Training
All members of RIT and external researchers collecting data at RIT are expected to adhere to the highest ethical and professional standards as they pursue research with human subjects. In light of that aim, RIT has adopted the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI Program) for human subjects training.
CITI Program is a web-based training employed by academic institutions, government agencies, and commercial organizations worldwide. Anyone submitting a research activity for review will need to show evidence, for themselves and everyone participating in the research that interacts with subjects or subject data, of successful completion of the Human Subjects Research course from the CITI Program. The training is valid for three years and certification obtained while at another institution may be honored. Review will not begin until the certificates are received.
Follow these steps to register with CITI and enroll in the required course. CITI also offers a Quick Guide for New Learners with screen shots.
Register with CITI
- Go to the CITI homepage.
- Click the Register button in the top right corner of the page.
- In the “Select your Organization Affiliation” box, start typing “Rochester Institute of Technology” and select it when you see the name come up.
- Click the checkboxes to agree to the Terms of Service and affirm that you are an affiliate of RIT. Click the “Create a CITI Program account” button.
- Enter your personal information. Click “Continue to Step 3”
- Create a username, password and select a security question/answer. Click “Continue to Step 4”
- Ignore the question about ORCID ID. Provide country of residence, answer the contact question, then click “Finalize Registration.”
Continuing Education Credits
CITI offers Continuing Education (CE) credits; these are available for purchase. This is separate from the certificate each user will receive upon successful completion of the course. Unless you need CEU credits for a job or professional association, it is unlikely you need to purchase them. You can select “no” and then “Submit.”
Select Curriculum
There are several questions on this page, each relates to a distinct curriculum: Human Subjects Research, Good Clinical Practices, Responsible Conduct of Research, PHS/NIH Conflict of Interest Course. To fulfill the requirement for human subject protections, you only need to complete the Human Subjects Research (HSR) course chosen in Question 1.
In Question 1, chose the Human Subjects Research learner group based on your role and the type of human subjects activities you will conduct.
- Students conducting their own research should choose their learner group after discussion with the faculty person overseeing their research.
- If you think the “Research with data or laboratory specimens – ONLY” learner group is appropriate, please contact the HSRO to verify. If a future research activity includes more than data or laboratory specimens, you will need to complete one of the other learner groups before commencing that research activity.
RIT has access to all of these courses to fulfill different regulatory requirements. You are free to explore the other curriculums, but only the HSR course from Question 1 will satisfy the requirement for human subject protections training.
Unless you want to explore these other courses, check the options for “Not At This Time/No” and then click “Submit.”
Completing the Course
You can stop and start a course at any time; the next time you log in you will be at the point where you stopped.
Complete all components with a passing grade, and your completion will be recorded and stored by CITI. Print a copy of the completion report for your records and submit along with your Form A.
Keep your login and password information for future reference. The certificate will be valid for three years, and you can access it at any time by going to My Reports.