Transitioning from SAC to FAC-C Certification Level I

HHS has approved NIH’s plan to transition the Delegated Acquisition Community from Simplified Acquisition Certification (SAC) to Federal Acquisition Certification in Contracting (FAC-C) certification by August 31, 2018.  

Prior to August 31, 2018, all warrant holders will be required to minimally meet the FAC-C level I certification requirements in order to retain their warrant authority.  Those that do not meet this FAC-C certification requirement will no longer be eligible for warrant authority after August 31, 2018. 

The general FAC-C certification requirements can be found here

Note:  FAC-C Certification is the only certification that makes an employee eligible for a new or revised warrant.

Requirements for FAC-C Certification Level I:

1.  Completion of FAC-C Level I courses or fulfillment of course(s)

The following Federal Acquisition Institute/Defense Acquisition University (FAI/DAU) courses must be completed:

*ACE (American Council on Education)

**CON 100, CON 170 and FCN 190 offered by the NIHTC are eligible for three (3) ACE credits each.  Other training providers may have a different number of eligible ACE credits for these courses. 

***CON 127 ACE-certification pending for the NIHTC to offer one (1) ACE credit, but anticipated in late FY17.  Must also complete CON 121 & 124 via ACE-certified vendor to be eligible for ACE credit for this course.

Note:  The number of eligible ACE credits for the same course varies among training providers.  Before registering for a course, the student should confirm the number of eligible ACE credits for the specific course with the training provider.

Methods to meet this requirement:

a.  Successful completion of the required FAC-C classes

b.  Fulfillment

i.  Fulfillment is the process by which specific class learning objectives are fulfilled through documented experience and other coursework.  Narratives documenting the learning objectives achieved are written by the employee, reviewed by the NIH Acquisition Career Manager, and approved by the HHS Acquisition Career Manager.  Employees should be aware that fulfilment narratives are lengthy and time-consuming.  Exceptions for fulfillment are noted below.

ii.  Learning objectives for each FAC-C Level I course is located on DAU’s website (http://icatalog.dau.mil/onlinecatalog/tabnav.aspx) under each CON course. CLC and FAC courses cannot be fulfilled and must be completed in FAI/DAU.

iii.  Exceptions

1.  There is no fulfillment available for the required FAC-C Level I CLC and FAC online courses.  Employees will need to take and successfully these courses.

2.  SAC class conversion to FAC-C classes.

a.  SAC-A classes: There is no one-to-one FAC class credit for any SAC-A classes.  Current HHS SAC-A certification holders will receive partial learning objective credit for some of the SAC-A training, but must submit fulfillment narratives for the remaining learning objectives.  The SAC-A class conversion to FAC-C classes is located here

b.  SAC-B classes:  Current HHS SAC-B certification holders will receive credit for CON 100 and CON 121 (CON 110) towards their FAC-C Level I certification. In addition, current SAC-B certification holders will receive partial learning objective credit for some SAC-B training, but must submit fulfillment narratives for the remaining learning objectives.  The SAC-B class conversion to FAC-C classes is located here

c.  Combination of successful completion of FAC-C classes and approved fulfillment

 

2.  Education: A bachelor’s degree in any field OR 24 business-related college credits from an accredited institute

Methods to meet this requirement:

a.  Evidence of bachelor’s degree

b.  Unofficial transcript from an accredited institute

i.  The NIH Acquisition Career Manager, in conjunction with the Office of Human Resources, will review the transcript to determine acceptable business-related college credits and accredited institute.

c. Obtaining college credits through FAC-C training

i.  Completion of the free FAC-C Level I training requirements from DAU will yield six (6) ACE credits that can be transferred into college credits from an accredited institute

1.  Training through other ACE certified vendors and/or the NIHTC could yield more college credits (see above table under Section 1.).

ii. Many other FAC-C courses and courses that are offered for free though DAU are also eligible for ACE credit.  Additional free DAU courses eligible for three (3) ACE credits per course are:  CON 120, CON 270, CON 280, and CON 290.  Some courses may require pre-requisite(s).

1.  A full listing of all DAU courses eligible for ACE credit can be found at http://www2.acenet.edu/credit/?fuseaction=browse.getOrganizationDetail&FICE=1000319.

2.  TIP: May consider taking more FAC courses as they too provide college business credit.

3.  TIP:  Please review the ACE website to ensure eligibility as some courses are only creditable for graduate level hours and a college or university will not grant those to anyone without a bachelor’s degree (For example:  CON360 = 3 graduate level semester hours and will not transfer as undergraduate credits.).

iii.  ACE credit for training

1.  Note:  The employee must work with ACE and an accredited institute and obtain college credit for eligible FAC-C classes.

2.  Process:  The employee individually petitions ACE for eligible FAC-C class credit. ACE will grant a student certificate/transcript.  The employee must submit the ACE certificate/transcript to an accredited institute of his/her choice to request academic credit.

d.  Taking college classes

i.  Evening business classes are available through University of Maryland University College (UMUC) at Walter Reed Campus.  For more information, please review the UMUC website at http://www.umuc.edu/visitors/locations/bethesda.cfm or contact Cherie Aker cherie.aker@umuc.edu.

ii.  The HHS University Partnership will assist individual employees with earning college credits and offer some discounts.  The HHS Partnership point of contact is Crystol Jones, http://hhsu.learning.hhs.gov/hhsuonline/edpartners-university.asp.

iii.     Employees can take academic courses via classroom/online university and college options to earn additional college credit.  A list of colleges, including those participating in the HHS University Partnership, can be found here

e.  Obtain lifetime learning and Credit by Examination (CLEP) credits

i.  Experiential credit – Employees can submit a detailed summary of their work experience showing how their experience is equivalent to a specific course based upon the course’s curriculum description.  Credit is granted via accredited colleges and universities with accompanying requirements and educational commitments.  Employees submit individual credit petitions to their college for review.  UMUC is currently performing these reviews.

ii.  Credit by Examination (CLEP) – Employees can take exams that are offered in five (5) subject areas via the following organizations:

1. www.study.com

2. https://clep.collegeboard.org/exam

 

3.  Experience: One year of demonstrated GS-1102 acquisition experience

Note: NIH has HHS approval to allow those outside the GS-1102 series to use relevant GS-1105-like acquisition experience to be eligible for FAC-C Level I.

Method to meet this requirement:

Resume must show at least one (1) year relevant GS-1105 acquisition experience

 

4. Satisfactory performance rating (first page)

 

Once the above items are completed, the employee can apply for FAC-C Level I certification by following the instructions at Federal Acquisition Certificate in Contracting (FAC-C) Refresh

Questions or concerns should be sent to the NIH Acquisition Career Manager, Aaron Weimer at weimeraj@mail.nih.gov