New class schedule: See Education Schedule (181 kb pdf; free viewer link at page bottom). Contact our Education Chair for financial assistance or more details. We offer these courses to you as a service to our members to help them get certified as an ASQ Professional.

Students are responsible for ordering the required textbook from the Quality Council of Indiana at the following website: http://www.qualitycouncil.com/cm.asp#primers_bm (Books are listed under Primers) Courses will be offered annually or semi-annually to align with the ASQ Certification Exam Dates. See test dates below.

ASQ Certification Information

ASQ offers 15 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

(SD Location)

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

CMBB - NEW Master Black Belt

Every January and August
Next is August 6, 2010
Then again on:
January 14, 2011

Every March & Oct.
Next is October 2, 2010
Then again on:
March 5, 2011

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

CPGP - Pharma GMP Professional

Every April and October
Next is October 15, 2010
Then again on:
April 16, 2011

Every June & Dec.
Next is Dec. 4, 2010

Then again on:

June 5, 2011

See other exam dates and locations at http://www.asq.org/certification/dates.html

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.

New Handbooks Help Prep for Certification Exams: Certifications can be a valuable career investment, particularly in today's economic environment. ASQ headquarters now offers a series of exam preparation handbooks for 14 of ASQ's existing certifications, including Quality Auditor, Quality Engineer, and Six Sigma Black Belt.Discounts on handbooks are available for ASQ members. Read the press release.

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 Vincent.Petrucci@remecbroadband.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

Sign up to be an instructor through National University using the instruction file (MS Word) to guide you through the process. Contact me if you have any problems.

GMP & ISO Compliance