CAE Credential Bootcamp (Spring 2026)

Candidates preparing for the May 1–14, 2026, CAE testing window spent a single intensive virtual day on April 2, four weeks ahead of the window opening. It was the third CAE bootcamp NANA had run, following winter editions in November 2024 and November 2025.

Theo Nakashima-Ward and Jonah Whitcombe again split the day across the exam's six content domains, running the same format that had drawn strong feedback from the November 2025 cohort — lecture blocks paired with timed practice questions from NANA's study bank, refreshed each cycle with new questions written from that season's most-missed topics.

Whitcombe opened with organizational management and programs and services, the two domains he has found candidates read fastest but test worst on, since the practice questions favor precise vocabulary over general familiarity. Nakashima-Ward covered finance, membership and marketing, and closed the day with public policy and leadership strategy together.

The day ended with test-day logistics: how to schedule an appointment, what identification to bring, and a reminder that NANA pre-approves credit hours toward the credential but does not administer the exam itself.

A number of the day's registrants had also attended the November 2025 bootcamp and returned for a second review ahead of their own exam date, a repeat rate Whitcombe said was common enough that NANA now discounts a second bootcamp registration for returning candidates rather than asking them to pay the full rate twice.

Registration ran $495 for members and $695 for non-members, and included a study guide and two full-length practice exams, usable ahead of either the spring or the following winter CAE window. Both exams remained available to registrants for a full year after the bootcamp.