Continuing Education | Research Compliance & Reporting

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Introduction

Certain research administrator positions at Duke require employees to earn certification(s) and maintain those certifications through annual continuing education (CE). While certification requirements for each position vary, all persons in the following job classifications are required to maintain certification(s) in specific programs (RCC, RAA, AGM, FCC):

Grants and Contracts Administrator (2647)
Grants and Contracts Manager (2648)
Senior Grants and Contracts Manager (2649)
Research Administrator (2627)
Research Administration Manager (2628)
Associate Director, Research Administration (2629)

Employees must complete several requirements to maintain and renew existing certifications, including obtaining CE credits every fiscal year (July 1 - June 30). New certificate holders are not required to obtain CE in the fiscal year that they complete a program. The Office of Education for Research Administration and Finance (OERAF) will review each certified employee’s completed training to ensure the CE requirements were me for the certification period. Meeting the requirements renews RAA, AGM, FCC, and RCC for another fiscal year. However, failure to meet all requirements, including obtaining CE credits, invalidates all certificates.

Supervisors and employees should work together to select CE opportunities that are relevant to the employee’s job duties and professional goals. The employee is responsible for tracking their CE requirements and ensuring those CE requirements comply with all guidelines. OERAF has created a CE Tracking Tool to be completed by the employee to assist in tracking CE hours by category and can be used to discuss their progress with a supervisor. While CE requirements are met annually, OERAF strongly recommends that employees earn a portion of their total credits each quarter. Training sessions, meetings, and updates are designed to provide critical information promptly. Therefore staff and supervisors should prioritize attendance at relevant sessions throughout the year. OERAF strongly discourages employees from obtaining all or most of their CE in one quarter of the year. OERAF will provide quarterly updates to management center partners on CE status and will contact employees and their managers if an employee is not on track to meet the annual CE requirement.

Please note: Information on maintaining RAI and the RAI Leadership Services can be found here.

Continuing Education Requirements

Current CE Requirement	12 CE Hours

General Requirements & Expectations

It is recommended that certificate holders obtain CE throughout the year and not wait until the end of the certification period to obtain the majority of the needed CE.
There are limitations on the amount of continuing education you can obtain from specific sources. See the Continuing Education Categories below for more information.
- Any CE obtained in excess of the limit in restricted categories will not count toward annual requirements.
New certificate holders who completed a program in the current fiscal year are not required to obtain CE until they need to renew their certificate the following fiscal year.
Enrollment in an additional certification will waive the CE requirement for the certification year you actively participate in the new program.
- Additional RAA Learning Tracks do not count as a new certification. However, credits for completing the Track will count towards your annual CE requirement.
Classes cannot be repeated for CE within a 3-year period unless the content changes significantly.
- Exceptions are available if supervisors require employees to return to a course for performance concerns. Submit a CE Request form in advance of repeating the class to have CE for the course apply to your annual requirements.
The Duke LMS and RCC Training Tracker are meant to monitor Duke-specific certifications only. They are not intended as tools to maintain and monitor external certification or program requirements.
OERAF conducts random audits of CE to ensure compliance with these expectations, adherence to the Continuing Education Categories, and the stipulations outlined below.

Mandated Training

Employees must attend any mandatory update sessions issued in a certification year. Mandatory sessions do not count towards the 12 CE requirement. Such sessions are determined by management centers, central offices, or the VP of Research. These types of sessions are rare and are meant to share mission-critical information. Any mandated training will be announced to the community in advance of the certification year-end.

Requesting CE for Training Opportunities

Certificate holders can obtain CE beyond the offerings provided by OERAF and at Duke.

There are two main types of such opportunities and both are requested through the CE Request Form.

Opportunities Preapproved by OERAF
- List of current preapproved opportunities is available here
- Identified in advance by OERAF
- Requires expedited request form to collect proof of attendance
- CE loaded once for all participants in bulk
Opportunities that are not Preapproved
- Requires details of the session for OERAF to review its applicability and proof of attendance documentation
- CE loaded individually for each participant
- Must be submitted before June 30 to count towards the annual certification period

All CE issued through the request process is issued based on the category and will not reference the name of the individual event. OERAF will not manually add requested CE from opportunities we do not manage if your annual requirement has been met. CE will continue to be issued for opportunities managed by OERAF in excess of the annual limit.

