SAS Global Certification program

SAS is the de facto industry standard for clinical data analysis and reporting in the life sciences/pharmaceutical industry. This credential validates a candidates' ability to apply SAS programming skills to clinical trials data.

A candidate for this exam should have experience in

• clinical trials process
• accessing, managing, and transforming clinical trials data
• statistical procedures and macro programming
• reporting clinical trials results
• validating clinical trial data reporting.

There are two methods available to earn this credential:

• Pass the Clinical Trials Programming Using SAS 9 exam

or if you currently hold the SAS Certified Base Programmer for SAS 9 credential:

• Pass the Clinical Trials Programming Using SAS 9 – Accelerated Version exam

There are two methods to earn this credential. If you have not yet earned the SAS Certified Base Programmer for SAS 9 credential, take the full Clinical Trials Programming Using SAS 9 exam. Alternatively, candidates who currently hold the SAS Certified Base Programmer for SAS 9 credential may take the Accelerated Version of the exam (Please note that this shorter exam does not retest material covered on the base programming exam). To see the content for each exam, make a selection below:

Clinical Trials Programming Using SAS 9
Clinical Trials Programming Using SAS 9 – Accelerated Version

Required Exam

Candidates who earn this credential will have earned a passing score on the Clinical Trials Programming Using SAS 9 exam. This exam is administered by SAS and Prometric.

• 99 multiple-choice and short-answer questions (must achieve score of 70% correct to pass)
• 3 hours to complete exam
• Use exam ID A00-280; required when registering with Prometric.

Exam topics include:
The following exam objectives are subject to change during the development process and will be updated prior to exam registration.

• Clinical Trials Process
  • Describe the clinical research process (phases, key roles, key organizations).
  • Interpret a Statistical Analysis Plan.
  • Derive programming requirements from an SAP and an annotated Case Report Form.
  • Describe regulatory requirements (principles of 21 CFR Part 11, International Conference on Harmonization, Good Clinical Practices).
• Clinical Trials Data Structures
  • Identify the classes of clinical trials data (demographic, lab, baseline, concomitant medication, etc.).
  • Identify key CDISC principals and terms.
  • Describe the structure and purpose of the CDISC SDTM data model.
  • Describe the structure and purpose of the CDISC ADaM data model.
  • Describe the contents and purpose of define.xml.
• Import and Export Clinical Trials Data
  • Combine SAS data sets.
  • Efficiently import and subset SAS data sets.
  • Access data in an Excel workbook (LIBNAME and PROC IMPORT/EXPORT).
  • Create temporary and permanent SAS data sets.
  • Apply regulatory requirements to exported SAS data sets (SAS V5 requirements).
• Manage Clinical Trials Data
  • Investigate SAS data libraries using base SAS utility procedures (PRINT, CONTENTS, FREQ).
  • Access DICTIONARY Tables using the SQL procedure.
  • Sort observations in a SAS data set.
  • Create and modify variable attributes using options and statements in the DATA step.
  • Examine and explore clinical trials input data (find outliers, missing vs. zero values, etc).
• Transform Clinical Trials Data
  • Process data using DO LOOPS.
  • Process data using SAS arrays.
  • Retain variables across observations.
  • Use assignment statements in the DATA step.
  • Apply categorization and windowing techniques to clinical trials data.
  • Use SAS functions to convert character data to numeric and vice versa.
  • Use SAS functions to manipulate character data, numeric data, and SAS date values.
  • Transpose SAS data sets.
  • Apply 'observation carry forward' techniques to clinical trials data (LOCF, BOCF, WOCF).
  • Calculate 'change from baseline' results.
  • Obtain counts of events in clinical trials.
• Apply Statistical Procedures for Clinical Trials
  • Use SAS procedures to obtain descriptive statistics for clinical trials data (FREQ, UNIVARIATE, MEANS, SUMMARY).
  • Use PROC FREQ to obtain p-values for categorical data (2x2 and NxP test for association).
  • Use PROC TTEST to obtain p-values for continuous data (one-sample, paired and two-sample t-tests).
  • Create output data sets from statistical procedures.
• Macro Programming for Clinical Trials
  • Create and use user-defined and automatic macro variables.
  • Automate programs by defining and calling macros.
  • Use system options to debug macros and display values of macro variables in the SAS log (MPRINT, SYMBOLGEN, MLOGIC, MACROGEN).
• Report Clinical Trials Results
  • Use PROC REPORT to produce tables and listings for clinical trials reports.
  • Use ODS and global statements to produce and augment clinical trials reports.
• Validate Clinical Trial Data Reporting
  • Explain the principles of programming validation in the clinical trial industry.
  • Utilize the log file to validate clinical trial data reporting.
  • Use programming techniques to validate clinical trial data reporting (PROC COMPARE, MSGLEVEL).
  • Identify and Resolve data, syntax and logic errors.

Required Exam

Candidates who earn this credential will have earned a passing score on the Clinical Trials Programming Using SAS 9 exam. This exam is administered by SAS and Prometric.

