Starpath Certification Program
We offer several options for certification in Coastal Navigation, Celestial Navigation, Radar, and Weather. The Starpath certification is recognized worldwide. We have been a leader in navigation certification for many years. Starpath certificaiton is achieved by taking a specal test at the end of the associated course.
Beyond our own certification program, Starpath courses and certification tests are also designed to prepare students for similar tests from other agencies. We offer the unique resource of arranging for students to take the appropriate tests from other agencies, such as the ASA and US Sailing, after completing our courses. The latter two are proctored exams, which can be given in your local library if you do not have an appropriate facility nearby. Each would be offered through a certified US Sailing or ASA facility. We have worked with both agences for many years offering this unique service. It is especially valuable if you need a certification from one of these agencies, but the required agency course is not available from one of their affiliates at the time you need it. Our online courses will meet all of these requirements.
Read about the difference between licensing and certification and some of the values of certification, along with notes on the other agenceis offering certification.
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The Starpath certificates can be obtained after completing our online home study courses. This certification requires that you have completed the online course with an accumulated average of 70% on the individual required quizzes in the courses. The optional and special quizzes and exercises are not required. A 75% score on our certification test that you work at home. Those doing home study with Starpath materials but not taking part in the online quizzes should save their practice exercises as they work them so they can document their work as needed. We also offer Starpath Certification to students who have taken the courses from another school that uses Starpath training materials. |
Step 1. When doing the courses, save your work and do not erase the charts or plotting sheets. This will be your best source for review for the certification test. It is also the best way for you to document your work later on if that might be useful.
Step 2. At the end of the course, purchase the certificate application and we will provide you with access to the online link to the certification tests, where you can download and print the test. You can use any materials or references you like, but you should do your own work. This test will take approximately 4 to 6 hours to complete. It need not be done at one time, you have 3 months to complete the test. The Inland and Coastal Nav test is worked on the same chart we use for the course. The celestial test uses the same almanac pages as used in the course. The certification fee is $30 plus shipping fees—the tests are distributed and submitted electronically, but we may still have logbooks or other documents to ship back and forth to complete the certification.
Step 3. When the test is done and you have double checked your answers, return to the link where you downloaded the test, transfer your answers to that online test, and submit them to us. There is also a place to include a list of any questions or comments on your answers that might have arisen during the test. If you already have a logbook that you wished to be signed directly, then send that to us at this time. Otherwise we provide signed logbook stickers you can insert on your own into any logbook of your choice.
Step 4. We will grade the exam, provide the solutions, and answer questions that may have arisen during the test. If the 75% score has been achieved, we will record your certification and mail back your certificate, which is a diploma stating the contents of the course and notes on Starpath. We also include a Starpath sticker documenting the certification that will fit into most training record logbooks in the "Extra Training" sections.
If you do not make the 75% score on the first try, you can apply to take the test again, or, at our discretion, we can offer you a few extra questions to solve in the problem areas.
To apply for certification
We recommend that you purchase the certification at the end of the courses, but the application can be purchased at any time at this link: Order Certifications page. If you do not already have a logbook for recording training, you can save the stickers for the time that you do. Many training agencies have their own logbooks, but any logbook can be used and is equally recognized by those agencies that require them.