Fees
Becoming a Certified Student Affairs Educator is a formal demonstration of one's commitment to ethical practice and continuous learning and development to stay current with new knowledge and trends in student affairs and services work. The Consortium supports student affairs educators interested in applying for, and maintaining, certification credentials. This includes transparency in the certification fees that are necessary to support the Consortium's ongoing operations and program maintenance with adherence to accreditor standards.
Group Discounts
Are several people at your organization interested in applying for certification? Special discounts are now available in increasing percentages for groups of 3-5, 6-10, or 11 or more individuals at the same organization who apply in the same cycle. Click here to learn more and get started!
Certification Application and Exam
Individual members of Consortium founding partner associations are eligible for a reduced application fee given that related memberships directly supported certification program development. Consortium founding partner associations include ACUHO-I, ACUI, AFA, ASCA, NACA, NASPA, and NIRSA.
An individual holding an active, individual membership for any founding partner association is eligible for the reduced rate.
The application and exam fee is due when submitting an application.
Core Certification (Only)
| Membership Type |
Fee |
| Individual Member of any Founding Partner Association | $395 |
| Non-Member of any Founding Partner Association | $495 |
Core and Specialty Area Certification (Concurrent Application)
| Membership Type |
Fee |
| Individual Member of any Founding Partner Association | $485 |
| Non-Member of any Founding Partner Association | $655 |
More than one Specialty Area Certification may be added within this application at the discounted rates listed below. Individuals applying for more than one certification will need to provide payment information for each individual certification within the same application. The Consortium encourages applicants to think carefully before applying for multiple specialties given the related requirements for certification maintenance and recertification.
Additional Specialty Area Certification
An individual may concurrently apply for both Core and multiple Specialty Certifications. If an individual is applying for Core and more than one Specialty, the following rates will apply. Application fees vary based on the type of a membership an applicant holds.
Additional Specialty Areas (Concurrent Application)
| Membership Type |
Fee Per Additional Specialty |
| Individual Member of any Founding Partner Association | $149 |
| Non-Member of any Founding Partner Association | $234 |
Additional Specialty Area (After Core)
An individual Core certificant holder may also elect to separately apply for an additional Specialty Certification at a later time. Reduced rates are available for these Core Certification holders who are individual members of the Specialty Association listed in the chart further below that corresponds to the respective Specialty Certification.
| Membership Type | Fee (Per Specialty) |
| Individual Member of Corresponding Specialty Association | $175 |
| Non-Member of Corresponding Specialty Association | $275 |
| Specialty Association | Corresponding Specialty Certification |
| ACUHO-I | Campus Housing and Residential Life Specialty |
| ACUI | College Unions Specialty |
| AFA | Fraternity and Sorority Life Specialty |
| ASCA | Student Conduct Administration Specialty |
| NACA | Campus Activities Specialty |
| NIRSA | Campus Recreation Specialty |
Should an individual’s application be denied, remain incomplete, or if an applicant wishes to cancel after submitting an application, a $50 administrative fee will be taken from the application fee already paid, with the balance of the application fee refunded to the original form of payment. All requests for refunds must be made in the same application cycle during which the individual initially applied. Once the application cycle ends, no refunds will be granted. Please note, retake fees and reschedule/cancellation fees will be charged separately from the administrative fee.
Exam Reschedule
You may cancel or reschedule your exam with no additional fee up to 24 hours prior to your scheduled exam. Any request to reschedule from 24 hours to the originally scheduled exam time will incur a corresponding exam retake fee.
Exam Retake
Candidates who do not pass a Core or Specialty Certification exam are encouraged to re-take the exam. The Consortium supports such candidates by offering feedback on exam results after the completion of an exam, and reduced rates for exam retakes.
| Fee |
|
| Core Exam | $150 |
| Individual Specialty Exam | $100 |
Recertification
Each certification is valid for five years. At the five-year anniversary of one’s certification, certified individuals are eligible to apply for recertification. To recertify for another five-year period, the certificant will need to complete the recertification requirements and pay the recertification fee that corresponds to their credentials.
Core Recertification
An individual holding an active, individual membership in any founding partner association is eligible to recertify for the Core certification at a reduced amount.
| Membership Type |
Core Certification |
| Individual Member of any Founding Partner Association | $175 |
| Non-Member of any Founding Partner Association | $350 |
Specialty Area Recertification
An individual holding an active, individual membership in the Specialty Association that corresponds to the respective Specialty Certification is eligible to recertify for that Specialty Area certification at a reduced amount.
| Membership Type |
Specialty Certification |
| Individual Member of Corresponding Specialty Association | $100 |
| Non-Member of Corresponding Specialty Association | $225 |