ARPP (CASRAI)
Animal Research Program Administration Certification — Professional
What you earn
The credential itself
Pass the examination and CASRAI issues this certificate and the post-nominal ARPP (CASRAI), signed by the Programme Director and verifiable by anyone, permanently, from the code on its face.
CASRAI Certification
Certificate of Professional Competence
This is to certify that
Dr. Amelia R. Hartley
has completed the prescribed programme of study and passed the examination in
Animal Research Program Administration — Professional
and is admitted to the designationARPP (CASRAI)
Certifications
ARPP (CASRAI) — Animal Research Program Administration, Professional
CASRAI·Issued Mar 2026·Credential ID CASRAI-ARP-2026-V8TKZW
casrai.org/verify/CASRAI-ARP-2026-V8TKZW
Every certificate is issued under the signature of Dr. Diana Nieves Castro, MD, Programme Director of CASRAI Certification, who sets the syllabus, blueprint and pass mark for this credential.
It certifies that its holder passed the CASRAI examination for this course on the date shown, scored against the blueprint and pass mark published on this page — and anyone can confirm it from the verification code, without an account and without contacting us.
About this credential
What it covers
Body of knowledge
Exam blueprint
The exam is assembled to these weights on every attempt. They are published before purchase because a blueprint you cannot see is not a blueprint.
| Domain | Proportion of exam | Weight | Items |
|---|---|---|---|
| Regulatory and policy framework1 | 14%≈ 6 items | ≈ 6 | |
| Committee constitution, membership and administration2 | 13%≈ 5 items | ≈ 5 | |
| Protocol review and approval3 | 20%≈ 8 items | ≈ 8 | |
| The 3Rs, alternatives searching, and pain and distress classification4 | 16%≈ 6 items | ≈ 6 | |
| Programme review, facility inspection and post-approval monitoring5 | 16%≈ 6 items | ≈ 6 | |
| Noncompliance, reporting and corrective action6 | 12%≈ 5 items | ≈ 5 | |
| Occupational health, training and personnel qualification7 | 7%≈ 3 items | ≈ 3 | |
| Accreditation, transport and programme assurance8 | 2%≈ 1 item | ≈ 1 | |
| Total | 100% | 40 |
Item counts are approximate. Each attempt draws a fresh form to the weights above, so the exact number of items per domain varies between attempts.
Syllabus
12 modules, 12 lessons
Every lesson and every learning outcome is listed. The lesson bodies open on enrolment; nothing else about the course is withheld.
12 modules · 12 lessons · 100 h
Lesson material opens once you are enrolled. The full syllabus and every learning outcome are shown here so you can judge the coverage before you pay.
Module 1
1
1 lesson · 5 h
- Locked.The oversight landscape: why animal research is governed as it is5 h · Locked
On completion you will be able to
- On completion the learner can:
- Distinguish the three sources of obligation acting on an animal research programme — statute, funding condition, and voluntary accreditation — and state the consequence of failing each.
- Trace the historical events that produced the modern oversight structure and explain why each instrument has the shape it has.
- Articulate the harm–benefit framing that underlies every animal oversight regime, and distinguish it from the utilitarian and rights-based positions in the underlying ethical debate.
- Identify the stakeholders in an institutional animal programme and describe the authority each holds.
Module 2
2
1 lesson · 10 h
- Locked.The United States framework: AWA, PHS Policy and the *Guide*10 h · Locked
On completion you will be able to
- Determine, for a given activity, whether the AWA regulations apply, whether the PHS Policy applies, whether both apply, or whether neither applies.
- Locate a specific requirement within 9 CFR Chapter I Subchapter A and cite it to paragraph level.
- Explain the Animal Welfare Assurance: what it commits the institution to, who signs it, what triggers amendment, and what happens when it is restricted.
- Compare the AWA regulations and the PHS Policy on any given point and identify which is more restrictive.
- Apply the Guide as a performance standard rather than a rule book, and distinguish "must", "should" and "may" as the Guide uses them.
Module 3
3
1 lesson · 9 h
- Locked.Comparative frameworks: UK, EU, Canada, Australia9 h · Locked
On completion you will be able to
- Describe the UK three-licence system and map each licence onto the equivalent US concept, noting where no equivalent exists.
- Explain the authorisation model under Directive 2010/63/EU, including project evaluation, severity classification and retrospective assessment.
- Describe the CCAC certification model and explain how compliance is enforced through funding eligibility.
- Describe the Australian code's AEC structure and category-based membership.
- Assess whether a foreign performance site provides protections comparable to the institution's own, and document the assessment.
Module 4
4
1 lesson · 8 h
- Locked.Constituting and servicing the committee8 h · Locked
On completion you will be able to
- Construct a committee roster that simultaneously satisfies AWA and PHS Policy composition requirements and justify each seat.
- Calculate quorum and valid votes for a given roster and meeting, including the effect of recusals.
- Draft minutes that evidence the committee's deliberation to a standard that withstands regulatory inspection.
- Administer a conflict-of-interest declaration and recusal, and record it correctly.
- Design a member orientation programme and evidence its delivery.
Module 5
5
1 lesson · 12 h
- Locked.Protocol intake, triage and the review pathways12 h · Locked
On completion you will be able to
- Screen a submitted protocol for completeness against the applicable regime and return it with specific deficiencies stated.
- Select the correct review pathway and justify the selection.
- Administer designated member review correctly at every step, and identify the four common ways institutions get it wrong.
- Administer full committee review including quorum, deliberation, recusal and vote.
- Administer "modifications required to secure approval" and the subsequent review.
