Continuing Education (CE) activities are instructional activities where the certificant is the learner. The purpose of this information is to assist certificants in determining acceptable continuing education activities for use toward maintaining your ACRP Certification(s). For a complete guide on staying current, please download the Maintenance of Certification Handbook. Visit the CCRA, CCRC, & ACRP-CP Continuing Involvement (CI) page or the CPI Continuing Involvement (CI) page to learn more about earning certification Maintenance activity points.
Candidates for Maintenance can take Continuing Education (CE) offerings in two topic areas: “Research” and “Healthcare” (including disease, soft skills, and bodily system).
Research topics should cover the actual “practice” of clinical research and follow topics covered on the Exam Content Outline (ECO) for your Credential. These topics should cover transferable knowledge and skills, not those specific to your workplace, such as company SOPs or specific software. Examples of research topics include, but are not limited to:
Healthcare Topics are those that deal with the prevention, treatment, and management of illness and the preservation of physical well-being. Training to gain access to or query a specific database or software, even if healthcare related, is not acceptable. Consideration is also given to specific skills that, while not clinical research or healthcare related, are acknowledged as an advanced set of skills invaluable to the work of clinical research. These specifically include project management, grant writing, medical writing, and soft skills.
Courses pertaining to a particular disease are generally considered to be Disease/Bodily System/Healthcare Topic hours. Examples include, but are not limited to:
Points earned to satisfy maintenance of certification must fall within the applicant’s maintenance period.
If you’re certification expiration date is May 31, the 24 month reporting period is June 1 (year 1) – May 31 (year 2).
If you’re certification expiration date is November 30, the 24 month reporting period is December 1 (year 1) – November 30 (year 2).
Points for general participation in workshops, seminars, conferences, and in-service trainings are granted based on the actual duration of time spent in instruction, using a ratio of 1:1. For every forty-five (45) to sixty (60) minutes of instruction, one (1) point may be claimed. Additionally, one (1) semester credit is equivalent to fifteen (15) points.
Sessions that last less than forty-five (45) minutes do not qualify for points, but those exceeding sixty (60) minutes can be prorated accordingly (for example, a session lasting one hour and fifteen minutes would earn 1.25 points).
All web-based training applicable to the requirements must result in a certificate of completion specifying the number of hours granted upon successful completion.
CCRC, CCRA, and ACRP-CP Certificants must earn 24 points during the reporting period. At least 12 of those 24 points must come from participation in research-related professional development programs.
CPI Certificants must submit 24 points during the reporting period. At least 8 of those 24 points must come from participation in research-related professional development programs AND at least 12 of those 24 points must come from Continuing Involvement activities.
Most points submitted to ACRP during maintenance of certification come from accredited programs. If the program is not accredited, the applicant must use this policy and the Exam Content Outline (ECO) for their Credential to determine its qualification. Under no circumstance will ACRP review content for pre-approval. Examples of acceptable providers of professional development: