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RCR Policy and Requirements

The NSF Awards Policy

The online course is currently required for any student (undergraduate or graduate) or postdoctoral fellow who will be funded by any NSF research grant that was initially awarded any time after January 4th, 2010.

The NIH Awards Policy

The online course and the BMS 700 course is currently required for all trainees, postdoctoral fellows and scholars who will be funded by any NIH grant that is new or a renewal awarded after January 25th, 2010 or any NIH continuation (type 5) grant awarded after January 1st, 2011. This requirement only applies to any of the following NIH grant award types (see your PI to find the type of grant award):

D Series: D43, D71
F Series: F05, F31, F32, F33, F34, F37, F38
K Series: K01, K02, K05, K07, K08, K12, K18, K22, K23, K24, K25, K26, K30, K99/R00, KL1, KL2
R Series: R00/K99, R25, R36, R90/T90
T Series: T15, T32, T34, T36, T37, T90/R90, TL1, TU2
Other: U2R

If your NIH grant award is not one of those types, then you are not required to complete either the online course or the BMS 700 course under this policy.

USDA-NIFA AWARDS POLICY

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROGRAM DIRECTOR ENSURES REQUIRED RCR TRAINING FOR ALL PARTICIPANTS

  • Award Requirement. Effective for awards subject to the February 2013 Research Terms and Conditions , and subsequent Research Terms and Conditions , the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) states that “[b]y accepting a NIFA award the grantee assures that program directors, faculty, undergraduate students, graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and any staff participating in the research project receive appropriate training and oversight in the responsible and ethical conduct of research ..." (Article 7)
  • Exceptions . "The terms and conditions will apply to all awards (grants, cooperative agreements and special projects) except : 1- Formula Funded Programs; 2- the 1890 Facilities Program; and 3- the Small Business Innovation Research Program; as well as 4- awards to individuals." (Article 1)
  • Verification of Training. "By accepting a NIFA award the grantee assures that...documentation of [RCR] training will be maintained. Grantees are advised that the documentation of the training are subject to NIFA review upon request.” (NIFA Research Terms and Conditions, Article 7, Oct. 2014)

WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY PLAN

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATORS'/PROGRAM DIRECTORS' RESPONSIBILITIES.

  • Training Prior to Proposal Submission. Principal Investigators, Co-PIs, Program Directors, Co-PDs and any others named in the proposal are required to complete RCR training prior to proposal submission.
  • Training After Account Setup . On a timely basis, from the proposal stage throughout the duration of a project subject to the NIFA training requirement, Principal Investigators are responsible for:
  1. Identifying all other persons (faculty, students (undergraduates and graduates), postdoctoral researchers and any staff) who will be participating in the project, and
  2. Ensuring their timely RCR training prior to participation or payment from the project . (AU Plan, "Roles and Responsibilities")
  • Training Before Expiration. The RCR Training Certificate earned after completing the RCR Basic course does not expire.

COMPLETING RCR TRAINING

The required RCR training is offered as an online training course available through the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) at the University of Miami. The CITI RCR program will ensure appropriate training and documentation related to USDA-NIFA RCR requirements.

  • New CITI Users. Enroll in the RCR Basic course and complete your RCR training. RCR Training has no expiration.

  • Previously Registered CITI Users. If you need to complete RCR training, login to CITI , click "Add a Course or Update Learner Group," and add the appropriate RCR Basic course.

  • Automatic Enrollment . You may receive an email from CITI informing you that your RCR training is expiring and enrolling you in the RCR Refresher course necessary to maintain your RCR Training Certificate. Login to CITI and complete your RCR Refresher training.

  • Check for Appropriate RCR Refresher Course. CITI may automatically enroll you in a RCR Refresher Course discipline group that is inappropriate based on your role and the type of research activities you will conduct. For example, instead of "Biomedical Sciences RCR," you may see "Research Administration RCR." The Research Administration discipline group is for administrators, not researchers.
  • Do not complete an inappropriate RCR Refresher course as it will fail to satisfy the RCR training requirements. Follow the steps below.