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ARC Specialist Training and Exam

The ARC Specialist Training and Exam were developed in close coordination with travel professionals, travel agent organizations including ARTA & ASTA, and carriers. The training helps travel professionals stay up on best practices in an increasingly automated travel industry which helps ensure the continuation of the industry's high standards of professionalism and customer service.

All agency locations wishing to either achieve or maintain ARC accreditation must have an ARC Specialist on staff, with one designated as the "qualifier". An ARC Specialist qualifier needs to be designated when:

  • Applying as an independent entity new to ARC
  • Changing ownership and 30% or more of shares are redistributed (Types II and V)

To become an ARC Specialist Qualifier, you must pass the specialist exam, then be designated by the ARC-accredited agency's owner or officer on the Change in Agency Personnel Request and Personal History Form.

* Effective July 1, 1999, only new locations and Type II and V ownership changes require an ARC Specialist Qualifier.

Ticketing Qualifiers: With the implementation of the ARC Specialist Program, you are no longer required to have a Ticketing Officer on staff. This person can be replaced or augmented by the ARC Specialist Qualifier.

Course Benefits

This comprehensive course on ARC operations, ticket reporting and settlement helps travel professionals:

  • Make full use of ARC tools and resources
  • Reduce the possibility of debit memos, unreported sales, and security lapses

Topics

Both the classroom and online formats of the course address:

Course and Exams Formats

Both the course and the exam are offered in two formats:

  • In-class - taught and moderated by an instructor at one of our locations
  • Online - via Web interface, you walk through course material at your own pace; the exam, however, must be completed within 90 minutes.

Exam Requirements

You must score 70% or above to pass the exam and receive an ARC Specialist certificate. Your certificate is valid for four years from the date of your exam.

Classroom

Arlington

Monday
8:30-9AM Sign-in
9AM-4PM Class

Tuesday & Wednesday
9AM-4PM Class

Thursday - ARC Specialist Exam
8:30-9AM Exam sign-in
9AM Exam doors closed
9AM-12PM Exam (ending time approximated)

San Juan (Spanish)

Wednesday
8:30-9AM Sign-in
9AM-4PM Class

Thursday
9AM-4PM Class

Friday - ARC Specialist Exam (English)
8:30-9AM Exam sign-in
9AM Exam doors closed
9AM-12PM Exam (ending time approximated)

Self-Paced Online

Both the self-paced course and the exam can be taken online any day or time, year round. The self-paced course allows you to complete the course in sections, logging in each time to resume where you left off. The exam, however, must be completed within 90 minutes.

Costs

  
Training and Exam
  • Online
  • Arlington, VA
  • San Juan, PR
$450
$550
$400
Exam Only
(all locations)		 $250
Exam Only
(online)		 $250

Schedule

Classroom

DateCity CodeDeadline 
June 14 - 17 Arlington, VA June 7, 2010 Register
July 12 - 15 Arlington, VA July 5, 2010 Register
August 24 - 27 Scottsdale, AZ August 17, 2010 Register
September 27 - 30 Arlington, VA September 20, 2010 Register
November 1 - 4 Arlington, VA October 25, 2010 Register
December 13 - 16 Arlington, VA December 6, 2010 Register

General

Agents seeking approval for a new location on or after July 1, 1999 are required to have an ARC Specialist Qualifier on staff in order to meet the personnel standards of the Agent Reporting Agreement (ARA). Locations covered by this requirement include Home Offices, new independent entities, and Type II and V ownership changes.
No, you may not qualify more than one location at a time. A ticketing or ARC Specialist Qualifier (ASQ) must be a fulltime employee of the Agent at the location specified in the application.
  • If you have any questions, please contact the ARC Specialist Registrar at ARCSpecialist@arccorp.com.
  • Fax us at (703) 816-8043 - please sign the document if you fax it to us.
  • Mail the information to us at our corporate headquarters in Arlington, VA

Once we receive the pertinent information (name, old agency address, new agency address, new phone number, any other relevant information), we'll make the necessary change in our database.

Yes, you are required to re-take the entire ARC Specialist exam within 4 years of the date you first passed the exam. That means that you must complete the exam successfully before the expiration date on your certificate.
Give yourself at least one (1) month to test before your certificate expires. That way, if things don't work out the way you anticipated, you will still have time to test again before your certificate expires.
Please read over Section 20 of the Industry Agents' Handbook again to review the possible consequences of not being recertified in a timely manner.

Training

No. Training is optional unless you fail the exam two consecutive times. In other words, you can take the exam without the need for taking training, but you should devote some time to serious study of the references for the ARC Specialist Exam (see below).
No. Any form of training is acceptable as long as you can provide proof of satisfactory completion. For example, if you have an internal training program, a letter from your training manager would suffice.

No two learners are exactly alike, so that is a question you'll have to answer for yourself. Are you most comfortable in a classroom with other students? Do you enjoy learning by means of a computer? It's up to you!

One thing to consider is the time away from the office. Can you afford 4 days away? If so, classroom training may be best. If not, then Internet training might be the way to go.

Also consider how much experience you have regarding ARC. You may have been a travel agent for many years, but may never have prepared an IAR sales report.

ARC Specialist Exam

The ARC Specialist exam consists of the following:

  • The 90 questions exam must be completed in 90 minutes.
  • All questions are multiple-choice; however, this is subject to change without notice.
  • All questions and answers that may appear on the ARC Specialist examination are now available online in the question pool.
Yes. The exam as well as the training is available online from TheAcademy.com at http://www.arccorptraining.com/
Passing score is an overall 70%.

If you took the exam at an ARC location, your results will be posted on ARC's Web site here. Exam results are usually available within a few business days after you have taken the exam. If you passed the exam, the last four digits of your Training PIN will be shown and your certificate will be mailed to your address within 2-3 weeks. If you didn't pass the exam, the last four digits of your Training PIN will not appear and an Individual Mastery report will be mailed to you within 2-3 weeks of taking the exam. The Individual Mastery Report gives you a breakdown of how many questions you answered correctly for each section covered on the exam.

If you took the exam with TheAcademy.com, your score will appear on the screen once you click on "Submit Test Answers". If you passed the exam, you will receive an e-mailed congratulations letter from dean@theacademy.com with your certificate as an attachment. If you fail, you will receive an e-mailed Individual Mastery Report that will give you a breakdown of how many questions you answered correctly for each section covered on the exam.

If you take the exam via TheAcademy.com your exam score will be provided and if you take the exam at an ARC location, contact us at 703-341-1091 and we will release your score.
Yes, definitely! Even though you may "know this stuff cold" you should still review the sections of the Industry Agents' Handbook and the Question Pool to determine where you may need to brush-up. You might be surprised by all of the changes in the industry since you first learned the ropes.

The references for the Exam are:

This looks like a short list, but encompasses a lot of information. It's a good idea to start preparing for the exam a few weeks before you plan on taking it!

No, the exam is offered in English for a couple of reasons. First, the Industry Agents' Handbook is in English and is the primary reference for the exam along with the published question/answer pool. Second, the Agent Reporting Agreement, the actual contract between the Agent and ARC, is also in English.

Registration

No, you must pay for each time you take the exam.
You must submit a new application to ARC for the exam location desired. ARC requires a new application because your old application has been marked "Failed" and has been archived. For online test takers with TheAcademy.com, the applicant will just log back into their registration and select from the course catalog. We need to keep your registration information accurate and up-to-date, ensuring that we are always working with the latest data. The new application accomplishes this goal.
Yes, you can still register for a class after the registration deadline but space may not be available