Continuing Education | Research Compliance & Reporting

Other Resources

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)

For employees to maintain and renew their certification(s), they must complete several requirements, including obtaining CE credits every fiscal year (July 1 - June 30). At the end of the fiscal year, the Office of Education for Research Administration and Finance (OERAF) will review each certified employee’s completed training to ensure the CE requirements were met throughout the fiscal year. Completion of the requirements renews the certification 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. Trainings, 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 Training Opportunities

CE credit requirements are available at the beginning of each fiscal year. The credit hours outlined below were modified to account for Duke’s response to COVID-19 and the staff transition to a virtual environment. Credit amounts in future years are subject to change. Currently, the CE required to maintain RCC, RAA, AGM, and FCC certificates are:

FY22 and beyond: A total of 12 credit hours
- Research Administrators should plan to complete 3 CE hours each quarter

In addition to the 12 credit hours, employees must attend mandatory update sessions to maintain certification.

Any sessions deemed mandatory by corporate and management center partners
- While not routine, these sessions are scheduled to share mission-critical information and, if required, will be announced to the community

Continuing Education Categories

CE Credit Categories	Examples	Maximum Credit Hours Allowed in Category
Annually Required Classes	Sessions deemed mandatory by corporate or management center partners	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	No more than 50% of annual requirement
GROUP D Conferences Sponsored by Duke	Annual Duke Symposium for Research Administrators	CE available subject to change each year, no more than 50% of annual requirement
GROUP E Duke CRA Study Group	Active participation in the CRA study group	No more than 50% of the annual requirement Cannot receive CE for more than 2 study group cycles *When a research administrator completes all requirements to become a CRA, CRA can serve for required CE credits in the current or upcoming certification 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

Total number of CE credits required for certification year FY21 (September 1, 2020 – June 30, 2021) = 10 CE credit hours
Total number of CE credits required for certification year FY22 forward (July 1 – June 30) = 12 CE credit hours
MSPAI and other courses/meetings designated as mandatory are required but do not count toward CE credit hours.
Classes cannot be repeated for CE for 3 years unless content changes significantly. OERAF conducts random audits of CE to ensure compliance with guidelines outlined above. More details will be communicated in Spring 2021.
Use this graphic to understand CE categories and the impacts of category limits.

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

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).
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)
Research Administration Town Halls hosted by the Duke Office of Research & Innovation that provide university-wide information to the research administration community
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)
Certified Research Administrator (CRA) Study Group: Participation in the CRA Study Group provided by OERAF will count for CE credits, as outlined below.
External Professional Organization Meetings: Attendance to external professional organization meetings count as CE credit. To request CE credit for attending a professional meeting, please submit a Request for Certification Credit form with documentation of attendance. 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)
Duke Symposium for Research Administrators: Registered attendees who participate in Duke’s annual research symposium will receive CE credit commensurate with their attendance at sessions. Attendees must attend an entire symposium session to receive credit for that session. NOTE: Total number of CE credits offered by this event may vary annually.
Webinars: Webinars offered by professional organizations (NCURA, SRA, NORDP, etc.) or sponsoring agencies (NIH, NSF, Gates Foundation, etc.) that are vetted by OERAF and partners may count as CE credit. OERAF, in coordination with other central offices, may offer webinars throughout the year that can be viewed in the LMS. Depending upon the webinar, a brief quiz may be completed and passed with at least 80% to receive CE credit, in alignment with the length of the webinar. Continuing education credits are also earned when a business unit or team wishes to host a webinar within their group. Continuing education credit amounts and approval will be assigned by OERAF prior to hosting the webinar session. To request approval to host a team webinar for continuing education credit, please complete and submit the Continuing Education Credit Request for Department Webinar Viewing form to OERAF, prior to hosting the webinar to earn a CE credit hour.
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. To request CE credit for attending a professional skills course, submit a Request for Certification Credit form with documentation of attendance. 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.
Assist in designing, developing, and delivering training offerings at Duke or approved professional organizations: participant 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.