As a comprehensive academic health center with a dedication to excellence in all aspects of research, service, and education, OUHSC is privileged and compelled to model the highest standards of research integrity. To affirm this commitment, OUHSC is now requiring all individuals who are eligible to conduct research or oversee research, including managing research accounts, to be trained in the Biomedical Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) no later than April 5, 2021.
Please contact your departmental business manager if you have questions regarding whether you are required to complete this RCR training. As a first step, all individuals eligible to conduct or oversee research activities must take the Collaborative Institutional Training Institute “CITI” RCR course. This requirement is in addition to any other RCR training that you may have taken to date.
The initial email notifying all OUHSC faculty, staff and students of the new research integrity training requirement will be sent in February 2021, and everyone is expected to complete the CITI Biomedical RCR course no later than April 5, 2021.
If you received a request to take the training from your departmental Business Manager, the OUHSC Research Integrity Office, or the CITI Program, you are expected to complete the training within 4 weeks.
Individuals who manage administrative and/or financial aspects of research accounts are required to take the Research Integrity training.
- If you are having technical issues accessing the CITI application or logging in to the CITI Program website, technical assistance is available at support@citiprogram.org.
- If you have questions about accessibility or wish to request an accommodation on the basis of disability, please contact support@citiprogram.org. Accessibility issues can usually be resolved within 24-48 hrs.
- Click here for RCR CITI Access Instructions for accessing CITI RCR.
If you are a returning CITI user, you will need to assign the Biomedical RCR course to yourself. To do this, you will need to expand the heading for “University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center,” click “add a course,” and then select the “Responsible Conduct of Research” course. Once you have made your selection, the system will generate your tailored RCR course, and it should appear in the list of your assigned courses. Step-by-step instructions with screen shots are available at RCR CITI Access Instructions.
Note: If you have taken the Biomedical RCR course within the last 4 years, you will need to take the Biomedical RCR Refresher course. Once the Basic course expires after 4 years, CITI will send you a notification and the Refresher course will automatically show in the “Courses ready to begin” section.
Yes, all faculty, staff, and students eligible to conduct or oversee research activities at OUHSC are required to take the CITI Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) course. If you received an email from the OUHSC Research Integrity Office advising you to take the course, you are required to take the CITI Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) course unless you’ve taken it within the past 4 years while at OUHSC, or unless you have taken it within the last four years at a previous institution (see FAQ on transferring CITI course credits below).
If you’ve taken the CITI Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) course within the last four years, then you do not need to take the course again until after the course expires after 4 years. If you received an email to take the course at OUHSC and you have completed it through another institution within the last 4 years, please email ResearchIntegrity@ouhsc.edu with a copy of your certificate. If not noted on the certificate, please provide the date you completed the course and your current OUHSC email address to the OUHSC Research Integrity Office (ResearchIntegrity@ouhsc.edu).
You can also transfer your completed modules from another institution to OUHSC. To do this, log onto your CITI account for that institution; then click on the “Affiliate with another institution” link. Choose “University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center” from the drop-down menu. When prompted, choose the RCR course/modules that you completed at your previous institution. Review the OUHSC module list and complete any modules that OUHSC requires that you have not yet completed. Course completion will automatically be registered with OUHSC.
To view your course completion history, click on “Modules Completed.” Once the modules are transferred, you should see the RCR module in your OUHSC course history. If you have any questions during the process, please contact the OUHSC Research Integrity Office (ResearchIntegrity@ouhsc.edu).
There are thirteen required modules in the CITI Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) course. Review of the required materials and completion of the quiz will take approximately 20-25 minutes for each module. Most users report a total time of about 4 hours to complete the entire course with all 13 modules. You do not have to complete all modules in one session.
A minimum aggregate score of 80% is required to pass the CITI Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) course. CITI allows you to retake the quizzes if you do not get the minimum score required to pass the course.
No, you do not have to provide a completion certificate unless required by your college, professor, or department/unit. The CITI system keeps track of all completion data, and OUHSC accesses completion data directly from CITI.
No, if you have already completed the CITI Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) training within the last 4 years, you do not need to take it again. If it’s been more than 4 years since you took the CITI Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) training, then you are required to take the CITI Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) Refresher course from CITI.
Yes; everyone who is eligible to conduct research at OUHSC must complete the CITI Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) course, in addition to any other RCR training you may have had.
The CITI Good Clinical Practice (GCP) course is a distinct course and may be required by sponsors or funding agencies or by the OUHSC Office of Human Research Participant Protection (aka IRB office). While some of the material is similar to the CITI Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) course, completing the GCP course does not satisfy the requirement to take the CITI Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) course. If you have received notice from a sponsor or funding agency or the OUHSC IRB that you need to complete the CITI Good Clinical Practice course, you must complete both the GCP course and the CITI Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) course.
