USU’s Responsible and Ethical Conduct of Research Plan

I. Purpose

This document serves as USU’s Responsible and Ethical Conduct of Research (RCR) Plan and outlines the elements necessary to comply with Federal research sponsor RCR education requirements for individuals supported on National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Science Foundation (NSF), and United States Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA-NIFA) funds. This plan establishes the process for identifying individuals required to complete RCR training, what training is required, and how training requirements are tracked.

The NIH defines RCR as the practice of scientific investigation with integrity. It involves the awareness and application of established professional norms and ethical principles in the performance of all activities related to scientific research. The NIH and other federal agencies view RCR as a fundamental element of research training that is critical for excellence, as well as public trust, in science and engineering.

II. Regulatory and Policy Basis for RCR training requirements

A. Institutional Responsibilities

NIH, NSF, and USDA-NIFA have outlined the following institutional responsibilities with regards to RCR instruction and promotion of an institutional culture of research integrity:

Have a plan in place to provide appropriate training and oversight in the responsible and ethical conduct of research for individuals
Develop an effective training system that is appropriately tailored to the institution’s specific needs
Determine the content, focus, and delivery method for the RCR training
Designate one or more persons to oversee compliance with the RCR training requirement
Verify that required individuals have received RCR training
Maintain records sufficient to demonstrate that covered individuals have received the required instruction
Foster an atmosphere conducive to research integrity
Bear primary responsibility for prevention and detection of research misconduct
Maintain and effectively communicate and train their staff regarding policies and procedures

B. Minimum Training Requirements by Agency

Agency	Who must take RCR training	Required format	Required subject matter coverage
NIH	Undergraduate Students Graduate Students Postdocs Career Development awardees	Training should be taken at least once during each career stage and no less than once every four years Initial instruction should be during predoctoral training Requires at least eight hours of face-to-face, discussion-based contact Faculty participation is encouraged Senior fellows and career development awardees can participate in the training as discussion leaders Formal and informal training encouraged	None specified (see next section for a list of proposed subject areas)
NSF	Undergraduate students Graduate students Postdocs Researchers Faculty Other senior/key personnel supported by the research project	None specified	Mentor training and mentorship
USDA-NIFA	Undergraduate students Graduate students Postdocs Program directors Faculty Any staff participating in the research project	On-campus or off-campus training is acceptable CITI program is recommended	Authorship and plagiarism Data and research integration Reporting misconduct

C. RCR Topics

In addition to the specific topics required by NSF and USDA-NIFA, NIH provides a list of topics that “have been incorporated into most acceptable plans for such instruction”. These topics, which cover a range of issues and speak to the “growing understanding of how … the broader research environment [impacts the conduct of research],” include:

Personal, professional, and financial conflicts of interest and conflict of commitment in allocating time, effort, or other research resources
Policies regarding human subjects, live vertebrate animal subjects in research, and safe laboratory practices
Mentor/mentee responsibilities and relationships
Safe research environments (e.g., those that promote inclusion and are free of sexual, racial, ethnic, disability and other forms of discriminatory harassment)
Collaborative research, including collaborations with industry and investigators and institutions in other countries
Peer review, including the responsibility for maintaining confidentiality and security in peer review
Data acquisition and analysis; laboratory tools (e.g., tools for analyzing data and creating or working with digital images); recordkeeping practices, including methods such as electronic laboratory notebooks
Secure and ethical data use; data confidentiality, management, sharing, and ownership
Research misconduct and policies for handling misconduct
Responsible authorship and publication
The scientist as a responsible member of society, contemporary ethical issues in biomedical research, and the environmental and societal impacts of scientific research

III. Utah State University RCR Plan Elements

A. Institutional RCR Coordinator/Office Coordinating RCR Program

Joy Van Nostrand, PhD
Research Integrity Compliance Officer, Senior
Office of Research, Division of Research Integrity and Compliance
compliance@usu.edu • 435.797.1235
Responsible Conduct of Research Homepage

B. Training Formats

Online. USU has contracted with the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI Program) to provide on-line RCR training free of charge to all USU faculty, staff, and students. CITI Program’s ‘Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) Curriculum’ fulfills the training requirements for most agencies/personnel. A score of 80% or higher on the final quiz is required to pass each module. Updates are currently being made to the CITI Program RCR course. Italic text indicates notes on changes.

Updates are currently being made to the CITI Program RCR course. Italic text indicates notes on changes.

CITI Program’s ‘Basic RCR Curriculum’ must be taken the first time completing the course. A Refresher course is available to renew certification. RCR certification for both the Basic and Refresher courses is good for 5 years. Expiration will be updated to 4 years.