Annual Certification Renewal Process

Any CE must be obtained by June 30 to apply to the certification year.
The renewal process for the previous certification year occurs between July and August of the following year.
Please allow for two months for processing and auditing before requesting an update from OERAF on the status of your renewal.

Continuing Education Categories

CE Credit Categories	Examples	CATEGORY LIMITATIONS
Mandated Training	Sessions deemed mandatory by corporate or management centers	The sessions do not count for CE and are in addition to the annual credit hour requirements
GROUP A Duke Research Administration Training Opportunities	OERAF-approved live, virtual, or online offerings as designated in Duke’s LMS.* OERAF-initiated webinars* Business unit-specific offerings provided by OERAF or research administration partners and approved for CE* Duke OR&I Town halls offered for the entire Duke research administration community*	No maximum; At least 25% of the annual CE requirement must come from this category
GROUP B Central Office Updates	ORA/CRAM updates*	No more than 25% of annual requirement
GROUP C Professional Conferences and Workshops	NCURA - National Council of University Research Administrators SRA/NCSRA - Society of Research Administrators, NC Society of Research Administrators MAGI - Model Agreements & Guidelines International PCORI - Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute NORDP - National Organization of Research Development Professionals NACCA - National Conference on College Cost Accounting Business unit webinar viewing (submit the form for approval as CE before scheduled viewing) Sponsoring Agencies - NIH, NSF, and other granting institutions OERAF-initiated webinars from outside organizations CRA preparation courses	No more than 50% of annual requirement
GROUP D Conferences Sponsored by Duke	Annual Duke Symposium for Research Administrators* Select sessions from Duke Research Week or other Duke events	CE available subject to change each year, no more than 50% of annual requirement
GROUP E Completion of a RACC National Certification	Completion of a new national certificate provided by the Research Administrators Certification Council (RACC) Certified Research Administrator (CRA) Certified Pre-Award Administrator (CPRA) Certified Financial Research Administrator (CFRA)	Provides 50% of the annual requirement. Limited to 1 exam per certification year. Credit for results received in the Fall will apply to the current fiscal year. Credit for results received in the Spring can be applied to either the current or following fiscal year.
GROUP F Other Professional Skills Courses	Project management communication, leadership, courses offered by L&OD or other Duke-specific group Coursera courses LinkedIn Learning courses identified by OERAF	No more than 25% of annual requirement
GROUP G Instruction in OERAF/Professional organization approved offerings	Co-facilitating a training session Participating in a work group to design a training session Delivering a session at SRAI/NCURA	CE assigned determined by OERAF and based upon specifics of involvement

* Attendance managed by OERAF. No action is required to recieve CE for these types of sessions.

Examples of CE Calculations

Certification year requiring 12 CE to maintain certification:

CE ACTIVITY DESCRIPTION	CE CATEGORY	HOURS COMPLETED	CE HOURS RECEIVED
Attend University-Wide OR&I Research Administration Town Hall	Group A - Duke Research Administration Opportunities	2 Hours	2 Hours
Attend NCURA Conference	Group C - Professional Conferences and Workshops	12 Hours	6 Hours
Attend CRAM/ORA	Group B - Central Office Updates	8 Hours	3 Hours
Attend 2 OERAF Training Sessions	Group A - Duke Research Administration Training Opportunities	4 Hours	4 Hours
Attend an Advanced Excel Session	Group F - Other Professional Skills Courses	2 Hours	2 Hours
TOTAL CE HOURS		28 Hours	17 Hours

Ways to Earn Continuing Education Credit Hours

► Current Training Opportunities

Category A

Classes offered and identified by OERAF as eligible for CE.
- Includes classes that are part of RAA and AGM curriculums, SAP classes teaching research administration reports and tools, webinars offered by professional organizations and vetted by Duke, and operational/compliance/financial classes focused on or applicable to research administration. To receive credit for attendance, employees must complete pre and post-work, assessments, evaluations, or other participation guidelines as defined by the session facilitator(s).
Bimonthly Office of Research & Innovation Research Administration Town Halls covering university-wide topics
Classes offered by Research Administration Central Offices and identified by OERAF as eligible for CE. To receive certification, employees must complete pre and post-work, assessments, evaluations, or other participation guidelines as defined by the session facilitator(s). Central Offices include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Office of Education for Research Administration and Finance (OERAF)
- Office of Research Administration (ORA)
- Office of Research Support (ORS)
- Campus Award Management Teams (CAMT)
- Duke Office of Clinical Research (DOCR)
- Post Award Financial Management (PAFM)
- Office of Post Award Administration (OPAA)