• 71 multiple-choice and short-answer questions (must achieve score of 70% correct to pass)
• 2 hours to complete exam
• Use exam ID A00-281; required when registering with Prometric.
• Candidate must hold the SAS Certified Base Programmer for SAS 9 credential to take this exam. Otherwise, candidate should take the A00-280 exam.

Exam topics include:
The following exam objectives are subject to change during the development process and will be updated prior to exam registration.

• Clinical Trials Process
  • Describe the clinical research process (phases, key roles, key organizations).
  • Interpret a Statistical Analysis Plan.
  • Derive programming requirements from an SAP and an annotated Case Report Form.
  • Describe regulatory requirements (principles of 21 CFR Part 11, International Conference on Harmonization, Good Clinical Practices).
• Clinical Trials Data Structures
  • Identify the classes of clinical trials data (demographic, lab, baseline, concomitant medication, etc.).
  • Identify key CDISC principals and terms.
  • Describe the structure and purpose of the CDISC SDTM data model.
  • Describe the structure and purpose of the CDISC ADaM data model.
  • Describe the contents and purpose of define.xml.
• Import and Export Clinical Trials Data
  • Apply regulatory requirements to exported SAS data sets (SAS V5 requirements).
• Manage Clinical Trials Data
  • Access DICTIONARY Tables using the SQL procedure.
  • Examine and explore clinical trials input data (find outliers, missing vs. zero values, etc).
• Transform Clinical Trials Data
  • Apply categorization and windowing techniques to clinical trials data.
  • Transpose SAS data sets.
  • Apply 'observation carry forward' techniques to clinical trials data (LOCF, BOCF, WOCF).
  • Calculate 'change from baseline' results.
  • Obtain counts of events in clinical trials.
• Apply Statistical Procedures for Clinical Trials
  • Use SAS procedures to obtain descriptive statistics for clinical trials data (FREQ, UNIVARIATE, MEANS, SUMMARY).
  • Use PROC FREQ to obtain p-values for categorical data (2x2 and NxP test for association).
  • Use PROC TTEST to obtain p-values for continuous data (one-sample, paired and two-sample t-tests).
  • Create output data sets from statistical procedures.
• Macro Programming for Clinical Trials
  • Create and use user-defined and automatic macro variables.
  • Automate programs by defining and calling macros.
  • Use system options to debug macros and display values of macro variables in the SAS log (MPRINT, SYMBOLGEN, MLOGIC, MACROGEN).
• Report Clinical Trials Results
  • Use PROC REPORT to produce tables and listings for clinical trials reports.
  • Use ODS and global statements to produce and augment clinical trials reports.
• Validate Clinical Trial Data Reporting
  • Explain the principles of programming validation in the clinical trial industry.
  • Utilize the log file to validate clinical trial data reporting.
  • Use programming techniques to validate clinical trial data reporting (PROC COMPARE, MSGLEVEL).
  • Identify and Resolve data, syntax and logic errors.

The recommended preparation for the Clinical Trials Programming Using SAS 9 exam is compiled from multiple sources: SAS Training courses*, pharmaceutical industry publications, white papers and candidate experience. While no exam questions are drawn verbatim from the preparation sources, these materials provide a foundation from which to apply the knowledge and skill necessary for the exam.

The preparation materials listed below assume the candidate has little familiarity with SAS programming and the clinical trials industry. Depending on your level of experience, you may not require all preparation components. For example, a SAS Certified Base Programmer would not require the Programming 1 and 2 classes. Please review the exam objectives and then determine which materials will complete your preparation.

* This credential is related to clinical trials programming. If your work is more related to clinical data integration, please see the SAS Clinical Data Integration: Essentials course.

Courses

• SAS Programming 1: Essentials
• SAS Programming 2: Data Manipulation Techniques
• Statistics 1: Introduction to ANOVA, Regression, and Logistic Regression
• SAS Macro Language 1: Essentials
• SAS Report Writing 1: Using Procedures and ODS

Publications

• SAS Programming in the Pharmaceutical Industry, Jack Shostak
• Clinical Trials: A Practical Guide to Design, Analysis, and Reporting, Duolao Wang, Ameet Bakhai
• Introducing the CDISC Standards: New Efficiencies for Medical Research, Amanda J. de Montjoie
• Validating Clinical Trial Data Reporting with SAS, Carol Matthews & Brian Shilling

White Papers, Proceedings, Standards

• CDISC SDTM and ADaM Standards Documentation
• PharmaSUG 2008 Proceedings: SQL or not SQL When Performing Many-to-Many Merge (.pdf)
• SUGI 30 Paper: Exploring DICTIONARY Tables and Views (.pdf)

Preparation options may vary by country

Choose a country for specific training options.

Choose your location Argentina Australia/New Zealand Austria Belgium/Luxemborg Brazil Canada Chile China Colombia/Venenzuela/Peru Czech Republic Denmark France Finland Germany Hong Kong Hungary India Ireland Italy Japan Korea Malaysia Mexico Netherlands Norway Poland Portugal Russia Singapore Slovakia Slovenia South Africa Spain Sweden Switzerland Taiwan Thailand Turkey United States UK

For more information

Contact the SAS Global Certification Program at certification@sas.com or 800-333-7660.

