Research and Sponsored Programs

Training for Responsible Conduct of Research

The University of Toledo is committed to fostering an environment of responsible conduct of research. Integrity in research and scholarship is a fundamental value upon which the University is founded. Without integrity, we could not justify the privilege of the academic freedom that is intrinsic to research, other forms of scholarship and education nor could we provide to society the advancements of knowledge that derive from free and open inquiry.


UToledo RCR Training Requirements

The University of Toledo requires all faculty, staff and student researchers to complete RCR training as required by their program sponsors. UToledo offers online RCR training through CITI Programs. 

Certain graduate and medical students are also required to complete a live in-person training depending on their college.

  • College of Medicine and Life Sciences Medical Students
    First year graduate/professional level students are required to successfully complete the INDI 6020/8020 "On Being a Scientist" course. Included in this course is a CITI online component requirement "Biomedical RCR" and "Conflict of Interest-Basic" courses. The two components combined complete research RCR training requirements.

  • College of Graduate Studies
    COGS offers live RCR training during each academic year for graduate students as required by a number of colleges. Faculty and students participating in this program have included the Colleges of Engineering, Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Health and Human Services, Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Nursing and Education. This training includes required CITI components "Responsible Conduct of Research-RCR" and Conflict of Interest-Basic" courses.

  • Undergraduate Honors College Research Students
    Issues in Research and Scholarship - UGR 2980 is a 1 credit hour seminar series addressing various issues that can arise in research, scholarship, and creative activities, including: safe laboratory practices, regulatory compliance issues, and ethics issues. This course is offered during the summer semester.

CITI Program

As part of our commitment to the responsible conduct of research, and to comply with the NSF requirements, The University of Toledo has contracted with the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) to provide online training modules in the RCR. The CITI program offers RCR core modules that are customized to various discipline categories:

  • Biomedical Sciences
  • Social, Behavioral, and Education (SBE) & Humanities
  • Physical Sciences
  • Engineering and Computing

You do not have to complete the course in one sitting. You may return to the course at any time. CITI keeps track of your progress. After completing the training modules, you may view your course completion history and obtain a completion certificate, Follow the link to the CITI Course Completion Report. On completion, Research & Sponsored Programs receives notification and updates the training database.

Print and retain a copy for your records!


citi access and course registration

I am new to CITI and need to establish an account

  • A link to instructions for establishing a CITI account, password
    and registering for courses can be accessed by clicking here
  • Go to www.citiprogram.org and registering as a new user. 

I have a CITI account from another institution

  • If you have a CITI account already, DO NOT REGISTER FOR A NEW ACCOUNT. 
  • Simply, log into your existing account, affiliate the account with "University of Toledo"
  • Update your member information to include your Rocket ID number (remember to include the "R"). 

Federal Responsible Conduct of Research Training Requirements

Agency

National Science Foundation
(NSF)

Institutional Responsibilities

  • An institution must have a plan in place to provide appropriate training and oversight in the responsible and ethical conduct of research to undergraduates, graduate students, and postdoctoral researchers who will be supported by NSF to conduct research. As noted in GPG Chapter II.C.1e, institutional certification to this effect is required for each proposal.
  • While training plans are not required to be included in proposals submitted to NSF, institutions are advised that they are subject to review, upon request.
  • An institution must designate one or more persons to oversee compliance with the RCR training requirement.
  • Institutions are responsible for verifying that undergraduate students, graduate students, and postdoctoral researchers supported by NSF to conduct research have received training in the responsible and ethical conduct of research.

Reference: NSF RCR Policy


National Institutes of Health
(NIH)

 


The guidance provided below is directed at formal instruction in responsible conduct of research.   It reflects the accumulated experiences and the best practices of the scientific community over the past two decades.  These practices have been incorporated into many of the best regarded programs of instruction in responsible conduct of research.

