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 the Institute has adopted the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI Program) for human subjects training. CITI Program www.citiprogram.org 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 (HSR) 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.
Online Tutorial Directions
- Go to CITI webpage at www.citiprogram.org
- Under Create An Account, click "Register"
- In Step 1, 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 check boxes and click "Continue to Creat Your CITI Program Username/Password"
- In Step 2, supply your personal information and click "Continue to Step 3”
- In Step 3, Create a username, password and select a security question
- Click “Continue to Step 4”
- In Step 4, provide country of residence and click “Continue to Step 5”
- In Step 5, respond to Continuing Education Unit (CEU) Credit questions and click “Continue to Step 6”
CEU credits 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 and can click "no".
- In Step 6, provide Institutional Information and click “Continue to Step 7”
- In Step 7, Select your Curriculum
- In Question 1 chose the Human Subjects "learner group" based on your role and the type of human subjects activities you will conduct.
- Pick one of these learner groups
- Biomedical Research Investigators
- Social and Behavioral Research Investigators
- Students conducting no more than minimal risk research (the longest course, includes all modules from BOTH biomedical and social behavioral)
- Research with data or laboratory specimens-ONLY No direct contact with human subjects
Students conducting their own research should choose their learner group after discussion with the faculty person overseeing their research.
Students assisting faculty in research projects may choose either the “Biomedical Research Investigators” or “Social & Behavioral Research Investigators” learner group at the discretion of the faculty researcher.
Faculty, Staff and External researchers may choose the "Biomedical Research Investigators" or "Social & Behavioral Research Investigators" learner group. 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.
There are FOUR 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.
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 will satisfy the requirement for human subject protections training. Unless you want to explore these other courses, check "Not At This Time/No".
- In Question 2 choose whether you want to add the Good Clinical Practice (GCP) course. The GCP course provides modules for researchers involved in clinical trials of drugs and devices
- In Question 3 choose whether you want to add any or all Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) courses.
- In Question 4 choose whether or not you want to add the PHS/NIH Conflict of Interest Course.
- Click “Complete the Registration”
- Click “Finalize Registration” and click “Rochester Institute of Technology courses” to see all of the courses you included.
- If you selected “Students conducting no more than minimal risk research,” One of the Elective Modules MUST be “Assessing Risk”
If you need to update or change courses, update information, or see what you have completed, click on a link under “My Learner Tools for Rochester Institute of Technology”.
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.