Responsible Conduct in Research (RCR)

What is Responsible Conduct in Research?

The responsible and ethical conduct of research is critical for excellence, as well as maintaining the public trust in research, both for individual students, professors, and staff and for UWF as an institution. Education in RCR is essential in the preparation of future researchers and scholars.

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RCR Training Requirements

In 2010, the National Science Foundation introduced a new requirement all undergraduate, graduate and postdoctoral researchers supported by National Science Foundation (NSF) awards. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) and United States Department of Agriculture - National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA-NIFA) now also require students and other personnel involved in their awards to complete RCR training. Individuals who do not complete required RCR training cannot be paid beginning one week after their training deadline expires, and cannot be reinstated to the award until the training is complete.

The following funding agencies require RCR Training:

Funding Source	Undergraduate Students	Master's Students	Doctoral Students	Post-Doc Fellows	Faculty/Staff
NSF	Online	Online	Online	Online	Online (Not Required but strongly recommended)
NIH*	Online and 8 hours in-person	Online and 8 hours in-person	Online and 8 hours in-person	Online and 8 hours in-person	Online and 8 hours in-person for fellows and career award recipients. (Also, strongly recommended for other faculty and staff.)
USDA/NIFA	Online	Online	Online	Online	Online

_{*NIH applies to the following award types: D43, D71, F05, F30, F31, F32, F33, F34, F37, F38, K01, K02, K05, K07, K08, K12, K18, K22, K23, K24, K25, K26, K30, K99/R00, KL1, KL2, R25, R36, T15, T32, T34, T35, T36, T37, T90/R90, TL1, TU2, and U2R.}

National Science Foundation (NSF) awards

All trainees (undergraduates, graduate students, or postdoctoral fellows) who receive salaries or stipend support for conducting research under an NSF award for any amount of time must receive training in RCR (more details can be found on the NSF website). Faculty or staff working on NSF grants need not complete RCR training. This requirement does not apply to conference, symposium, workshop or travel awards.

National Institutes of Health (NIH) awards

All trainees, fellows, participants, and scholars receiving support through any NIH training award, career development award (individual or institutional), research education grant, or dissertation research grant must receive RCR training (more details can be found on the NIH website). This policy applies to the following programs and other NIH-funded programs that specify an RCR training requirement: D43, D71, F05, F30, F31, F32, F33, F34, F37, F38, K01, K02, K05, K07, K08, K12, K18, K22, K23, K24, K25, K26, K30, K99/R00, KL1, KL2, R25, R36, T15, T32, T34, T35, T36, T37, T90/R90, TL1, TU2, and U2R.

United States Department of Agriculture - National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA-NIFA) awards

All program directors, faculty, undergraduate students, graduate students, postdoctoral researchers and staff participating in a USDA-NIFA research project must receive RCR training. More details can be found on the USDA-NIFA website.

Online CITI RCR Training Course

UWF has contracted with a third party, Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI), to provide online training in RCR. To access the CITI Responsible Conduct of Research Course:

1. Login to the CITI website. If you don't have a CITI account, register at CITI, select UWF as the Institution and skip to #4 below.
2. Go to "View Courses"
3. Below My Courses list, click the link to Add a course
4. On the Select Curriculum page, scroll down to the CITI Course Enrollment Questions.
5. In question 4, choose which RCR course matches your field of research.
6. Click Continue
7. On the Main Menu page, find the RCR course(s) you selected and click Enter to begin the course.

Please contact Research Administration and Engagement at 850-474-2824 for assistance with signing on to CITI.