Registration Options

• Online
  Visit www.prometric.com/sas. Follow these easy steps once on the site:
  1. Select the first box "Schedule a Test"
  2. Select "Schedule an Appointment"
  3. Choose your country and state/province if applicable
  4. Insure that "SAS Institute" is selected as your client and program
  5. Select your desired SAS certification exam
  6. Review available testing sites and select "Schedule Appointment"
  First-time registration with Prometric requires a 24-hour waiting period before the candidate can schedule an exam online. Candidates who are registering for an exam for the first time will receive an email confirmation from Prometric within 24 hours to begin the online scheduling process. Candidates who have previously tested with Prometric and have their Prometric ID or have previously registered online can schedule their exam online immediately.

• Telephone
  By phone in the U.S. and Canada: 888-895-5819 between 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. CST

  By phone outside the U.S. and Canada, visit www.prometric.com/sas for a list of exam registration phone numbers.

• SAS Sponsored Testing Events in the US

Testing Locations

To find your nearest testing center, visit www.prometric.com/sas.

Information required upon registration

Please be prepared to provide the following information to Prometric when registering:

1. First and last name - Please provide your name as you would like it to appear on your certificate.
2. Prometric assigns a unique identification number to each candidate. Please use this ID number each time you schedule an exam with Prometric or SAS.
3. Mailing address - Please list the address to which all correspondence should be mailed.
4. Company name - If you have listed your business address, please include your company name to ensure appropriate routing.
5. E-mail address - For the latest program updates, email is the most efficient and effective means of contacting you.
6. Contact phone numbers
7. Exam number and title
8. Testing center preference - To find your nearest testing center, visit www.prometric.com/sas.
9. Method of payment (credit card (American Express, Mastercard, and Visa), vouchers) Payment options may vary by country.

If your address has changed since you last registered for an exam, please contact Prometric to update your demographic information.

Exam Pricing

Within North America and India, the fees associated with an exam offered through Prometric is $180 USD.

Certification exam prices are subject to change. In some countries, different pricing and additional taxes may apply. Please visit www.prometric.com/sas for exam pricing in your country.

Faculty, staff, and full-time students of academic institutions are eligible for a discount on SAS Certification exams. Candidates in the United States and Canada receive a 50% discount. International candidates should contact your local office for discount information.

Cancellation Policy

Candidates may cancel or reschedule exams at no charge if they contact the Prometric Regional Service Center by 6:00 p.m. ET at least one business day prior to the scheduled exam date. Candidates who do not appear for the test or cancel less than one business day before the exam will not receive a refund.

Retake Policy

Candidates may attempt each certification exam up to five times in a 12-month period, waiting a minimum of 14 days between attempts. Exams that do not comply with this retake policy will be considered invalid and will not be eligible for refund and/or a certification credential. Once a passing score is achieved on a specific exam, no further attempts are allowed on that exam.

Candidate Agreement

Candidates are encouraged to review the SAS Institute Inc. Global Certification Program Candidate Agreement prior to their exam day.

What to bring: Certification candidates are required to provide two forms of identification at the testing center, including one photo identification such as a driver's license or a valid passport. Both forms must display the candidate's signature.

Arriving at the test center: Candidates should plan to arrive 15 minutes before their scheduled exam time. Candidates arriving more than 15 minutes late are not guaranteed exam availability or a refund.

Reference materials: To maintain the security of the test environment, candidates are not permitted to bring reference materials of any kind into the testing center.

Personal items: The only items allowed in the testing area are your identification. Please leave any backpacks, laptops, briefcases and other personal items at home. If you have personal items that cannot be left behind (such as purses), the testing center may have lockers available for use. No cameras, cell phones, audio players, or other electronic devices are allowed during exam sessions. Please refer to Prometric Testing Center Regulations for more information.

All notes will be collected at the end of testing and no material may be removed from the testing event.

Score Report

You will receive an immediate pass/fail score upon completion of your exam attempt at your testing facility. The score report will display the percentage of items in each section that you answered correctly for your exam. Please note: These section scores are calculated on a per section basis and cannot be used in determining your total score. They are provided to you for descriptive purposes only.

Welcome E-mail and Certificate

If you pass your exam and meet all requirements for this credential, you will receive two e-mails. One e-mail will contain your logo access and welcome information. The second e-mail will include a pdf copy of your certificate which you can print at any time. These e-mails will be sent to the e-mail address you provided to Prometric at exam registration. Some individual firewalls may send these e-mails to your junk folder. Please allow at least two weeks from your exam date to receive your e-mails.

Directory Listing

The directory is updated once weekly. Please allow two weeks from receipt of your credential from SAS for your name to be added to the SAS Global Certified Professional Directory Listing. If you do not wish for your name to appear in the SAS Global Certified Professional Directory listing, you may choose to be excluded at the time of exam registration.