  1. Format:  Substantial face-to-face discussions among the participating trainees/fellows/scholars/participants; a combination of didactic and small-group discussions (e.g. case studies); and participation of research training faculty members in instruction in responsible conduct of research are highly encouraged.  While on-line courses can be a valuable supplement to instruction in responsible conduct of research, online instruction is not considered adequate as the sole means of instruction. A plan that employs only online coursework for instruction in responsible conduct of research will not be considered acceptable, except in special instances of short-term training programs (see below), or unusual and well-justified circumstances. 
  2. Subject Matter: While there are no specific curricular requirements for instruction in responsible conduct of research, the following topics have been incorporated into most acceptable plans for such instruction:
  3. conflict of interest – personal, professional, and financial
    1. policies regarding human subjects, live vertebrate animal subjects in research, and safe laboratory practices
    2. mentor/mentee responsibilities and relationships
    3. collaborative research including collaborations with industry
    4. peer review
    5. data acquisition and laboratory tools; management, sharing and ownership
    6. research misconduct and policies for handling misconduct
    7. responsible authorship and publication
    8. the scientist as a responsible member of society, contemporary ethical issues in biomedical research, and the environmental and societal impacts of scientific research

While courses related to professional ethics, ethical issues in clinical research, or research involving vertebrate animals may form a part of instruction in responsible conduct of research, they generally are not sufficient to cover all of the above topics.  Additional detail regarding subject matter is available under Resources.

  1. Faculty Participation: Training faculty and sponsors/mentors are highly encouraged to contribute both to formal and informal instruction in responsible conduct of research.  Informal instruction occurs in the course of laboratory interactions and in other informal situations throughout the year. Training faculty may contribute to formal instruction in responsible conduct of research as discussion leaders, speakers, lecturers, and/or course directors.  Rotation of training faculty as course directors, instructors, and/or discussion leaders may be a useful way to achieve the ideal of full faculty participation in formal responsible conduct of research courses over a period of time.

  2. Duration of Instruction: Instruction should involve substantive contact hours between the trainees/fellows/scholars/participants and the participating faculty.  Acceptable programs generally involve at least eight contact hours.  A semester-long series of seminars/programs may be more effective than a single seminar or one-day workshop because it is expected that topics will then be considered in sufficient depth, learning will be better consolidated, and the subject matter will be synthesized within a broader conceptual framework.

  3. Frequency of Instruction:  Reflection on responsible conduct of research should recur throughout a scientist’s career: at the undergraduate, post-baccalaureate, predoctoral, postdoctoral, and faculty levels.  Institutional training programs and individual fellows/scholars are strongly encouraged to consider how to optimize instruction in responsible conduct of research for the particular career stage(s) of the individual(s) involved. Instruction must be undertaken at least once during each career stage, and at a frequency of no less than once every four years. It is highly encouraged that initial instruction during predoctoral training occurs as early as possible in graduate school.  Individuals at the early career investigator level (including mentored K awardees and K12 scholars) must receive instruction in responsible conduct of research at least once during this career stage.  Senior fellows and career award recipients (including F33, K02, K05, and K24 awardees) may fulfill the requirement for instruction in responsible conduct of research by participating as lecturers and discussion leaders.  To meet the above requirements, instruction in responsible conduct of research may take place, in appropriate circumstances, in a year when the trainee, fellow or career award recipient is not actually supported by an NIH grant.  This instruction can be documented as described on the NIH RCR policy website.

Reference:  NIH RCR Policy


For Questions Regarding RCR Training or CITI

Connie Schall - Associate Vice President for Research

Connie Schall, Ph.D.

Associate Vice President for Research

Phone: 419.530.3802
Email: Constance.Schall@UToledo.edu
Location: Main Campus | R1 - Suite 2300H
Mail Stop: MS 218

Gary Rafe, PhD - Compliance Analyst, Export Control

Gary Rafe, Ph.D.

Compliance Analyst, Export Control & CITI Administrator

Phone: 419.530.2227
Email: CITISupport@UToledo.edu
Location: Main Campus | R1 - Suite 1020F
Mail Stop: MS 218

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Last Updated: 12/12/22