- Distinguish significant from minor amendments and route each correctly.
- Perform congruency review between a protocol and a funded application and document the reconciliation.
- Manage the approval calendar so that no approval lapses and no activity continues past expiry.
Module 6
6
1 lesson · 8 h
- Locked.What the committee must find: review criteria in practice8 h · Locked
On completion you will be able to
- Enumerate the findings a committee must make before approving, from the primary source, without prompting.
- Evaluate a protocol section against each criterion and articulate the deficiency where one exists.
- Draft committee correspondence that states a required modification in terms an investigator can act on.
- Recognise the protocol sections that most often conceal a criterion failure.
Module 7
7
1 lesson · 10 h
- Locked.The 3Rs as an administrative discipline10 h · Locked
On completion you will be able to
- Explain replacement, reduction and refinement operationally, distinguishing absolute from relative replacement.
- Evaluate an alternatives search against the elements a regulator expects, and state specifically why an inadequate search is inadequate.
- Construct a defensible multi-database search strategy for a given protocol.
- Recognise a search engineered to return nothing, and articulate the tell.
- Advise on reduction through design without exceeding the administrator's competence.
- Design a protocol form section that elicits a usable alternatives narrative rather than a ritual one.
Module 8
8
1 lesson · 7 h
- Locked.Pain, distress, severity and humane endpoints7 h · Locked
On completion you will be able to
- Classify a described procedure into the correct USDA pain category and defend the classification.
- Classify the same procedure under EU/UK severity categories and explain why the two systems do not map cleanly.
- Evaluate a humane endpoint for specificity, observability and enforceability, and rewrite an inadequate one.
- Identify procedures triggering additional justification or review.
- Reconcile protocol pain categories with the institution's annual regulatory report.
Module 9
9
1 lesson · 9 h
- Locked.Semiannual programme review and facility inspection9 h · Locked
On completion you will be able to
- Distinguish the programme review from the facility inspection and evidence both separately.
- Plan a semiannual cycle for a multi-building institution, including subgroup composition and use of consultants.
- Conduct an inspection walkthrough using a Guide-based instrument and record findings usably.
- Classify a finding as a significant or minor deficiency and defend the classification.
- Draft a semiannual report meeting every content requirement, including a reasonable and specific correction plan with dates and minority views.
- Apply documented flexibilities where the regime permits and evidence the basis for applying them.
Module 10
10
1 lesson · 5 h
- Locked.Post-approval monitoring and continuing oversight5 h · Locked
On completion you will be able to
- Explain why post-approval monitoring is not a regulatory requirement in the US framework and justify it on other grounds.
- Design a PAM programme with a stated scope, trigger set and sampling logic.
- Choose between audit-flavoured and education-flavoured PAM and articulate the consequences for investigator cooperation.
- Convert a PAM finding into the correct downstream process — amendment, training, or noncompliance handling.
Module 11
11
1 lesson · 9 h
- Locked.Noncompliance, suspension and regulatory reporting9 h · Locked
On completion you will be able to
- Triage a concern from any source and initiate the correct process.
- Administer an investigation with an adequate record and a fair opportunity for the investigator to respond.
- Determine whether an event meets a reporting trigger, and name the trigger.
- Draft a prompt report to OLAW and, where applicable, a separate report to APHIS and a notification to the funder.
- Administer a suspension correctly, including the vote requirement and the IO's subsequent obligations.
- Construct corrective and preventive action addressing cause rather than instance, and verify closure.
- Analyse a noncompliance record for programme-level patterns.
Module 12
12
1 lesson · 8 h
- Locked.Occupational health, training, accreditation and transport8 h · Locked
On completion you will be able to
- Design an enrolment and risk-assessment scheme for an occupational health and safety programme covering animal contact.
- Maintain the confidentiality boundary between occupational health records and committee records.
- Verify personnel qualification for listed procedures and evidence it.
- Draft or maintain a Program Description for AAALAC accreditation.
- Administer an animal shipment end to end, identifying every permit and carrier requirement.
Assessment
How the exam works
The exam is closed-book and multiple choice. Each attempt draws a fresh form to the domain weights above, so no two attempts are the same paper and no answer key circulates. The pass mark is 70% and is fixed — there is no curve, no quota and no adjustment by cohort.
Scoring is immediate. You are shown your overall result and, for every item, the option you chose, the correct option and the reasoning behind it — whether you passed or not. A failed attempt may be retaken after 90 days. The wait exists so a retake is a second attempt at the material rather than a second attempt at remembering the paper.
Forms are assembled to the blueprint above or not at all: where a domain cannot yet be sampled to that standard, the exam declines to start rather than issue an unbalanced paper. Your material and progress are never affected, and there is no time limit on when you sit.
Passing candidates are issued a certificate with a verification code. Anyone can check that code on our public verification page without an account and without contacting us.
Certifying authority
Signed by Dr. Diana Nieves Castro, MD
CASRAI’s certification programme is academically and medically directed by Dr. Diana Nieves Castro, MD, Programme Director, who sets the syllabus and blueprint for this credential and signs every certificate issued under it.
CASRAI has maintained the terminology and reporting standards of research administration for over a decade. It assumed leadership of the CRediT contributor-roles taxonomy in 2014 and carried it through to adoption as ANSI/NISO Z39.104-2022, now in use by publishers, funders and institutions worldwide. This examination is drawn from that body of work.
What the credential certifies: that its holder passed the CASRAI examination for this course on the date shown, scored against the blueprint and pass mark published above — verifiable by anyone, permanently, from the code on its face.
