taken it at all and do not fall among the cases envisaged by the waiver criteria, will be given an Additional Educational Obligation (OFA) consisting in the obligation to take the Fundamentals of Mathematical Analysis exam scheduled in the first year before they can take any exam in the 2nd year.Students who had not yet removed the OFA at the time of enrollment in Year 2 may still enroll in 2nd Year , but as long as the aforementioned exam has not been passed, they will only be able to take any 1st Year  exams they may have owed. These conditions of OFA removal also apply to students who matriculated in previous academic years. Those who, having exhausted the remedial sessions, have earned the OFA (even in previous years) will not be able to remove it by retaking the normal test in the calendar years following the year of matriculation, but only by passing the Fundamentals of Mathematical Analysis exam scheduled for the degree program.

Registration for the TOLC tests is done on the appropriate page on the CISIA website, after registration.
 

Participation in the TOLC costs €30 payable by credit card or MAV bank slip. Registration is possible up to 7 days before the test date. (However, check the exact timing on the appropriate page on the CISIA website).

PLEASE NOTE: when registering, you will be asked to provide the details of an identity document, the same that must be shown, together with the payment receipt, to the classroom committee on the day of the test, in case you test in presence.

As part of the registration procedure for the test to be taken on the CISIA website, students may declare whether they have disabilities or have specific learning disorders (DSA); in such cases, specific aids and/or additional time may also be requested depending on the declared disability or disorder. When registering for the test, the necessary attestations and certifications to document disability or DSA status must be submitted to the office through a special document upload form provided by CISIA. The University Service for Students with Disabilities and DSAs (www.dis-abile.unipr.it) will then make contact with each student to make known the measures planned for him or her to take the test.

• Online Coaching Test
  The CISIA provides a Coaching Test; visit the dedicated site for more information.

The level of knowledge required is that normally acquired in high school.

This is an intensive math course conducted in September in the weeks immediately preceding the start of classes that is designed to recall or provide students with the minimum knowledge necessary to profitably attend courses taught during the first year. Course attendance is strongly recommended for all students, even those who have passed the entrance test. The pre-course is then a particularly useful tool for those who have not yet passed the test to successfully tackle the remedial TOLC-LP in October.

The Precourse schedule can be viewed within the following page. 
 

If the information reached by these links turns out to refer to the previous year it should be considered as a useful example pending the publication of valid information for the current year.