Carson, California, April 29, 2026 — The digital revolution driving how organizations function today is advancing at a pace where the foundational processes that prepare professionals, especially metrologists, with a challenge to remain current. Industry still needs the fundamentals: traceability, uncertainty, competence, calibration discipline, measurement assurance, and proper laboratory records.
Metrology is being reshaped by digital transformation. International work on digital calibration certificates and digital metrology infrastructures shows that the field is moving toward machine-readable, interoperable, and standards-based data exchange. This means professionals increasingly need both classical metrology competence and digital metrology awareness.
The primary and preferred source for obtaining these skills has resided in institutions of higher learning, even though substantial, metrology training is also provided through dispersed channels such as national metrology institutes, standards, and accreditation organizations, professional societies, industrial laboratories, equipment manufacturers, and specialized training programs.
Higher education models have not been altered for years. They are problematic in meeting the specific applications of metrology. Organizational processes have become more focused, and the general higher education body of knowledge does not apply to every organization. An element often overlooked in the college curriculum is the quality management system (QMS). The QMS is the foundation for a successful process performance in organization. Employees, who are subject matter experts in their respective functions, are not prepared to be effective participants or contributors to the QMS.
College graduates are hired with an education that most likely is outdated due to the pace of the digital transformation. They are not prepared to make a positive contribution to improve the organization’s processes and procedures until a length of period of “onboarding” and “on-the-job” training is completed.
To remedy this, California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH) developed an innovative, non-traditional college course program, introducing a series of continuing education “micro-courses.” A micro-course is an instructor facilitated 4-to-6-hour class where specific topics are addressed in practical, not theoretical, detail.
The micro-course initiative offers an opportunity to bring concise, accessible, and technically sound education to the professionals who keep measurements reliable and meaningful quality. There are no course prerequisites or linear sequence of rigid course requirements. Employers can selectively identify the specific skills employees need to improve their company’s processes. Individuals can selectively identify specific training, recorded through by e-badges in their personal learning portfolio, to enhance their resumes. Course scheduling is flexible.
Typical basic topics include:
Quality-focused titles with strong metrology linkage
- Quality Begins with Measurement
- ISO/IEC 17025 and ISO 9001: Where Metrology Meets Quality
- Risk-Based Thinking in Measurement and Quality (Team approach)
- Root Cause Analysis for Measurement and Quality Problems (Team approach)
- CAPA for Laboratories and Technical Operations
Metrology-focused titles:
- Fundamentals of Metrology for Modern Laboratories
- Measurement Uncertainty: Practical Estimation and Use
- Metrological Traceability: From Standards to Results
- Calibration Principles for Technicians and Engineers
- Decision Rules, Tolerance, and Measurement Risk
- Applied Statistics for Metrology and Laboratory Quality
- Elements of Mass Metrology
- Competence in ISO/IEC 17025: What Technical Staff Must Know
These micro-courses are not simply about compliance. They are about competence.
They are designed to help professionals understand why measurements can be trusted, how traceability is built, how uncertainty affects decisions, how calibration supports operations, and how quality systems become stronger when grounded in real metrology.
Metrology is the hidden infrastructure contained within the QMS of modern industry. When organizations invest in metrology and quality education, they improve technical credibility, reduce decision risk, strengthen compliance, and support better quality outcomes.
There is no established limit to the number of courses completed. The company, the employee, or the individual professional can determine which areas would be of benefit to them. Course attendees receive a digital badge of completion that is included in their permanent educational portfolio, like the traditional college transcripts. Future micro-course program plans include recognizing college class credits thresholds when course completions are accomplished that align with current higher education guidelines for recognizing college credit for experiential learning outside of the traditional classroom.
An advantage of these micro classes is that they can be delivered on a schedule that is flexible. Micro-courses are very affordable compared with traditional college classes. These short-format professional courses are designed to bring focused, applied, and industry-relevant education to working professionals who need usable knowledge without committing to a long academic program. The central message is simple: metrology is not a support topic; it is a core operational discipline. It is the technical base that sustains calibration, testing, inspection, validation, traceability, uncertainty evaluation, process control, conformity assessment, and sound quality decisions.
Another advantage is that these micro-courses can be grouped to link two or three related topics, providing a broader and more coherent learning experience. Also, timing of the courses can be adjusted to make the opportunity available when it is most appropriate and needed.
The digital transformation is reshaping how the processes with organizations function. If higher education is to continue to prepare future generations of professionals, especially in metrology, they must alter their model to provide continuing education in an agile format the aligns with industry needs.
There are no prerequisites for enrollment and no admission process.
For more information and to discover more about this certificate program, contact: Milton Krivokuca (mkrivokuca@csudh.edu), Quality Program Coordinator, and Emil Hazarian (ehazarian@csudh.edu), Professor of Metrology, CSUDH, Dominguez Hills, CA.
