Читать книгу Professional Practice for Interior Designers - Christine M. Piotrowski - Страница 39

A professional competency examination is one of the criteria of a profession. The examination that has been the standard for competency testing and certification in the interior designer profession is the NCIDQ examination. This examination has existed since the early 1970s and is administered by the CIDQ.

Professional associations in the 1960s expected their members to pass an examination for competency. The early professional organizations, such as the National Society for Interior Designers (NSID), favored licensing to restrict practice to qualified professionals, whereas others favored qualifying examinations. An examination was devised by the American Institute of Decorators (AID) and in the 1960s, prospective members of the AID had to pass the examination for professional membership. Because of philosophical differences, NSID designed and utilized its own qualifying exam.

The CIDQ was formalized in 1970 joining together credentialing bodies throughout North America. After several years of discussions between CIDQ and the associations, the NCIDQ was organized in 1972 and became an independent corporation in 1974. Its purpose was to maintain standards of practice and develop a means of testing competence for legal qualifications for licensing and title registration. This examination is fully recognized by the major professional associations in the United States and Canada, as well as the IDEC, IDCEC, and the CIDA. The NCIDQ examination is also the primary examination in those U.S. states and Canadian provinces that have licensing, certification, or other registration statutes. Competency requirements in other nations are controlled by each country. Someone who wishes to work internationally must be sure they will be able to work legally.

CIDQ is not a professional association like American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) or International Interior Design Association (IIDA). Individual membership does not exist. The CIDQ organization brings together representatives from state and provincial boards that regulate interior design in their jurisdictions. These representatives and their volunteers work to develop and administer the NCIDQ examination.

Detailed information about qualification, examination application, and information concerning the basic contents of the exam are easily obtained by all from the CIDQ Web site www.cidq.org. A brief overview of the exam is provided here.