Category B

Central Office Update Meetings: To receive certification, employees must complete pre and post-work, assessments, evaluations, or other participation guidelines as defined by the session facilitator(s). These meetings are open to research administrators across the institution and are not intended to include general group meetings held within and for central office staff.
- Office of Research Administration Bi-monthly Meetings (ORA)
- Campus Research Administration Meetings (CRAM)

Category C

External Professional Organization Meetings: Attendance to external professional organization meetings can count as CE credit. Examples of professional organization include, but are not limited to the following:
- North Carolina Society of Research Administrators (NCSRA)
- Society of Research Administrators (SRA)
- National Council of University Research Administrators (NCURA)
- National Organization of Research Development Professionals (NORDP)
- National Conference on College Cost Accounting (NACCA)
- Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI)
- Model Agreements & Guidelines International (MAGI)
Sponsor or other Agency Meetings, Workshops or Conference covering topics in research administration
Preapproved Events offered by professional organizations (NCURA, SRA, NORDP, etc.) or sponsoring agencies (NIH, NSF, Gates Foundation, etc.) that are vetted by OERAF in advance and advertised to the Duke research administration community
- THESE EVENTS HAVE A SEPARATE ATTENDANCE CONFIRMATION PROCESS
- Review the available events and the CE confirmation process on our Other Approved CE Opportunites page
Purchased webinars from external organizations and accessed using the Duke LMS.
- A brief quiz may be required and passed with at least 80% to receive CE credit
Hosting an external organization's webinar within your department
- Continuing education credit amounts and approval will be assigned by OERAF prior to hosting the webinar session. Request approval to host a team webinar for continuing education credit before the event. Please complete and submit the Continuing Education Credit Request for Department Webinar Viewing form in advance.

Category D

Duke Symposium for Research Administrators: Registered attendees who participate in Duke’s annual research symposium will receive CE credit commensurate with their attendance time.
- NOTE: Total number of CE credits offered by this event may vary annually.
Other Duke Events (not advertised as preapproved for CE by OERAF) where the topics are beneficial to research administration. Examples include:
- Duke Research Week
- Duke Office of Scientific Integrity training

Category E

Passing a RACC national certification exam and obtaining a CRA, CPRA, or CFRA
- NOTE: Credit is only provided to new certificates, not renewals of existing certifications

Category F

Professional Skills Courses: Courses that develop professional skills relevant to research administration such as soft skills (e.g. communication, leadership, conflict resolution) and technical skills (e.g. Excel, project management), may count toward CE.
- Supervisor approval is required. Such courses may be offered by Duke resources (i.e., Learning and Organizational Development (L&OD), Coursera, etc.) or other organizations and should be approved by the employee’s supervisor.
- Submit an OERAF CE Request Form form with documentation of attendance and information on the topics covered. Additionally, OERAF will review professional skills courses available in LinkedIn Learning. Approved courses will be highlighted on the OERAF website and will require a short quiz to receive credit.

Category G

Assist in designing, developing, and delivering training offerings at Duke or approved professional organizations: participate in designing and/or delivering a research administration training session or other research-related content development specific to Duke. Develop and deliver a session at a professional meeting or conference. Proof of delivery will be required. The number of CE hours will be defined and agreed upon in advance by OERAF.

Petition to Waive Continuing Education Requirements

Supervisors of RCC, RAA, AGM, and FCC certified employees may petition to waive the annual CE requirements for a particular certification due to extenuating circumstances (i.e., extended periods of approved leave). Workload and staffing concerns are not reasons a waiver will be granted. This form is required and should be submitted with as much notice as possible so that OERAF can work with the supervisor to provide appropriate accommodations. Supervisors should send completed forms to OERAF at ResearchFinanceEd@duke.edu. Requests for waivers will not be accepted after the fiscal year has ended.