Prepare for CASP

NACAS offers helpful information, tools, guides, and study groups to help exam takers prepare for testing day. Applicants are encouraged to access all preparatory resources to help master exam content areas, decrease test anxiety, and bond with other auxiliary professionals who are on the same path to certification.

WATCH THE CASP PREP COURSE WEBINAR

Exam Content Areas

The CASP program launched more than five years ago, and in that time industry practices have shifted. In order to stay current in the industry and uphold certification best practices, the Certification Commission has aligned the exam content to match the 2015 Work Analysis of our members. Effective February 2017, the following content is covered on the CASP exam:

Management
Leadership
Marketing, Communications and Business Relations
Student Services
Operational Areas: Food Services, Bookstores/Commercial Retail, Card Services, Physical Facilities, Automated vending

View the full summary of content changes here. For in-depth descriptions of these areas, read the Candidate Handbook, the 2017 Content Outline, and 2013 Study Guide. Additional study materials will become available in 2017.

CAS Standards for Auxiliary Services

The CAS standards for auxiliary services (Auxiliary Service Functional Areas or ASFA) provide some key information for those planning to take the CASP examination. Student development is one of the domains covered in the CASP exam. The CAS standards for ASFA’s provide an excellent source of information addressing student development and learning as these topics relate directly to auxiliary service operations.

CAS Standards, free for members: “The Role of Auxiliary Services Functional Areas”

Non-members may purchase the standards from the CAS website

Authoritative References List

This list is a concise yet detailed guide to informative Auxiliary Services Professional references and is intended for use as a study aid only. NACAS does not intend the list to imply endorsement of these specific references, nor are all of the test questions necessarily taken from these sources.

  • Association Solutions National Restaurant Association.  (2010).  ServSafe essentials (5th ed.).  Boston, MA:  Prentice Hall.
  • Barr, M. J., & McClellan, G. S.  (2011).  Budgets and Financial Management in Higher Education (2nd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass
  • Certo, S.C.  (2003).  Modern management (9th ed.).  Boston, MA:  Prentice Hall.
  • Cotts, D.G., Roper, K.O., & Payant, R.P.  (2009).  The facility management handbook (3rd ed.).  New York, NY:  AMACOM.
  • Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education.  (2009).  CAS professional standards for higher education (7th ed.).  Washington, DC:  Author.
  • Dessler, G.  (2010).  Human resource management (12th ed.).  Boston, MA:  Prentice Hall.
  • Fairbrook, P.  (1979).  College & university food service manual.  Stockton, CA:  Colman Publishers.
  • Gafney, L.  (1996).  Practical merchandising math (National retail federation).  Hoboken, NJ:  Wiley.
  • Gray, C. F., & Larson, E. W.  (2005).  Project management: The managerial process (3rd ed.).  Boston, MA:  Irwin/McGraw-Hill.
  • Gill, J. O. (1999).  Understanding financial statements: A primer of useful information.  Ontario, Canada: Crisp Learning.
  • King, T.E., Lembke, V.C., & Smith, J.H.  (2000).  Financial accounting: A decision-making approach (2nd ed.).  Hoboken, NJ:  Wiley.
  • Lencioni, P.  (2002).  The five dysfunctions of a team: A leadership fable.  San Francisco, CA:  Jossey-Bass.
  • PCI Security Standards Council.  (2010).  PCI-DSS quick reference guide: Understanding the payment card industry data security standard version 2.0.  Retrieved from https://www.pcisecuritystandards.org/documents/PCI%20SSC%20Quick%20Reference%20Guide.pdf
  • Reed, O.L., Shedd, P., Pagnatarro, M., & Morehead, J.  (2009).  The legal and regulatory environment of business (15th ed.).  New York, NY:  McGraw Hill.

Winston, R. B., Jr., Creamer, D. G., Miller, T. K., & Associates.  (2001).  The professional student affairs administrator: Educator, leader, and manager. New York, NY:  Brunner Routledge.

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