A CRA designation demonstrates a broad knowledge of all aspects of research administration including, but not limited to, project development and administration, legal requirements and sponsor interface, financial management, and general management of sponsored research.
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Professional recognition
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On-going professional development
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Personal satisfaction
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Demonstration of expertise and knowledge
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Increased credibility with faculty, other administrators
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Advancement opportunities
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Service as a professional role model and mentor
Eligibility to Sit for the CRA Exam
Candidates applying to sit for the CRA examination must meet one these requirements:
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Bachelor’s Degree and three (3) years of professional experience in research or sponsored programs administration either in a sponsoring or recipient organization or the equivalent in a self-funded organization; OR
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An Associate’s Degree and five (5) years of professional experience in research or sponsored programs administration either in a sponsoring or recipient organization or the equivalent in a self-funded organization; OR
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No degree and six (6) years of professional experience in research or sponsored programs administration either in a sponsoring or recipient organization or the equivalent in a self-funded organization. This option requires completion of a Petition Application.
Exam Format
Exam Composition and Length
Exams are comprised of 200 multiple-choice test questions, 175 of which will count toward a candidate’s score, and 25 pretest (pilot) questions which will not count toward a candidate’s score. The 25 pretest (pilot) questions are randomly distributed through the examination and will not be identifiable as a pretest (pilot) question. Candidates will be given three-and-one-half (3.5) hours to complete the exam.
Questions are within the below categories and allocations:
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I. Collection and Dissemination of Information 44%
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II. Legal Requirements and Sponsor Interface 20%
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III. Financial Management 21%
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IV. General Management 15%
Exam Scoring
RACC will report exam scores using scaled scoring. To ensure fairness and consistency across exam forms, once RACC establishes a passing standard, this standard is upheld for all future forms of the exam. A statistical process called equating is used to account for any slight variations in difficulty level across forms. Candidate scores are then reported using scaled scoring, which converts the candidate’s raw score (i.e., total number of correct questions) onto a consistent and standardized scale. Scaled scores allow candidate scores to be comparable from one exam form to the next.
The scale range for all RACC exams will be 200 to 800 with a passing point of 500.
Uniform Guidance Updates
The Research Administrators Certification Council (RACC) is actively updating all its materials in accordance with changes to the Uniform Guidance (2 CFR 200) announced in April 2024 and effective beginning October 1, 2024.
As of July 1, 2025, references to the Uniform Guidance in all RACC exams (CRA, CFRA, and CPRA) and practice exams will reflect the revised guidance. Please note that the following exams will follow the Uniform Guidance prior to the 2024 revisions:
CPRA - February 15 - March 1, 2025
CFRA - March 1-15, 2025
CRA - May 10-24, 2025
