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ISQOLS Certification in QOL Research: related to community indicators projects

This certification program is designed to help QOL researchers specializing in community indicators projects obtain additional training and become officially certified in the field. The course involves learning five chapters of the course manual. Each of the five chapters (modules) are broken down into learning objectives, core concepts, summary, progress check, and answers to progress check. You can find more details about the course on the course description page along with information about the five modules and a full table of contents of the course manual. The course manual (pdf) will be emailed to you once your application has been reviewed and you are subsequently accepted into the program. Printed copies are available for an extra charge.

This course is taught by Prof. Dr. M. Joseph Sirgy from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Blacksburg, Virginia, USA). He is widely recognized for his research in community quality of life. When the student has sufficiently prepared, the instructor will email them an exam which must be completed within twenty four hours of its receipt. Students are not required to pass the exam in one try, and are free to request more chances until they master the course material and pass.

Specific guidance about how to study for the exam is available online. Students also are free to contact the instructor with questions related to course materials and the exam.

There is one admission requirements for the certification program: a bachelor’s degree in a field related to QOL. On completion of the course, the student is given a certificate. An example of the course certificate is available here. The fee for the certification program is US$700 (discounted to US$600 for ISQOLS members). This includes a PDF version of the course manual and, on successful completion of the certification exam, a course certificate.

To learn more about the certification program, watch this video overview presented by the course instructor, Dr. Joseph Sirgy:

To register for this certification course visit the registration page.

See program flier here. isqols-certificate-flier

 

Student Testimonial: Helvecia N. Takwe

(Certificate completion: June 2017)

  1. What made you decide to pursue the Community Indicators Researcher Certificate?

Answer: I decided to pursue the community indicators researcher certificate to enhance my professional knowledge on community indicators and become certified as community indicator researcher.

  1. How would you describe the course experience?

Answer: The course experience was really challenging and interesting to me as this is really a new school of thoughts in Cameroon. I had to do lengthy case studies which was quite interesting, identifying the theoretical foundations/theoretical concepts was quite challenging but I had to go over the case study several times to be able to see which theoretical concept best fit the particular case in question.

  1. How long did it take you to complete this certificate program? How many hours per week (on average) did you dedicate to the program? Were you able to balance your normal work/life activities alongside this certificate program?

Answer: It took me 4 weeks to complete the program. I dedicated 8 hours per week in the program. Yes I was able to balance my normal work/life activities alongside this certificate program.

  1. How did this certificate program impact and/or increase your knowledge of your field of study?

Answer: This program gave me a practical in depth model on how to choose theoretical concepts, how to plan for a quality of life research, the stages involve in planning and validation of data collected.

  1. How do you feel this certification will enhance your career and/or personal expertise and knowledge?

Answer: This certification will enable me produce tools for research with confidence and also will enhance my research reporting skills.

  1. Would you recommend this certificate to others? If yes, why?

Answer: Yes, I will recommend this certification to others because it will enhance understanding on quality of life community indicators to assess the effectiveness of community planning efforts and programs.

Helvecia N. Takwe (B.ED, CPA, MBA) is Project Coordinator at UCP-SARnet in Cameroon; Coordinator-at WVED Cameroon; and Entrepreneurship/Business Venture Trainer of Trainers/Facilitator West, Central and East Africa.