We are experimenting with an informal joint venture with National University of San Diego to hold refresher classes in their class rooms. There will be a new way of signing up for classes as well as a new way of signing up to be an instructor soon.

Download our latest 2008 Refresher Course Schedule here (small Excel file)

In order to support the San Diego quality community’s need for ongoing, relevant, superior education we offer two types of membership meetings (pre-meeting clinics and regular meetings) and three main types of courses (not including custom developments). Each type is tailored to meet a specific need of our diverse constituency, whether they are primarily employed as quality professionals, raising their own skill level with high quality training, or implementing new methods into their own operations. Click on the links to see course lists. Also see sponsor pages. These courses and or custom courses are also available and held at your company upon request. See our current training schedule below this table.

Click on Links	Refresher Courses Goal: Always 2-3 going on	Modular Courses Held on occasion ...	Workshops Held on occasion ...
Scope	Review of ASQ Body of Knowledge for specific ASQ discipline.	In-depth instruction in specific topics of interest across multiple ASQ Certifications	2-3-hour instructional session in a subject of interest.
Course Length	9 to 15 weeks (3 hours per session)	Various (3 hrs per session per week)	One session.
Audience	Typically quality professionals preparing for ASQ certification examination	Professionals of ANY discipline seeking in-depth training in a subject.	Professionals seeking an understanding of the main principles of a subject.
Cost	All are less than $300 (plus materials). New plan at $299-$350.	Varies – all are less than $150 (plus materials). New plan at $34 each.	$20-$50 for members / more for non-members.
Method	Classroom	Varies (may be classroom or on-line)	Classroom
Instructor	Qualified instructors	Qualified instructors	Subject Matter Expert
Food Included	No	Usually	Usually
Scheduling	Scheduled to prepare students for next scheduled certification examination	Scheduled after a sufficient interest triggers a session to be scheduled	Scheduled after a sufficient interest triggers a session to be scheduled
Example	Several companies in San Diego have hired ASQ instructors to refresh their QE's so that they might pass the CQE test. The classes were held at their companies but were open to others in the community.	In 2001, Great American Credit Union hired ASQ instructors to train all their employees in service quality techniques.	Several companies in San Diego have hired ASQ instructors to train their workers on specific techniques such as DOE. The classes were held at their companies but were open to others in the community.
Typ.Class Size	From about 10 to 30 people	from 5 to 300 people	from 5 to 70 people

ASQ Certification Information

ASQ offers 14 types of certifications. Read each body of knowledge, sign up for a test, and see more information at ASQ's main certifications page.

Certification Exams

Sign up for a certification exam on the ASQ.org site.

For more information on the certifications that the ASQ offers, visit ASQ.org's site at: Certifications.

Certification Exam Fees:

ASQ certification rates as of Jan. 1, 2005 ranged from $105 to $420 depending upon the type and whether you are a member or not. For more information, go to http://www.asq.org/certification/index.html

Certification Test Location:

The test location may vary but for several years now we've been holding them on Saturdays from 7:00 AM to 1:15 PM at the Qualcomm exam site:

Qualcomm Exam Site Address:
10185 McKellar Court
San Diego, CA 92121

MapQuest Link Here

Proctors Needed: See our proctors needed page for more information.

Certification Exam Dates                  (Recently updated table)

Certification exams are held in member company meeting rooms around San Diego and administered by proctors. They are held on Saturday mornings twice per year as shown in the table below. Note that these dates don't include special quality conference tests. Main ASQ certifications page.

If you are interested in pursuing any of these certifications, we recommend that you click on the links below that take you to the National ASQ page where you can read the body of knowledge for each certification type.

Certification Types and Links to "Body of Knowledge", & Additional Information

Application Deadline

Exam Dates

CQT - Quality Technician

CRE - Reliability Engineer

CQI - Quality Inspector

CMQ/OE - Manager Q&Org.Ex.

CSSBB - Six Sigma Black Belt

CHA - HACCP Auditor

CBA - Biomedical Auditor

Every January and August
Next is August 15, 2008
Then again on:
January 9, 2009
August 14, 2009

Every March & Oct.
Next is Oct. 18, 2008
Then again on:
March 7, 2009
October 17, 2009

CQE - Quality Engineer

CQA - Quality Auditor

CSQE - Software Quality Eng.

CQIA - Q Improvement Associate

CCT - Calibration Technician

CQPA - Quality Process Analyst

CSSGB - Six Sigma Green Belt

Every April and October
Next is October 3, 2008
Then again on:
April 10, 2009
October 9, 2009

Every June & Dec.
Next is Dec. 6, 2008

Then again on:

June 6, 2009
Dec. 5, 2009

See certification test pass lists at http://www.asq.org/certification/pass-lists/

Other Ways to Prepare

See Keith Boyle's test taking advise pointed out in his October 2005 newsletter message.

ASQ also offers other ways to study, contact them at http://www.asq.org/training/index.html or 800-248-1946. The exams are difficult so we advise that you prepare for them by taking our refresher courses, review the bodies of knowledge, and take the Quality Council Quiz for the certificate program you are interested in. Palomar section 708 also covers a few certifications.

Study Groups

From time to time study groups form apart from the refresher courses our section offers. In 2007, two groups formed for CSSBB. For information regarding these groups contact Vince Petrucci at Vince.Petrucci@cardinal.com or Mike Wood at 619.405.4532 cell or wood_mike@bah.com. In 2006 one group formed on ISO9001, another formed to study for the CRE exam.

Why Do It?

Keith Boyle pointed out in his October 2005 newsletter message that there are huge differences in salaries between certified and non-certified members. See various salary surveys posted at ASQ.

Here's an article Hank wrote in 2005 that outlines advantages of the CRE. Many of these advantages apply to all the other certifications.

Photo made small at author's request

"Advantages of the CRE"

(89kb pdf file; viewer at page bottom)

by Hank Posters

Despite the new mantra that says, “Every one is responsible for Quality,” the demand for Quality Professionals has never been so great. To find certified Reliability Engineers seems to be particularly difficult. However, in light of the “supply” numbers published by the ASQ, this scarcity should not be surprising at all. Today, there are only 3200 ASQ certified Reliability Engineers in the whole world! No wonder headhunters have such a hard time finding one for their customers.

How to Recertify

"Recertification Advice Rev.C"

Html on our site

By Rich Ostrin, Member, & Officer.

This article provides some recertification advice from our section expert and coordinator of the subject.

Become a Coordinator and / or Instructor

Course Coordinators Needed: Contact our Ed chair to become a course coordinator if you have an ASQ certification and energy to plan the course.

Instructors are well compensated. We are currently paying more than most local colleges pay their instructors on an hourly basis. In addition, instructors receive 0.15 recertification units (ru's) for every hour they teach. There are many other reasons to teach such as helping others, widening your comfort zone, giving back to the community, etc.

Minimum qualifications for being an instructor:

Hold an ASQ certification in the area you are interested in teaching but in some cases other forms education or experience may be accepted depending upon the educational board (i.e. MS degree in Quality, special experience, etc.).
Have prepared a syllabus, lesson plan, class notes, and have sent it to our review board using the following form. Either copy and paste your information into this form or type in next to the text provided. Please try to cover the items listed. Add comments as applicable.