RSCP (CASRAI)Professional
Research Security Professional — Professional
- Domains
- 7
- Exam items
- 2
- Cut score
- 70%
$349USD
View credentialRSCF (CASRAI)
Research Security Training — Foundation
LevelFoundationRSCRSCF (CASRAI)
8
Lessons
8 modules
7
Domains
Exam blueprint
4
Exam items
Per attempt
70%
Pass mark
Fixed, uncurved
90
Retake wait
Days
What you earn
The credential itself
Pass the examination and CASRAI issues this certificate and the post-nominal RSCF (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
Research Security Professional — Foundation
and is admitted to the designationRSCF (CASRAI)
Verify atcasrai.org/verify/CASRAI-RSC-2026-GGLMP7
Certifications
RSCF (CASRAI) — Research Security Professional, Foundation
CASRAI·Issued Mar 2026·Credential ID CASRAI-RSC-2026-GGLMP7
casrai.org/verify/CASRAI-RSC-2026-GGLMP7
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Policy and legal framework for research securityF1 | 20%≈ 1 item | ≈ 1 | |
| Disclosure: support, biosketch, appointments and certificationsF2 | 22%≈ 1 item | ≈ 1 | |
| Foreign talent recruitment programmes and entities of concernF3 | 16%≈ 1 item | ≈ 1 | |
| International collaboration, travel and engagement riskF4 | 14%≈ 1 item | ≈ 1 | |
| Research security programme design and operationsF5 | 8%≈ 1 item | ≈ 1 | |
| Protecting research data, systems and materialsF6 | 10%≈ 1 item | ≈ 1 | |
| Proportionality, nondiscrimination, due process and open scienceF7 | 10%≈ 1 item | ≈ 1 | |
| Total | 100% | 4 |
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
8 modules, 8 lessons
Every lesson and every learning outcome is listed. The lesson bodies open on enrolment; nothing else about the course is withheld.
8 modules · 8 lessons
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
F1
1 lesson
- Locked.What research security is, and what it is notLocked
On completion you will be able to
- By the end, the learner can:
- (R) Define research security and state its relationship to research integrity, export control, information security and personnel security.
- (R) Describe the three international governance models — award-conditional, advisory, eligibility-gated — and name a jurisdiction operating each.
- (A) Given an obligation, classify it as attaching to the individual, the award, or the institution.
Module 2
F2
1 lesson
- Locked.The US legal architecture **[US]**Locked
On completion you will be able to
- (R) State what NSPM-33 directs and what the Implementation Guidance's five organising areas are.
- (R) List the four required elements of a research security programme and distinguish them from the five organising areas.
- (A) Locate the correct provision of the CHIPS and Science Act research security subtitle for a given obligation.
- (A) Read an agency notice and determine what it requires of whom, from when.
Module 3
F3
1 lesson
- Locked.Disclosure I: what is disclosableLocked
On completion you will be able to
- (R) Distinguish Current and Pending (Other) Support, the Biographical Sketch, financial conflict of interest disclosure, and conflict of commitment disclosure.
- (A) Determine, for twenty-five worked items, whether and where each is disclosable.
- (A) Identify in-kind contributions in a narrative description of a collaboration.
- (N) Explain why an item can be disclosable on one instrument and not another.
Module 4
F4
1 lesson
- Locked.Disclosure II: foreign components, Section 117, and getting it wrongLocked
On completion you will be able to
- (A) Apply the foreign component concept to a set of facts and reach a defensible conclusion.
- (R) State the Section 117 threshold, deadlines, and that it is an institutional report.
- (A) Classify a disclosure failure using the error taxonomy — omission, misclassification, incompleteness, staleness, misrepresentation.
- (A) Advise a researcher on correcting an omission.
Module 5
F5
1 lesson
- Locked.Talent programmes and entities of concernLocked
On completion you will be able to
- (R) State the statutory definitions of covered individual, foreign country of concern, foreign entity of concern, and malign foreign talent recruitment programme.
- (A) Apply the MFTRP elements to a fact pattern and reach a conclusion, including a negative conclusion.
- (A) Interpret a restricted-party screening result correctly.
- (N) Distinguish a legitimate international recruitment arrangement from a prohibited one.
Module 6
F6
1 lesson
- Locked.Travel, visitors and collaboration riskLocked
On completion you will be able to
- (A) Brief a researcher on international travel obligations and precautions.
- (A) Identify the research security issues in a draft MOU.
- (A) Advise on hosting a foreign delegation or visiting scholar.
- (R) State the referral trigger for an export control question.
Module 7
F7
1 lesson
- Locked.Protecting research data and materialsLocked
On completion you will be able to
- (R) Describe the CUI programme and when research data becomes CUI.
- (A) Recommend proportionate baseline protections for a described dataset.
- (A) Recognise a contractual clause that imposes an unmet cybersecurity obligation.
Module 8
F8
1 lesson
- Locked.Doing it fairlyLocked
On completion you will be able to
- (R) State the nondiscrimination obligation at 42 U.S.C. § 19236.
- (N) Distinguish a fact pattern warranting inquiry from one reflecting only national origin, ethnicity, language or family connection.
- (A) Select a proportionate response from the escalation ladder.
- (N) Articulate the trade-off a proposed security measure imposes on open science and international recruitment.
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.
The ladder
Other levels of Research Security Professional
Levels are independent purchases. There is no prerequisite chain — sit whichever level matches the work you already do.
Common questions
About RSCF (CASRAI)
Is research security training required?
Federal research award personnel are subject to a research security training requirement introduced by the CHIPS and Science Act, implemented through agency guidance. Institutions are also required to operate research security programmes.
What does research security training cover?
Disclosure of support and appointments, foreign components, talent-recruitment programmes and entities of concern, international travel and collaboration risk, protecting research data, and the fair and proportionate operation of a programme.
What is the difference between research security and export control?
They are separate regimes with separate regulators. Export control governs the transfer of controlled technology and information; research security concerns disclosure, foreign influence and the integrity of the research enterprise. This credential covers the interface between them.
