Online & In-Person Training

CITI Online Training

Before you begin the online RCR courses we encourage you to confirm which training you are required to take. If you are required to take online training, and to ensure ease of CITI training registration, first identify whether you are a new user or you are already a registered user through CITI.  The process of selecting your course will be different based on your current status.

Upon navigating to the website, please be aware that UNL does not subscribe to the use of Single Sign On (SSO).  Usernames and passwords are chosen by the user.

New User Registration – Course Selection Instructions

• Create your user account through the CITI website (www.citiprogram.org).
  • You will be requested to complete a series of questions or provide information specific to your UNL affiliation. Here are just a few tips to ensure a smooth account set-up:
    • UNL is listed by the full name under the “Participating Institutions” heading. Please select “University of Nebraska – Lincoln.”
    • This training does NOT require payment from the trainee/user if you are completing this training for UNL purposes. In other words, we do not require CME/CEU credits or registration as an Independent Learner.  If this is selected as an option, this is the responsibility of the user to pay for any fees assessed.
    • The email address you enter does not have to be your UNL email address but it should be one that is used frequently so that you do not miss important reminders to refresh your training. Most UNL users will enter their email associated with their Blackboard/Canvas account.
    • Page 6 of the registration form will ask you to provide your institutional email address. Please feel free to use the same email address as before.
• Select the “Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR)” course on page 7 of the registration process.
  • Choose “Responsible Conduct of Research.” DO NOT complete the Human Subjects Research course unless you have been given specific instruction to do so.

More than one selection can be made when signing up through the new user registration process. If you have selected more than one course and it pertains to human subjects protections (i.e., IRB) or Conflict of Interest (COI), please refer to the human subjects training instructions or COI training instructions page for further guidance.

Registered User – Course Selection Instructions

• Login to your user account through the CITI website (www.citiprogram.org).
• If you have forgotten your username/password, you can retrieve this through the CITI website.
  • STARTED YOUR CITI ACCOUNT WITH UNL: If you no longer use any emails that are currently registered with your account AND you were originally affiliated with UNL, please contact Research Compliance Services.  RCS staff have administrative access and would be able to add a new email address that will allow you to maintain the current account with all past reports.
  • STARTED YOUR CITI ACCOUNT AT A DIFFERENT INSTITUTION: CITI allows retrieval of account information via their website; however, if you no longer use any emails that are currently registered with your account AND you did not originally affiliate with UNL you should contact CITI to regain access to your previous account.
  • If you can access your previous account, you may receive credit at UNL for any previously completed human subjects training but will not receive previous credit for any COI or RCR training.
• To select the Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) course please follow these steps:
  1. Start by ensuring you have selected the “University of Nebraska – Lincoln Courses” on the Main Menu if you are perhaps affiliated with multiple institutions.
  2. Click “Add a Course”
  3. Once on the next screen, please down to the bottom of the page and select, “Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR).”
  4. On the next page select the “RCR Biomedical Sciences” course regardless of whether or not you conduct biomedical sciences research. This course is applicable to all areas of science and meets UNL’s requirements.
  5. Note: Do not complete the Human Subjects Research course unless you have been given specific instruction to do so.

Information for All Users

Beginning and Completing a Course

• You must complete the Integrity Assurance Statement to begin the course by clicking on the actual title of the statement.
• All required modules must be completed in order to receive credit for the training course.
• After you have completed the training, you are encouraged save a copy of your completion report for your own records. You may also want to provide a copy of the certificate to your department office or your advisor.

Training Record Maintenance and Updates

• Training completed by all users is manually recorded and maintained via NUgrant by Research Compliance Services staff and is updated at least every 48 hours during business days if not more based on individual deadlines.

RCR In-person Training Workshop

Those receiving certain NIH support requiring in-person training, are required to complete face-to-face faculty and staff led workshops consisting of a series of short lectures, discussions and presentations of cases on scientific integrity and responsible conduct in research.

The Responsible Conduct in Research Workshop covers the following areas:

• Data acquisition and analysis, lab tools (e.g. tools for analyzing data and creating or working with digital images); recordkeeping practices, including methods such as electronic lab notebooks
• Export Controls
• Secure and ethical data use; data confidentiality, management, sharing, and ownership
• Responsible authorship & publication
• Mentor/Mentee responsibilities and relationships
• Peer review, including the responsibility for maintaining confidentiality and security in peer review
• Collaborative research, including collaborations with industry and investigators and institutions in other countries
• Conflicts of interest & Commitment, in allocating time effort, or other research resources
• Data acquisition and monitoring
• Ethics and regulations of research with humans, animals, and safe lab practices
• The scientist as a responsible member of society
• Rigor & Reproducibility
• Research misconduct and policies for handling misconduct
• Safe research environments (e.g. those that promote inclusion and are free of sexual, racial, ethnic, disability, and other forms of discriminatory harassment)

Faculty/Staff Participation: The Research Integrity Officer, Director of Research Compliance, and other faculty or staff are lead instructors in the workshop who contribute to the rich discussions that characterize the training.

Duration: The RCR Workshop consists of eight classroom hours, delivered in segmented meetings scheduled in consecutive weeks during the semester. Attendees are required to complete all eight contact hours of the sessions.

Frequency: The workshops are usually scheduled each year during both the Fall semesters. Additional workshops may be scheduled depending on participant enrollment and demand.

After completion of the workshop an “RCR Completion Letter” is provided to the attendee and a record of such is maintained by Research Compliance Services.

The Spring 2024 RCR in-person training will be held on February 13^th and 20^th from 1-5pm in the Prem S. Paul Research Center at Whittier School, Room 152. Registration is required: https://nebraska.bridgeapp.com/learner/training/b2f9b5cf/enroll

Registrants must complete the CITI Responsible Conduct of Research online training module AND both in-person sessions in order to satisfy the 8 hours of in-person training/funding agency requirements.