The RAA Certification requires participants to complete a series of certification components all housed in the SABA Learning Management System used by all Duke employees.  Participants will completed certification components in a specific order and components will unlock as a participant moves through the certification process.  The image below outlines the different certification components: 

Certification components

Certification Steps

COMPLETE THE RAA Onboarding Certification 

RAA Onboarding (specific certification for those pursuing the Industry Certification) provides fundamental research administration information critical to working in research administration at Duke. 

  1. Access RAA Onboarding directly in the LMS. Access is available to all Duke employees.  
  2. Complete the 100% asynchronous, self-paced, online certification within 30 days.   
  3. Once onboarding is complete, work with your manager who will assign the appropriate RAA Certification Track based on your your specific role. These certification 
    • RAA Pre-Award Track 
    • RAA Post-Award Track 
    • RAA Central Administration Track (Open to research administrators in Duke Finance) 
    • RAA Industry Pre-Award Track 
    • RAA Industry Post-Award Track 

Managers can register employee once Onboarding is complete

Phase II - RAA Certification Track is only available once the assigned Onboarding certification is 100% complete.  

Course Types

There are two types of classes available during certification, asynchronous, self-paced, online courses and virtual, instructor-led sessions. Registration occurs in the Duke Learning Management System (LMS). 

  • Asynchronous, self-paced, online learnings are available within your certification in the LMS. You can even step away and pick up where you left off when you come back to complete them.  Required quizzes and learning checks are incorporate into these courses.  
  • Virtual, instructor-led courses are available within your certification in the LMS. These are conducted in Zoom and the Zoom link is available in the LMS. Take the appropriate action to add these to your calendar when you register.  Virtual, instructor-led courses generally require the completion of a quiz.  As with classes, all quizzes are available within the certification and will open once you are marked successful for the class.  

BASIC SYSTEMS SKILLS ARE EXPECTED IN MANY PHASE 2 LEVEL COURSES

SAP and SPS system classes may be required based on your certification track.  Please review the Learning Track specifics for each certification track for more information.   

Regardless of the formal training requirements, RAA participants must have functional knowledge of SAP and SPS, whether you learn by taking formal courses, learning through experience, or learning through on-the-job training, it is up to you to make sure that you know the content in courses.  

SIGN-UP FOR SCHEDULED OFFERINGS IN THE LMS

Your Learning Track Certification will display on the your LMS home page.  Course registration links are available by opening the certification.  The certification will display all current course offerings.  

COURSEWORK REQUIREMENTS IN PHASE 2

Assignments

Some courses will include homework assignments due before or after class. Homework assigned before class is distributed 5 business days in advance of the class to give you time to complete it. Homework assigned after the course is due 10 business days after the session. Typical homework assignments may include watching a video or completing a worksheet. 

Quizzes

These are the most important benchmarks for completing RAA outside of passing the final exam. Each open-book quiz includes 15 questions pulled from the session's materials.  A course quiz becomes available once an instructor marks you successful for attending the course.  You have 2 attempts to achieve a mastery score of 80% or more.  All certification quizzes must be complete before your can enroll in the final exam.  While there is not time limit for taking the quiz, OERAF recommends that you take quizzes within 7 days for attending a course.  

You will need to repeat the course if you don't pass the quiz. Be sure to rely on the materials provided in class to help you answer the questions and use your 2 attempts wisely.

Eligibility for the final exam is based on whether or not you have passed each quiz required by your Learning Track. 

Note: Every Phase 2 virtual, instructor-led course includes a quiz across all Learning Tracks!

Monitor your class completions

RAA participants are responsible for monitoring their own program progress. Phase II components will turn "green" and be marked as complete in the LMS making tracking easy.  Participants should routinely review progress with their manger.  Progress and quiz scores are visible to both the employee and their manager in the LMS.  

Participants should plan to complete phase II 300 days from their start date. 

Additionally Training Tracker are set up so that you can track your progress throughout RAA and work in partnership with monitoring progress in the certification in the LMS. 

REGISTER FOR A Final Exam TESTING SESSION

Testing sessions are offered every two weeks. They are scheduled on a varying schedule of morning or afternoons, normally between Wednesday-Thursday.  You will not be able to register until your current learning track is 100% complete. 

You plan to take the exam within 30 days of completing your certification track.  

Register for a session available in the LMS. The no-show fee is waived for these sessions. 

PASS THE EXAM TO GET CERTIFIED

You will have 4 hours to complete the Final Exam in the LMS. Each proctoring session begins with a short meeting to discuss the instructions and expectations for the exam.

The number of questions on the exam depends on the Learning Track and optional courses you select. Exams range from 65 - 80 questions. 

Participants need to score an 80% or more to pass.

Congrations YOu Passed! 

While you will receive a preliminary score when you submit the last exam question, OERAF will review results and send a confirmation email to your and your manager.   

OERAF will add your completion to a record that includes the certification year and track signifying that you have successfully completed the certification track.  Your certification will become part of your LMS transcript. 

If you didn't score 80%, OERAF will send an email outlining areas of review before your next attempt.  OERAF does not limit the number of times a participant can site for the final exam; however, your manager or the HR function for your business unit may have limits based on current performance levels and completion timeline.