Federation of Australian Astrologers Inc.

The next FAA Exam is the INTERPRETATION TECHNIQUES EXAM

This is a 4 week at home exam

Sunday 20 February 2012

The closing date for applications is: 10 Feb 2012
(A $10 late fee will apply to applications received after this date)

The APPLICATION FORM can be downloaded as: Acrobat PDF (56kb)

For dates and applications for other exams go to the exam timetable page

Download exam marking criteria; essay writing suggestions

Alternatively a hard copy The FAA Exam Book can be for purchased for $25 (incl. postage)
or on CD for $20 (incl. postage) from the Exam Board Director.  (details below)

The Exam System includes:

• FAA Exam Board
• FAA Diploma of Astrology upgrades
• FAA Advanced Diploma of Astrology.

There are Four exams that make up the FAA Diploma of Astrology. Each exam may be attempted in any order and there is no time limit to complete all four exams. It is not necessary to successfully complete one assessment in order to do another. Any person may apply to sit an exam, the only requirement is that the candidate must be a financial member of an affiliated FAA association. more exam information

A Brief History of the FAA Examination System

FAA Exam Board

For all enquiries on exam board matters contact the Exam Board Director or your State Exam Liason Officer.

The Board of Examiners is a subcommittee of the FAA Inc. National Council. Under Council guidelines, the Board consists of up to eight members, depending on the need at any particular time. All Board members must hold a minimum of the FAA Practitioner's Certificate, and an AAT FAA) is also required to be held by Examiners. The Board is administered by the Director, whose role it is to liaise with examination candidates on behalf of the Board and administer all aspects of the exams. The Director's position is a two year appointed position.

The FAA National Exam Board

• Sets and marks the FAA exams which determine the FAA Practitioner Qualifications
• Decides on examination procedure
• Provides syllabi for teachers and students
• Aims to set a standard for the education of Astrologers in Australia.

HOW THE BOARD OPERATES

The Exam Board aims to be financially self-sufficient. Exam Board members, like all other office holders in the FAA, are volunteers and give of their time to support the Professional Development of Astrologers across Australia. Fees are paid for both the setting and marking of exams regardless of whether a marker is an actual member of the Exam Board or not. Fees for marking are based on the number of papers marked by the examiner, with a percentage of the candidates' fees paid to the Director. Exam Board members are reimbursed for expenses incurred in their role of Exam Board members. The Exam Board meets twice a year. A report is prepared for the National Council, which will then be presented by the Director at the annual National Council meeting.

Awards

The FAA Exam Board Silver Medal (Allan Johnson/Doris Greaves award) is awarded to the candidate achieving the highest national aggregate mark in each exam. In December each year, the Board reviews the results all four exams completed by the recipients of the FAA Diploma of Astrology (formerly FAA Practioners Certificate) in the previous 12 months. The person with the highest national aggregate mark attained over all four exams (80% or higher) will receive the Board of Examiners Gold Medal for Excellence.

Exam Papers

All exams are presented in draft form to exam board members for proof reading and comment. Every attempt is made to ensure errors or inconsistencies are removed and that the standard of papers is maintained.

Review System

Candidates will be given 30 days from receiving notice of their results to request a review of their papers. Such requests should be addressed to the coordinator in writing via post, email or fax. The fee for the review of the first question of each paper will be $50. Any further questions will be reviewed at a cost of $40 each to the candidate. The questions to be reassessed will be reviewed by a marker other than the one who originally marked the question. The reviewing marker's results will be final, and no further appeal allowed

Confidentiality

Candidates are issued with a candidate number when their application for an exam is processed by the Exam Board Director. All completed exam papers are forwarded to examiners for marking using candidate numbers only so that full anonymity is maintained between candidate and examiner. At no time will the person marking the exam know the identity of the candidate's paper being marked.

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FAA Diploma of Astrology (formerly Practitioner Certificate)

The Four exams that make up the FAA Exam System leading to the FAA Diploma of Astrology are:

1. Interpretation - offered February
2. Advanced Techniques - offered May
3. Calculation - offered Aug
4. Dynamic - offered October

Each exam is held at approximately the same time each year and the exams may be attempted in any order.

• There is no time limit to complete all four exams.
• It is not necessary to successfully complete one assessment in order to do another.
• Any person may apply to sit an exam (the only requirement to sit an exam is that the candidate must be a financial member of an affiliated FAA association.)
• Exam dates are published on the FAA website and advertised in the FAA National Journal.
• Candidate must pass all four exams to gain the FAA Diploma of Astrology

The present fees for the exams are:

• Interpretion, Calculation & Dynamic - $140.
• Advanced - $150
• A $10.00 late application fee applies for applications received after the closing date.
• Fees are subject to inflationary rises when warranted

The Diploma of Astrology is the FAA's minimum qualification to practice astrology professionally, therefore, a high standard is expected of candidates.

The FAA Advanced Diploma (formerly Diploma)

The Advanced Diploma is the highest academic honour given by the FAA. In order to apply for a Advanced Diploma the applicant must hold the FAA Diploma of Astrology (formerly Practitioner's Certificate FAA). Candidates may apply at any time.

An Advanced Diploma is awarded:

• On the submission of a research thesis of your own choosing. Candidates are asked to submit a synopsis of their thesis with their application, which is then judged by the Board as to its suitability. This is to avoid those subjects which are obviously invalid or inappropriate to the standard of the Diploma.

• On submission of a published work, or work that has contributed significantly to the standard of Australian astrology. The applicant must again submit a synopsis of the work on application.

The thesis or work is judged by two Examiners who have some expertise in the field of the work submitted. If there is no member of the Board with such expertise, the work will be sent to recognised experts in that field for evaluation.

For more information, download the Exam Book

Association of Professional Astrologers APA

Once a candidate has attained the FAA Diploma of Astrology and they may be eligible to apply for membership to the Association of Professional Astrologers (APA). The APA is the affiliated professional arm of the FAA.

Certification System Renamed (2008)

One of the aims of the Exam Board is to maintain a national standard for the education of Astrologers in Australia. After much research, into Australian and International qualification standards, the Exam Board, with the support of the FAA National Council, decided it appropriate to revise the names of the FAA qualifications and bring the FAA system into line with world standards. This involved a renaming of the qualifications only because the current exam system and syllabi already meets the standard required. This process does not involve a change to the Exams themselves.

In 2008 the Exam Board announced that the previously awarded FAA Practitioners Certificate would be known as a FAA Diploma of Astrology - Dip Astro (FAA) and the FAA Diploma would become known as an Advanced Diploma of Astrology - Ad Dip Astro (FAA).

All those who currently hold a FAA Prac Cert  (also previously referred to as QA) can now use the post-nominal, Dip Astro (FAA), and those with a FAA Diploma now can use Ad Dip Astro (FAA).

All current holders of the FAA Prac Cert &/or the FAA Diploma are eligible for an updated certificate.
Please contact the Exam Board Director who will issue a new certificate.
There is a charge of $20 for these certificates. Contact Tess Cullen, Exam Board Director