Overview
The Quality Assurance Professional Registration program was established by the Society of Quality Assurance as a professional enhancement to the field of regulatory quality assurance. It is essential, in such a diverse and evolving profession, for quality assurance professionals to continually refresh their skills and remain current in the latest regulatory requirements and interpretations, and in industry's approach to compliance.
The purpose of the RQAP-GLP and RQAP-GCP re-registration programs is two-fold: first, to encourage and recognize continued participation in the field of regulatory quality assurance, and, second, to ensure that quality assurance professionals remain informed and knowledgeable in their profession.
**NOTE: Effective 1 January 2012, the RQAP Re-Registration Requirements policy has significant changes. Please review the summary of changes on the Program News page. It is also recommended that you review the entire SOP (linked to the right) carefully.**
Requirements
The re-registration program requires that REGISTRANTS complete a total of twelve (12) units within three years of registration or re-registration. A minimum of six (6) units shall be based on discipline-specific activities (GLP-related for RQAP-GLP designations and GCP-related for RQAP-GCP designations) and the remaining six (6) units may be based on relevant professional activities (e.g., a seminar in statistics, analytical chemistry or microbiology; a workshop on organizational effectiveness, process improvement or facilitator training; formal education courses; participating in professional committee work; etc). If you have any questions concerning applicability of units, please contact the Chair of the Council on Professional Registration.
Documentation supporting proof of units earned must be submitted with the re-registration application. It is the responsibility of the Registrant to provide unequivocal documentation of the units earned. The supporting documentation must be clear, concise, traceable/verifiable, and complete. Units without the supporting documentation will not be credited towards re-registration. For activities not organized or overseen by SQA and/or not pre-approved for re-registration units (with RQAP units indicated on the event certificate), proof of attendance AND documentation of the length of time spent in the activity must be provided. The re-registration process will operate on the honor system. Submission of fraudulent materials or information may be pursued with a penalty of revocation of registration privileges.
Units may be earned as follows:
- Attendance at professional meetings, training workshops/conferences, seminars or conferences: 1 hour of classroom time (not including meals or breaks) = 0.25 unit.
Examples of acceptable meetings include:
- SQA Meetings
- SQA Regional Chapter meetings
- Other relevant professional organizations' meetings, e.g., JSQA, BARQA, RAPS, DIA, ACS, ACRP, NAICC, AALAS, etc. (documentation must include a session description or agenda, duration of the training, and proof of attendance)
- In-house continuing education (documentation must include a session description or agenda, duration of the training, and proof of attendance)
- Web-based seminars (documentation must include a session description or agenda, duration of the seminar, and proof of attendance [e.g., attendance roster, sign-in sheet, e-mail attendance verification, or seminar notes);
- Instructing, lecturing or training: each unique, non-repetitive session = 1 unit;
- Participating author for published, peer-reviewed articles, books or book chapters: each published work = 1 unit;
- Primary or first author on technical articles for a relevant professional membership association newsletter (SQA, SQA Chapters and other relevant professional organizations) = 0.5 unit;
- Primary or first author for a poster presentation: each unique, non-repetitive poster = 1 unit;
- Attendance at relevant university course(s): 1 semester/quarter credit = 1 unit (e.g., one 3-credit university course = 3 units);
- Membership in a relevant professional membership association (SQA, SQA Chapters and other relevant professional organizations) = 0.25 unit per year (each membership), not to exceed 1 unit per year from all association memberships;
- Membership in an elected or appointed Committee OR Board-approved Chair or Vice Chair of a volunteer Committee or special interest group (i.e., Specialty Section) for a relevant professional membership association (SQA, SQA Chapters and other relevant professional organizations) = 1 unit per year (each committee), with a maximum of 3 GLP or GCP discipline-specific units from this category (any units above 3 in this category may still be used for non-GLP or non-GCP units);
- Submission of solicited questions for the RQAP-GLP or RQAP-GCP examination or practice test: every 10 questions submitted = 1 unit (unsolicited questions will NOT be accepted for credit. Contact the appropriate Examination Committee Chair prior to writing exam questions); and
- SQA, SQA Chapter and other relevant professional organizations' Mentoring Programs (Mentors, Mentees and Peer Partners): each mentoring partnership = 2 units; maximum allowable units from mentoring per year = 4 units.
Dual Registration
There are some special considerations for dual registrants, meaning individuals who have earned both the RQAP-GLP and RQAP-GCP designation. The policies for dual registrants are as follows:
- Two separate applications and fees are required.
- Of the required 6 GLP + 6 GCP discipline specific units, GCP units may be used as non-GLP and GLP units may be used as non-GCP units for a total of 12 units. During a re-registration cycle, 6 units of each will provide sufficient credit for both registrations.
- The same units cannot be used for discipline-specific credit for both disciplines (e.g., one meeting cannot be used for both GLP and GCP units).
- Non-discipline-specific units can be used for both re-registrations.
In summary, a dual registrant can use the same 12 units to re-register for both programs provided 6 units are GLP-specific and 6 units are GCP-specific and all units were earned in the appropriate three-year time frame for the designation being re-registered.
Timing
All professional activities applied to re-registration must take place within the three-year period between passing the examination and applying for re-registration, or between sequential and successive re-registration periods. The first post-examination re-registration period begins on April 1 of the examination year and ends on 30 September three years later, e.g., 1 April 2013 through 30 September 2016. Subsequent re-registration periods begin 1 October of the re-registration year and end on 30 September three years later. Activities eligible for submission for re-registration in 2013 should date from 1 October 2010 through 30 September 2013 unless the registrant passed the exam for the first time in 2010, in which case the activities must have been completed between 1 April 2010 and 30 September 2013.
The completed application for re-registration must be mailed to the SQA Headquarters and be post-marked on or before 31 October of the re-registration year. Notice of re-registration status (approval, denial or further information needed) will be provided to all re-registration applicants within 3 months of the 31 October submission deadline.
Fee
The current cost of re-registration is $75 for SQA members or $150 for non-members, with a $25 late fee for any application accepted after 31 October (CPR reserves the right to refuse any applications received after the 31 October deadline, but a $25 late fee will be imposed for any applications CPR decides to accept after this date). Fees should be made payable to the Society of Quality Assurance and must be submitted with the re-registration application.
This information will be distributed to all RQAPs during the summer preceding the expiration of registration. At that time, more specific information will be provided concerning acceptable methods of payment, the deadline for submission, etc.