Before the Commission for Certification in Geriatric Pharmacy consolidated with the American Society of Consultant Pharmacists in 2016, CCGP helped prospective test takers to prepare for the Certification in Geriatric Pharmacy exam using an online practice test.

To do so, the commission partnered with Test Run Online, a Canada-based tech company that provides testing platforms for associations and credentialing organizations. Along with helping prospective exam takers, CCGP's practice exam also brought in some extra revenue.

It's not that expensive to develop content, especially if you can use volunteers.—Tom Clark, Commission for Certification in Geriatric Pharmacy

The Problem

Prior to working with Test Run Online, CCGP offered a self-assessment exam for many years, says former Executive Director Tom Clark, but it was only available as either a print version or a static online replication of the print copy.

People took the online test once and got their test results, but then they were locked out and unable to retake it, Clark says, which hindered the learning process.

"They want to take the exam, study, take it again—to see how they do and compare their answers," Clark says.

When it came to the print version, the process was slow and outdated. CCGP was able to update test items themselves and print several hundred copies, but the commission was stuck with that test. And if updates were required, the test needed to be reprinted in order to upload it online. In short, it got to be a real hassle.

The Solution

Realizing the need for improvement, CCGP partnered with Test Run Online in 2016. Doing so not only gave CCGP a free and customized test platform but also more flexibility with the online version. In addition, the platform provided test takers with a better experience.

"They can log-on [to] take the whole 150-question test," Clark says. "[Or] take it again after studying and get another report and see if they've improved or not improved."

With the new platform, Clark says that CCGP has the capability to put 300 questions into the database. This means the system can create different exams for subsequent practice tests, which gives users exposure to a broader set of questions and offers them a better assessment of their knowledge.

Plus, there's not a lot of overhead cost to administer the test, which means there's more possibilities for nondues revenue. "It's not that expensive to develop content, especially if you can use volunteers," Clark says.

Test Run Online manages the online exam—which costs $89 for a three-month subscription and $109 for a six-month subscription—and keeps a percentage of the proceeds from each practice test, passing the rest along to CCGP.

"If you have a source of revenue that gives you a pretty high profit, even though the percentage of the overall revenue might be small, it can contribute a significant amount of profit to your organization," Clark says.