The CITI Human Subjects Protection course is a distinct course and is required of all investigators and key personnel who participate in the design, conduct, and/or reporting of human subjects’ research. While some of the material is similar to the CITI Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) course, the Human Subjects Protection course does not satisfy the requirement to take the CITI Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) course. If you have received notice from the OUHSC Office of Human Research Participant Protection that you need to complete the CITI Human Subjects Protection course, you must complete both courses.
For more information please go to the Office of Human Research Participant Protection page at https://compliance.ouhsc.edu/HRPP.
Please note that all Graduate College students and Postdoctoral Fellows at OUHSC, as well as all individuals appointed as trainees on NIH, NSF, AHA, or other awards, will have additional training requirements for the Responsible Conduct of Research. Those individuals should contact the Graduate College for more information. The additional information below relates to details regarding the NIH requirements for RCR.
All trainees, fellows, participants, and scholars receiving support through any National Institutes of Health (NIH) training grant, career development award (individual or institutional), research education grant, or dissertation research grant must receive instruction in the Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR). See NIH RCR Update and the specific program announcement for additional information.
For the specified award categories, the Principal Investigator (PI) must develop a discipline-specific, tailored plan for Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) training that meets the NIH requirements. The instructional plan is evaluated as a component of the NIH funding proposal and applications lacking an RCR instructional plan may be delayed in the review process or not reviewed. The PI is also responsible for ensuring that course attendance is monitored and that a certificate or documentation of participation is available upon course completion. Although the NIH does not require OUHSC or the PI to submit training documentation to the NIH, training records are subject to audit. The PI is responsible for maintaining RCR training records to document that all NIH supported trainees, fellows, and scholars received the required instruction. The PI must also comply with the specific reporting requirements in continuation applications.
Instructional Plan
The RCR instructional plan must meet NIH requirements for educational content, training format, and frequency. The following topics must be addressed in the training plan:
The instructional plan should include coursework with significant face-to-face interaction and participation by research faculty members. Analysis of relevant case studies is recommended. While on-line instruction may be used as a component of the training program, it is not sufficient to meet the NIH requirement for RCR instruction, except in special or unusual circumstances.
Training plans must address all program participants and should be appropriate to the career stage of the individuals receiving training. Research faculty should participate in instruction in ways that allow them to serve as effective role models for their trainees, fellows, and scholars. Individual fellowship and career development award applicants/recipients are encouraged to assume individual and personal responsibility for their instruction in responsible conduct of research.
PIs may want to use the online CITI Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) training course as part of their instructional plan. All the NIH required topics are addressed in the CITI Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) coursework. The CITI Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) course also offers online case studies that can be used for face-to-face discussions.
Please note that all Graduate College students and Postdoctoral Fellows at OUHSC, as well as all individuals appointed as trainees on NIH, NSF, AHA or other awards, will have additional training requirements for the Responsible Conduct of Research. Those individuals should contact the Graduate College for more information. The additional information below relates to details regarding the NSF requirements for Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR).
The NSF requires the University to certify that it has a plan to provide appropriate training and oversight in the responsible and ethical conduct of research to undergraduates, graduate students, and postdoctoral researchers who receive NSF support to conduct research. Certification of University compliance is done by an authorized OUHSC representative as part of the institution’s proposal approval process (e.g., when a sponsored program officer submits the proposal in FastLane). Specific instructions are found in Chapter IV.B Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) of the NSF Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide.
Required Instruction
All students and postdoctoral researchers supported by NSF sponsored projects must complete the CITI online course in the Responsible Conduct of Research. Within 60 days of appointment to a grant, students and postdocs must complete the CITI Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR).
Principal Investigators (PIs) should not include any specific information on RCR training within their proposals. NSF does not want program details – only the institution’s certification that there is a program in place.
The PI is responsible for ensuring that all students and postdocs (“trainees”) complete the CITI RCR course. The PI should direct the trainees to the CITI Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) course. NSF also encourages the PI to complete the CITI Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) training and begin a dialogue with trainees on the responsible conduct of research.
The PI must maintain records to document that each trainee has completed the CITI Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) course. Training records are subject to monitoring by the OUHSC Research Integrity Office and by NSF auditors.
Individuals who do not complete the required CITI Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) training by the expected completion date will receive one email reminder and then the individual’s supervisor will be asked to address the non-compliance. The individual may also have access to certain research privileges suspended until CITI Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) training is completed. This suspension may include suspension of access rights to submit IBC, IRB, and IACUC protocols and amendments; new project award set-up; project amendment processing, and grant proposal or progress reports.