The National Institutes of Health (NIH), the National Science Foundation (NSF), and the United States Department of Agriculture - National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA-NIFA) have issued training requirements in Responsible and Ethical Conduct of Research (RCR) for award recipients. RIC will reach out by email to the hires under these awards with instructions, but it is ultimately the Principal Investigator of an award who is responsible for ensuring that they and their students and staff complete the required training. Failure to complete training within 60 days (excluding in-person training) may lead to loss of funding.
Training Requirements by Agency
| NIH | NSF | USDA-NIFA | |
|---|---|---|---|
| PI | CITI | CITI | |
| Staff | CITI | CITI | |
| Postdoc | In-person, CITI | CITI | CITI |
| Graduate Student | In-person, CITI | CITI | CITI |
| Undergraduate | CITI | CITI | CITI |
CITI Responsible Conduct of Research Training
The training requirements for most agencies/personnel can be fulfilled by completing the "Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR)" Curriculum via the CITI website. Completion of any other CITI training (such as the "Social & Behavioral Research" course) does NOT fulfill the RCR training requirement. You must pass each RCR training module with a score of 80% or higher. Upon completion, RIC will automatically receive an email with your certification of completion. This information will be entered into RIC's RCR Training Database. RCR training must be kept up to date to meet the federal training mandate and the Graduate School's requirements.
To search the CITI Program RCR certification database to verify RCR training certifications and expiration dates, click the 'Search CITI Certifications' button.
Instructions on registering and adding a course to CITI are provided below.
To register for CITI as a new user:
- Go to the CITI website.
- Click “Register” in the upper right corner of the page.
- Select “Utah State University” as your organizational affiliation.
- Continue to step 7 on the CITI website.
- Select "Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) Curriculum" Basic Course, then go to the next page.
- Select "Yes, enroll me..."
- Click “Finalize Registration.”
If you are already registered with CITI, add the RCR course:
- Go to the CITI website and log in.
- Under “Main Menu/My Courses” scroll down to the bottom.
- Under “My Learner Tools for Utah State University” click “Add a Course.”
- Select "Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) Curriculum" Basic Course and click next.
- You should now be enrolled in that course.
CITI RCR certification needs to remain current while supported by an NIH, NSF, or USDA-NIFA grant. Certification can be renewed via the Refresher Modules.
In-Person RCR Workshop
RIC hosts an RCR Workshop series each semester (Spring and Fall). The workshop uses an ethical decision-making-based approach and is comprised of a 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 activities 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. The RCR Workshop is open to everyone.
Graduate students and postdocs supported by NIH funds are required by Federal mandate to complete the RCR Workshop. RIC will contact anyone required to complete the RCR Workshop upon hire under an NIH grant. Students who anticipate being supported by NIH funds are encouraged to sign up for the Workshop early in their program. In addition, individual departments may require students to complete in-person training.
Sign up below if you would like to know when the next workshop is being organized. You only need to complete a sign up form if you are interested in attending the in-person workshop.
Sign-up for an upcoming workshop
The Workshop fulfills the training requirements for all NIH funded graduate students and postdocs. RIC will contact anyone required to complete the RCR Workshop upon hire under an NIH grant. Students who anticipate being supported by NIH funds are encouraged to sign up for the Workshop early in their program.
The RCR Workshop certification for NIH-supported students and postdocs expires after 4 years.
For more information about the RCR Workshop, please contact Research Integrity and Compliance.