NSF RCR Training Requirements for Researchers

All researchers† working on, or receiving support from, NSF-sponsored programs are required to complete Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR)* training. This cohort includes not only undergraduate students, graduate students, and postdoctoral researchers, but also faculty and other senior personnel. The University offers training modules by the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) to satisfy these requirements.

†As well as the cohort described above, researchers include Investigators, as defined in GIM 10, Principal Investigators (PIs) and co-PIs.

*The NSF uses the term Responsible and Ethical Conduct (RECR). UW uses RCR and RECR interchangeably.

USDA-NIFA RCR Training Requirements for all Researchers

All Investigators‡ working on National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA)-sponsored research projects are required to complete Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) training provided by the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI).

‡Investigators, defined in GIM 10, can include anyone who contributes in a significant or meaningful way to the design, conduct, or reporting of University research and research-related activities.

Register

Register for the course on the CITI program website.

Registration Instructions

  1. Click on the link for “New Users Register Here.”
  2. Select the institution: University of Washington.

Note: Indicate if you have affiliations with the VA, Dept of Energy, or HIV/AIDS Network Coordination. You will be able to provide information about multiple affiliations later.

  1. Select a username and password. These will be used to re-enter the course or to obtain completion information, so be sure to remember and retain these for later use.
  2. Enter your name. Please enter a complete first and last name, using upper and lower case letters.
  3. Enter your email address. You may enter only one, but may enter a “preferred” and “secondary” address.
  4. Provide “Member Information.” Only fields with a red asterisk * are required.
  5. Select a curriculum by completing 3 questions:
    1. Question 1: select “I am registering to take a CITI course for the first time.”
    2. Question 2: select “Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) training for any researcher supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF).”
    3. Question 3: select the most appropriate course pertaining to the research you will be conducting. If you have any questions regarding which course you should take, please contact your departmental or research administrator.

Note: Please complete all fields that are optional. This will better assist our institution in tracking registration and completion information about each registered user.

CITI RCR CURRICULUM TYPES

Biomedical

Researchers and research staff (including faculty, staff, and students) who are engaged, primarily or exclusively, in research in Biomedical Sciences.

Social/Behavioral

Researchers and research staff (including faculty, staff, and students) who are engaged, primarily or exclusively, in research in the Social and/or Behavioral Sciences.

Physical Sciences

Researchers and research staff (including faculty, staff, and students) who are engaged primarily or exclusively, in research in the Physical Sciences.

Humanities

Researchers and research staff (including faculty, staff, and students) who are engaged primarily or exclusively, in research in Humanities.

Engineering

Researchers and research staff (including faculty, staff, and students) who are engaged primarily or exclusively, in research in Engineering.

Complete

The CITI RCR Course is divided into modules. Most modules have a short quiz at the end that must be completed before moving on to the next module.

A quiz can be taken more than once in order to obtain a score of 75% or better (the overall average that is required for satisfactory completion).

Learners can start and stop the course at any time. Work you complete will be saved after logging off the CITI site. Upon returning to the site, learners will begin at the same point where they stopped.

CITI TECHNICAL SUPPORT CONTACT

For problems with the CITI course or website, contact CITI directly:

CITI Help Desk: citisupport@med.miami.edu or 305-243-7970

Confirm Completion

Successful CITI RCR training completion can be confirmed in the following different ways:

  • Confirm Completion via MyResearch (requires UW NetID)

Completion records for those individuals who have passed the CITI RCR course can be accessed on MyResearch on the Training Transcript tab. Print or save completion reports from the CITI website.

  • Contact your appropriate RCR Training Contact

See “RCR Training Contacts” (listed to the right) for the appropriate contact for questions about training completion reports.