FAQs re: CRA, SRA Certificate Programs, IACET CEUs and Educational Credit

SRA Educational Offerings: Frequently Asked Questions

This page is designed to define the differences between The Certified Research Administrator (CRA) Certification and a SRA Certificate Program; and IACET CEUs and SRA Educational Credits.

The Certified Research Administrator (CRA) Certification

The CRA is a certification overseen by the Research Administrators Certification Counsel ("RACC"):

"The Research Administrators Certification Council was formed by the Society of Research Administrators in 1993. It is an independent non-profit organization. The Council is composed of active certified research administrators whose role is to certify that an individual, through experience and testing, has the fundamental knowledge necessary to be a professional research or sponsored programs administrator."

Please visit the RACC Website for detailed information.

SRA Certificate Programs

A SRA Certificate Program is overseen by the Society of Research Administrators.

A certificate program is made up of a series of educational courses designed to give the individual in-depth understanding of a particular knowledge area specific to research administration. Upon completion of one of SRA's 11 certificate programs, the individual receives a certificate of completion. Certificate program courses are held at SRA section meetings and the SRA Annual Meeting. Not all certificate programs are offered in the same year.

You must be an SRA full-member to enroll in and complete a certificate program.

Please visit the SRA Certificate Program page for more detailed information.

SRA Educational Credits

SRA issues "educational credit hours" for all workshops and sessions held at on-site meetings, and for SRA Webinars.

(1 hour course  = 1 credit hour.)

RACC accepts SRA's educational credits for individuals wanting to use them towards re-certification of their CRA. RACC accepts one contact minute as one credit minute.
(1 hour 15 minute course  = 1.25 credit hours)

Registrants are required to keep track of the courses they attend. For a letter verifying attendance, please email a list of all courses you attended to SRA's Education Coordinator, Nora Potter, one week after the end of the meeting.

IACET CEUs

In 2009, SRA became an Authorized Provider of the International Association of Continuing Education and Training (IACET).  As such, SRA offers IACET CEUs for certain workshops which qualify under IACET guidelines. 

One IACET Continuing Education Unit (CEU) is defined as ten contact hours of participation
(1 hour course = .1 IACET CEU).

Registrants must be present for at least 90% of the course time, and will be required to take an assessment at the end of the course and receive a grade of 70% or above to successfully complete the course. Registrants will be required to sign in when they arrive, sign in and out during all break or lunch times and sign out at the end of the day to verify attendance.  All registrants who successfully complete the course will receive a certificate of completion and their final assessment scores within 15 business days after the end of the course.  Registrants who do not successfully complete the course will be allowed to take a timed, follow-up assessment to complete the course.