We're pleased to announce that after 7 months of negotiations and the work required to make the exam available in a computer based format, that the BSDA exam is now available at several hundred testing centers throughout the world. The press release is available here: http://www.bsdcertification.org/news/pr061.html Feel free to post that release on blogs, social media, and interested mailing lists. I'd like to give special thanks to the people that assisted in this major milestone: James Vasile from the Software Freedom Law Center for his assistance in the contract negotiations. Dr. Sandra Dolan, our psychometrician, for her assistance in assuring the quality and correctness of the computer based version of the exam. Lisa Lukas, Dave Moore, Stephen Schimsky, and Christina Stebbins from SMT for their training, support, customizations, and general help throughout this transition period. The rest of this email contains details for those interested in taking the BSDA at a testing center. You can view the testing center locations here: http://www.isoqualitytesting.com/mlocations.aspx. It should be noted that the bulk of the training centers are in North America but there is some coverage in countries that we have not been able to host a paper based version of the exam yet. If your organization is interested in becoming a testing center, contact me off-list for the details on becoming a testing center. Due to the costs of providing a computer based version of the exam, the price for this format has been set at $150 USD. We will continue to offer paper based versions of the exam at the price of $75 USD. If you are interested in seeing the paper based version of the exam offered at a local conference, user group, school, or employer, contact me off-list for the details on how to arrange an exam event. If you already have a BSDCG ID, you can use that when registering for a computer based exam. An entry has been added to the registration website for computer based exams: https://register.bsdcertification.org//register/register-for-an-exam. You will not be able to book a time at a testing center until you pay for your exam. Payments are still made through our registration website: https://register.bsdcertification.org//register/payment. After your payment is received, a separate email will be sent to you within 24 hours containing your testing center username and password and the rest of the information that you will need to book an exam. It is very important that you follow the instructions in that email, especially if you need to reschedule your exam date as there are monetary penalties if you do not contact the testing center within the time requirements to reschedule your exam. Once you receive your testing center email, you will have up to one year to schedule and take your exam. The FAQ has been updated: http://www.bsdcertification.org/FAQ.html. If any of your questions regarding the computer based version of the exam remain unanswered, please post them here so they can be added to the FAQ. Cheers, Dru Lavigne Chair, BSD Certification Group
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