The CITI RCR Curriculum consists of the following mandatory modules:

Introduction to RCR
Authorship
Collaborative Research
Conflicts of Interest and Commitment
Mentoring and Healty Research Environments
Data Management
Peer Review
Plagiarism
Research Misconduct

Additional optional modules are available for further study:

Reproducibility of Research Results – will be added
Research Involving Human Subjects – will be added
Using Animal Subjects in Research – this is currently listed as required
Environmental and Social Dimensions of Engineering Research – this is currently the only available optional module
Research, Ethics, and Society – will be added
Communicating with the Public – will be added
Presentation of Research Findings – will be added

In-Person. The USU Research Integrity & Compliance Office (RIC) hosts an RCR Workshop series each semester (Fall and Spring). The workshop uses an ethical decision-based approach and is comprised of an online Canvas module and in-person sessions. The Canvas module provides background information on ethical decision making. The four 2-hour in-person sessions focus on case studies and other activities covering various RCR topics that allow students to apply the knowledge learned in the Canvas module to real-world situations. In-person sessions are scheduled at the beginning of each semester.

While the RCR Workshop was developed to fulfill NIH mandated in-person training requirements, it is open to anyone interested in learning about and applying ethical decision making in a research environment.

Alternative training options. RIC can modify training options for students needing accommodation. For example, if a student were unable to attend in-person sessions due to a disability, the student could attend via Zoom.

C. Training Requirements by Agency and Institutional Position

USU follows the federal agency mandates that individuals subject to federal RCR training requirements, including those obligations pursuant to subawards received from and sent to other institutions, complete training in research ethics.

	NIH		NSF	USDA-NIFA
	CITI	Workshop	CITI	CITI
PI
Staff
Postdoc
Graduate Student
Undergraduate

The USU School of Graduate Studies requires all graduate students conducting research toward their program of study complete RCR training. The CITI RCR course fulfills this requirement.

To foster an environment that promotes responsible conduct in research and discourages research misconduct, all individuals engaged in research are encouraged to complete training regardless of funding source.

D. Frequency and Continuing Education

For those individuals requiring RCR education, training should be repeated at least once every four years, or at each career stage (undergraduate, graduate, postdoc, early career researcher, etc.).

E. Identifying individuals requiring RCR training

Argos Report. RIC receives a monthly Argos report that lists all new hires funded by NIH, NSF, and USDA-NIFA grants. Argos is an enterprise reporting system that collects, analyzes, and presents data from across campus. RIC divides the new hires into one of five roles (Principal Investigator (PI), Staff, Postdoc, Graduate Student, Undergraduate Student) using the ‘Role’ and ‘Position Title’ listed in the report. Based on the role and funding source, a determination is made by RIC as to what, if any, training is required.

Sponsored Programs Office (SPO). SPO sends a monthly report of new awards to RIC. This list is used to identify new NIH, NSF, and USDA-NIFA grants and the PI of each grant.

F. Notification of RCR Training Requirements

RIC will email the individuals requiring RCR training with instructions for completing the training.

Training must be completed within 60 days. Email reminders are sent out again at 30-, 5- and 1-day prior to the 60-day deadline. The PI is cc’d on all emails. The directors of RIC and SPO are added to the 5- and 1- day emails and the Vice President for Research is added to the 1-day emails. Other administrative personnel (e.g., Department Head, Associate Dean of Research) may be included on reminder emails if necessary.

G. Monitoring and Tracking RCR Training Completion

RIC maintains a database of everyone who has completed RCR training over the prior five years. The names of individuals identified as needing RCR training are added to this database.

CITI Programs sends program completion emails to RIC daily. The date completed, expiration date, and a link to the CITI Program certificate of completion are recorded in RICs database. In addition, RIC periodically downloads a completion report from CITI to confirm that all completed RCR training has been recorded.

Workshop completion is recorded at the end of each workshop session when certificates of completion are distributed.

The date of completion and a link to the CITI certificate of completion are recorded in Argos at least monthly.

RIC also maintains a searchable database listing name and date of completion to allow the School of Graduate Studies and departmental staff to check if a student or project member has completed RCR training.

H. Principal Investigator Responsibilities

While RIC oversees and tracks RCR training completion, the Principal Investigator of an award is ultimately responsible for ensuring that they and their students and staff complete the required training.

I. Noncompliance

Failure to complete training within 60 days (excluding in-person training) may lead to a pause or loss of funding.

J. Exceptions

Federal agencies do not specify allowable exceptions to RCR education requirements. RIC may consider limited exceptions on a case-by-case basis in specific circumstances of agency or institutional requirements.

K. Plan Review and Revision

This plan will be reviewed each academic year by RIC and revised as necessary to ensure it meets current Federal sponsor requirements.

Last updated June 27, 2025 jvn