Institutional Review Board Training

CITI is the industry standard for human subjects research ethics and compliance training. UWEC is implementing CITI on the recommendation of a faculty task force on the responsible conduct of research. In addition, CITI content and associated certifications meet the university’s obligations regarding researcher training in the protection of human subjects.

Human Subjects Protections (HSP) training

Implementation of CITI means that UWEC researchers using human subjects are required to have current CITI human subjects training. Researchers submitting initial IRB proposals, renewing existing IRB proposals, or submitting change requests to existing IRB proposals must successfully complete the appropriate CITI courses before forwarding an IRB proposal for review. Training must be completed every 3 years. In addition, students completing courses that include education in research methods might be required by their instructor to complete the CITI human subjects course.

Who should complete the CITI training?

• Principle Investigators and Co-Principle Investigators (including students) submitting an IRB proposal for review, renewal, or change;
• UWEC faculty and staff serving as faculty mentors for undergraduate or graduate research;
• Research team members expected to interact with subjects;
• Instructors teaching a course in which students are learning about research methods and engaging in research with human subjects as part of the course's requirements;
• Students completing a course about research methods and engaging in research with human subjects as part of the course's requirement
• IRB member and relevant UWEC administrators.

Instructions for completing HSP Training via CITI

1. Visit the CITI training website. 
2. Create an account using your UWEC email address
3. Click "ADD a Course" in the "My Learner Tools for University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire"
4. Choose the appropriate course. The course options are:
   • Social-Behavioral-Educational Researchers (most common at UWEC).
   • Biomedical Researchers
   • IRB Members
   • IRB Chair and relevant Administrators
   • Students doing research for a course requirement. Course instructors requiring students to complete the CITI Training should consider including this instruction form in their course materials (IRB CITI Training Instructions).
   • (Please consult with Mike Axelrod, IRB Chair or Melissa Wallace, Research Compliance Specialist, if you have questions about which courses are appropriate for your specific situation)
5. Complete all modules required for your course. Successful completion requires a composite score of 80% on the quizzes. Quizzes may be repeated in order to achieve this score. A completion report will be generated when all modules are complete and a composite score of 80% has been achieved. You will be asked to provide your Record ID, type of CITI course completed (Social-Behavioral-Educational Researchers or Biomedical Researchers), and Expiration Date from the course completion certificate.

Note for Users with Training from other Institutions

If you completed CITI training at an institution other than UWEC, you will still need to successfully complete some of the modules within the UWEC courses after linking your previous institution CITI account with your UWEC CITI account. To determine which modules are required complete the following steps:

1. Log into the UWEC CITI portal webpage.
2. Add the relevant UWEC courses to your account.
3. After adding your required courses, you will be credited with any identical modules completed at your previous institution.
4. To finish your required UWEC courses, complete the modules that show as incomplete.

Please note that modules completed outside of the three-year expiration date may not transfer.

 Other information

• On average, it takes between three and five hours to complete most courses. Courses can be completed in multiple sessions.
• Following initial completion, researchers must complete refresher courses every three years. 
• Refresher courses are comprised of abbreviated modules that include new content and material covered in previous courses. You will receive reminder emails before your course expiration. Be sure to access your training via the CITI training website. Expiration dates can also be verified through the email sent by CITI when you last completed the appropriate course.
• Supplemental training: There are training courses in CITI for researchers looking or needing to supplement content in the basic course. You can add supplemental course to your account as appropriate for your type of research or training needs. Supplemental training courses are added via question 5 on the "Add a Course" page.
• ORSP recommends that all researcher team members have their CITI training completed at least one week before the proposal eform submission