RCR Training
The National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have established requirements for training in the Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR), impacting all NSF grants and certain NIH awards. RCR training covers subjects such as authorship, collaborative research, conflicts of interest and commitment, data management, mentoring, peer review, research misconduct, human subjects, and animal welfare.
The Office of Research Compliance is responsible for monitoring the completion of required RCR training on sponsored research awards.
Important Note: UCF policy requires all doctoral students to complete the online CITI Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) training. The College of Graduate Studies monitors this requirement and requires doctoral students to email a copy of their completion certificate to gradworkshops@ucf.edu. Doctoral students should contact the College of Graduate Studies if they have any questions regarding this academic requirement.
National Science Foundation RCR Requirements
Who does the NSF RCR requirement apply to?
The requirement applies to all undergraduate students, graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, faculty, and other senior personnel who are supported by NSF to conduct research.
How is the training completed?
NSF-supported employees are identified through payroll records and enrolled in the Workday RCR100 course. The employee will receive an email from Workday with instructions on how to access the course.
The Workday RCR100 course provides instructions on how to complete the training via the CITI portal, sends out reminder notices, and provides a mechanism for recording the completed training in the employee’s Workday record.
When does the training need to be completed?
The RCR training must be completed within 60 days of being assigned to the NSF project and every 3 years thereafter.
What happens if the training is not completed within 60 days?
The Principal Investigator (PI) of the award will be notified to remove the employee and their associated payroll charges from the project.
If the NSF-supported PI does not complete the training, the project will be placed on hold until the training is current.
National Institute of Health RCR Requirements
Who does the NIH RCR requirement apply to?
The NIH requires all trainees, fellows, participants, and scholars receiving support through any NIH training, career development award, research education grant, and dissertation research grant to receive instruction in the responsible conduct of research (RCR).
How is the training completed?
Principal investigators are responsible for ensuring that all trainees, fellows, participants, and scholars complete the RCR training as described in their NIH-funded proposal.
Instruction must include at least eight contact hours. The NIH expects discussion-based instruction to be the key feature of RCR training and to include substantive face-to-face interaction among participants and faculty. The NIH recognizes advances in video conferencing and allows for incorporating video conferencing options in RCR instruction if it is utilized in a way that fosters discussion, active learning, engagement, and interaction among participants. However, video conferencing should not be the sole means for meeting the requirement for RCR instruction, and a plan that employs only video conferencing will not be considered acceptable, except in circumstances such as short-term research training.
The Office of Research Compliance will identify NIH awards subject to RCR requirements and contact the PI to document completion on the NIH Training Certification Form.
When does the training need to be completed?
The NIH requires RCR training to be undertaken at least once during each career stage and at a frequency of no less than once every four years. The NIH career stages are undergraduate, graduate/doctoral, postdoctoral/residency, early career, and established investigator.
What happens if the training is not completed?
The Principal Investigator (PI) of the award will be notified to remove the participant and their associated payroll charges from the project.
If the NIH-supported PI does not complete the training, the project will be placed on hold until the training is current.