A00-282 without prerequisite certification

[ybian2]

Hello,

I'm interested in taking the A00-282: Clinical Trials Programming Using SAS 9.4 exam. I have previously earned the SAS Base Programming (A00-211) and SAS Advanced Programming (A00-212) certifications, both of which are now retired.

I wanted to inquire if it is still possible to sit for the A00-282 exam without holding the updated certification from the 2019 exams (A00-231 or A00-232). Additionally, if I am able to take and pass the A00-282 exam without the updated prerequisite certifications, would it still be possible to receive the corresponding certification?

I would greatly appreciate your guidance on this matter.

[beccagre]

Hello, 

Thanks for reaching out to us with this question.  You can take the A00-282 exam, however, if you pass the exam, you will not receive credit for and earn the credential unless you meet the prerequisite requirement of holding the performance-based Base Programming Specialist for SAS 9.4 OR the Advanced Programming Professional for SAS 9.4. 

Let me provide a little background for you on why the Clinical Trials Programming Professional credential is set up this way. 

Back in 2019, we migrated the SAS Certified Base and Advanced Programmer for SAS 9 exams to be performance-based exams.  At that time, we announced on our web site and in many other venues that we were transitioning the exams and offered candidates who held the older version of the exam (like yourself) the opportunity to upgrade to the new Performance Based Exam by taking a delta exam that was a shorter exam.  We offered the delta exams for candidates for almost two years before retiring the older versions of the exam. 

When we updated the Clinical Trials Programming exam in 2022, we made a decision to raise it to a professional level credential instead of a specialist and because of that, we made holding the performance based Base Programming Specialist for SAS 9.4 OR the Advanced Programming Professional for SAS 9.4 to be a hard prerequisite for the exam.  Once again, we made every attempt to announce this program change well in advance and provided candidates the opportunity to take the older CT exam before retiring it. 

Please note on our certification web pages for Clinical Trials Programming Professional that we have this requirement listed.  https://www.sas.com/en_us/certification/credentials/foundation-tools/clinical-trials-programming.htm...

So, you will need to take and pass the A00-231 Base Programming Specialist exam OR the A00-232 Advanced Programming Professional exam in order to earn the Clinical Trials Programming Professional.  You can take the A00-282 Clinical Trials Programmer exam first, but you will not receive the credential until you meet the prerequisite requirement that I've outlined here. 

I hope this explanation helps.  I wish you great success in your studies and in taking and passing the required exams to earn the Clinical Trials Programming Professional certification. 

Becky