Prepare to become a Certified Student Affairs Educator with the NASPA Certification Exam Prep Course! This five-week exam prep program for the Certified Student Affairs Educator Core Exam includes four live, moderated study sessions plus a library of on-demand and self-paced exam prep resources. Through this enhanced exam prep program, you will have the opportunity to connect with other prospective certificants, learn from colleagues who have taken and passed the exam, and brush up on your student affairs knowledge and skills through a series of self-paced study modules.

The Certification Exam Prep Course is available at a member rate of $75 for members of ACUHO-I, ACUI, AFA, ASCA, NACA, NASPA, and NIRSA, and a general non-member rate of $175. Participants will need to create a free NASPA account and complete a short registration in order to access the course, which is hosted in the NASPA Online Learning Community.

About

The course combines a variety of synchronous and asynchronous learning and study opportunities designed to prepare prospective Certified Student Affairs Educators for all aspects of the exam. Live sessions in weeks 2-5 include a kickoff session, two open study halls, and a wrap-up session. In between these live sessions, there are eight self-paced study modules based on the Student Affairs Educator Certification Domains, which also form the basis of the exam. Each module includes an on-demand recording and accompanying slide deck, a list of additional resources, and an ungraded quiz of example questions to test your knowledge. All self-paced elements of the course are optional and can be done at any time and in any order, allowing you to choose whatever is most helpful for your own individual exam preparation. We recommend completing the self-study elements each week in order to keep your exam prep on schedule.

Course Syllabus

Week 1: January 27-31

Self-paced Pre-work Module: Get Ready to Get Certified!

Week 2: February 3-7

Live Session: Certification Exam Prep Course Kickoff | Tuesday, February 4, 1:00-2:00pm Eastern

Self-paced Study Module: Foundations of the Profession Domain

Self-paced Study Module: Student Learning, Development, and Success Domain

Week 3: February 10-14 

Live Session: Open Study Hall | Tuesday, February 11, 1:00-2:00pm Eastern

Self-paced Study Module: Assessment and Evaluation Domain

Self-paced Study Module: Social Justice and Inclusion Domain

Week 4: February 17-21

Live Session: Open Study Hall | Tuesday, February 18, 1:00-2:00pm Eastern

Self-paced Study Module: Leadership Domain

Self-paced Study Module: Talent Management Domain

Week 5: February 24-28

Live Session: Certification Exam Prep Course Wrap-up | Tuesday, February 25, 1:00-2:00pm Eastern

Self-paced Study Module: Crisis and Risk Management Domain

Self-paced Study Module: Financial and Facility Management Domain

Winter Exam Cycle

Getting your exam date on the calendar is a great way to stay motivated. Apply to take the exam as part of your exam prep efforts! 

Applications: January 1 - February 14
Exams: February 17 - March 31

Access to self-paced elements will open on January 27, 2025. The first live session will be held on February 4 at 1:00pm Eastern Time. All live session times are listed in Eastern Time. Live sessions will be discussion-based and will not be recorded.

Following the conclusion of the live sessions, the self-paced elements of the course will remain available to you until you have taken and passed the exam.

Questions? For technical assistance, please reach out to us at virtuallearning@naspa.org. For content-based questions, please email tgillmor@naspa.org.