New requirements put in place by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) call for the institutional officer to certify when proposals are submitted that the institution has a responsible conduct of research (RCR) training plan in place.  NSF requires that any student or postdoctoral researchers who receive NSF funds obtain RCR training.  NIH requires those receiving support through NIH training or education grants receive instruction in RCR.   

In response to these requirements, and in furtherance of training ethical scholars and scientists, on January 7, 2010 President John Broderick approved an Institutional RCR Program.  The program requires all graduate students complete on-line training within twelve months of enrollment.  All are to complete seven core RCR modules produced by Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI).  Students working with human subjects or live animals will complete additional specialized training.  

Investigators receiving NSF funding will have primary responsibility for ensuring that students participating in their research complete the required RCR training. This requirement can be satisfied through completion of the seven core RCR modules provided by CITI. In addition, to the above requirement, investigators receiving NIH funding for training, career development awards, research education grants, and dissertation research grants need a training plan that incorporates substantial face-to-face educational experiences. This plan should be developed in consultation with the ODU Director of Research Compliance.

CITI is now available to the ODU community and available at http://www.citiprogram.org.  If you have any questions on the NSF or NIH policy, please contact Carole McPhillips, ODURF Sponsored Programs Manager at cmcphill@odu.edu or 683.4293, ext. 604.  For questions on ODU’s RCR policy or CITI, please contact Adam Rubenstein, ODU Director of Research Compliance at arubenst@odu.edu or 683-3686.