CITI Training
The Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) https://www.citiprogram.org is a subscription service providing research ethics education to all members of the research community. CITI provides a range of online training courses to fulfill various educational compliance needs.
Human Subject Research
All Marymount faculty, staff, and students who conduct research with human subjects must complete CITI training every three years in the applicable area of study. Completion of training will be confirmed before IRB approval is granted. See the “Is It Research?” page for the federal definition of research that falls under IRB purview.
Human Subjects Research Training: Faculty, Staff, or Students who serve in the role of investigator or co-investigator in a research project involving Human Subjects
- Biomedical: Research focused on human physiology and the treatment and understanding of disease.
- Social & behavioral science: Research focused on human behavior and social interaction.
Classroom Projects
All course instructors supervising Classroom Projects must complete applicable CITI training (Social and Behavioral or Biomedical) every three years.
All students engaged in Classroom research projects involving human subjects must complete the CITI Student Basic IRB course.
Research Ethics
All faculty, staff, and students working on federally funded projects (regardless of human subject involvement) must complete CITI Responsible Conduct of Research training and Conflict of Interest training.
Institutional Review Board Member Training
All members of Marymount’s IRB committee MUST successfully complete the IRB committee member modules, as well as both the CITI Social and Behavioral Sciences Course and the Biomedical course prior to serving as an IRB proposal reviewer. This training is essential to serving on the IRB.
Please see the tables below (downloadable here) for a summary of required or recommended courses for each CITI learner group:
Table 1. CITI Course Recommended for All Researchers: Research Ethics Overview
| Learner role | Relevant CITI Course |
|---|---|
| All Researchers are encouraged to take the Responsible Conduct of Research course. Although only required for externally funded investigators, it is recommended for all individuals engaged in research activities. |
Responsible Conduct of Research for NON-Primary Investigators OR Responsible Conduct of Research for Primary Investigators |
Table 2. CITI Courses Required for Any Marymount Employee or Student Engaging in Human Subjects Research
| Learner Role | Relevant CITI Course |
|---|---|
| Faculty or staff who are primary or co-investigators on a research project involving human subjects. Documentation of CITI course completion is required before an IRB protocol will be approved. | Whichever CITI course most closely aligns with your research project focus: – Social and Behavioral Research* OR Biomedical Research** |
| Instructor for a classroom research project involving human subjects. Instructors MUST complete a faculty assurance form (available on the IRB Mentor site) and receive confirmation of its approval prior to human subject interaction in the research project. Documentation of CITI course completion is required for assurance form approval. | Social and Behavioral Research* |
| IRB Member: Any person appointed as a member of the IRB committee. The required CITI courses MUST be completed before the IRB member can begin reviewing and making recommendations about IRB protocols. | All three CITI courses for human-subject research must be completed: IRB Member course Social and Behavioral Research* Biomedical Research** |
| Student Researcher: Acting as primary investigator or co-investigator on an IRB protocol. Documentation of CITI training must be completed before IRB approval is provided. | Whichever CITI course most closely aligns with your research project focus: Social and Behavioral Research* OR Biomedical Research** |
| Student research assistant on a project involving human subjects. Documentation of completion of CITI training is required before the student can participate in the research activities covered in the IRB protocol. | CITI Basic Student Course |
| Student researcher: Class Project involving human subjects (educational purposes only; no dissemination beyond MU). Course Instructor is responsible for confirming all students complete required training prior to students engaging with human subjects. | CITI Basic Student Course |
*Social and Behavioral Research involves behavioral procedures such as field studies, focus groups, surveys, questionnaires, deception, psycho-physiological testing, or review of student/other records.
**Biomedical Research involves drugs, devices, experimental interventions, biohazardous materials, radiation or other medical procedures, or may involve medical chart reviews and follow-up surveys about medical procedures.
Table 3. CITI Courses Required for Researchers Serving as Investigators/Key Personnel on Externally Funded Research Projects- Human Subject and Non-human Subject
| Funding Source | Requirements & Relevant CITI Courses |
|---|---|
| Externally funded from a Private Foundation Faculty, staff, or student as an investigator on a private foundation–funded grant; no federal, state, or industry funding. Documentation of training must be completed within 30 days of grant award and submitted to grant PI for grant files. OSP checks periodically. | Required to complete one of the two courses based on your role in the project; either: Responsible Conduct of Research for Primary Investigators (PI) OR Responsible Conduct of Research for Non-Primary Investigators (Non-PI) |
| Externally funded from Federal, State, or Industry Sources: Documentation of training must be completed within 30 days of grant award and forwarded to the grant PI and OSP. CITI training is federally required for anyone with federal grant support, and university-required for anyone engaged in state or industry-supported research. OSP checks annually. |
Required to complete one of the two courses based on your role in the project: – Responsible Conduct of Research for Primary Investigators (PI) OR Responsible Conduct of Research for Non-Primary Investigators (Non-PI) PLUS (for both PI and Non-PI): Financial Conflict of Interest course |
Setting up and Logging into a CITI account
The CITI course is a protected site. If you are a new learner you must register by creating your own username and password. To begin, follow the steps below:
Step 1: Select Register/login and proceed to complete registration as follows:
Be sure to use your Marymount email address to register your CITI account. That is required to link your completed training courses to MU.
- Part 1 asks you to select your “Organization Affiliation”– select “Marymount University.” This is required to assure you take the MU-required courses.
- Part 2 asks for your personal information.
- Part 3 asks you to create a user name, password, and a security question.
- Part 4 asks for your country of residence.
- Part 5 asks you a series of questions, which you can answer any way you wish.
- Part 6 asks you for information that Marymount requests.
- Part 7 asks you to select the type of course you wish to complete. For IRB purposes, you should choose “Human Subjects Research. For external funding compliance or instructor-specified learning module purposes, Choose “Research Ethics”.
- Submit registration by clicking Next.
Step 2: Choose the applicable CITI curriculum from the CITI course options. If you do not see the option, scroll to the bottom and click “Add a course.”
Step 3: For each course, complete all required modules. Review the list of additional ‘optional’ modules. Complete any additional module directly applicable to your research e.g., international research, research with children, or records-based research. If your research protocol or plan involves any of the vulnerable populations, topics or groups mentioned in the supplemental modules, that module applies to you. The minimum cumulative passing score for each module is 80 percent. In the event this score is not achieved, you will be asked to repeat the module. From the Main Menu you may change your learner group to take a different basic course. The IRB will be notified via email when you have completed a basic course in CITI and CITI certificates should upload to the Mentor system nightly. This will be valid for three years, at which point you will need to complete a refresher course. You will receive an email notification via Mentor four weeks prior to the expiration date.
