Text for Faculty to Include in NSF Proposals
Training requirements for UW-Eau Claire’s Responsible and Ethical Conduct of Research includes the requirement for students and faculty to complete the CITI Responsible Conduct of Research training, which includes a mentoring component. Compliance is monitored at least twice per year to ensure that this has been completed.
RECR Policy
All Principal investigators, co-investigator, and participants including, undergraduate students, graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, faculty, and other senior personnel at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire who are supported by funding, in full or in part, from the National Science Foundation (NSF) or from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA NIFA) for research or education activities must participate in and successfully complete training in Responsible and Ethical Conduct of Research (RECR) during the grant period. Researchers supported by other funding sources, such as internal or external grants, may also be required by their faculty mentor or funding agency to engage in RECR training. The purpose of this policy is to comply with the America Creating Opportunities to Meaningfully Promote Excellence in Teaching, Education, and Science (COMPETES) Act (42 U.S.C.1862o-1), Section 7009. Training researchers in RECR is consistent with the mission of the UW System, UW-Eau Claire, the goals of the Center of Excellence for Faculty and Undergraduate Student Research Collaboration, and the commitment of faculty to collaborative interaction, promoting excellence in teaching and learning, and disciplinary expectations.
This policy is currently active for all students, graduate students, and postdoctoral researchers paid under NSF grants. As of July 1, 2024, the policy will apply to faculty and other senior personnel on NSF grants.
RECR Procedures
The plan to train undergraduate students, graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, faculty, and other senior personnel in RECR involves identification, notification, training, and verification. The Director of the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs will be the primary individual responsible for compliance with this plan.
Identification and Notification
The Office of Research and Sponsored Programs will notify faculty Principal Investigators (PIs) of their obligation to ensure their own training as well as that of all other researchers (i.e., undergraduate students, graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and other senior personnel) on their research project. In turn, faculty PIs will contact their undergraduate students, graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and other senior personnel on their project to inform them about RECR training and set timelines for successful completion.
Training and Verification
The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire’s RCR training emphasizes instructional areas suggested by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Research Integrity and guidelines from the National Institutes of Health.
Training is satisfied through the completion of the appropriate CITI Program Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) course. Faculty and other senior personnel are required to complete Faculty (RCR) (ID: 193902), which includes required mentor training; students are required to complete Students - Required (RCR) (ID: 193894). The amount of time to complete the interactive online tutorials is estimated to be between one and three hours; they do not need to be completed in one sitting. Researchers are required to successfully complete the training once during the grant period, either prior to or in the early weeks of the research work. If a researcher completed RECR training at another institution, they must repeat training using the appropriate CITI Program course under UW-Eau Claire.
CITI Program has a built-in system for verification. During registration on CITI Program, researchers indicate affiliation with UW-Eau Claire. Upon completion of the course, a record is kept in the online system and can be verified by the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs. Researchers can also access certificates of completion on the CITI Program website.
The Office of Research and Sponsored Programs will notify researchers (and the faculty PI mentor) of instances of noncompliance with the RECR plan and recommend a course of action and timeline for fulfilling requirements. This RCR plan is part of the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire’s ongoing commitment to passing along high ethical standards to the next generation of scholars.
Persistent failure to comply may result in a restriction of access to resources in the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs, including access to internal grants and external grant support.
Additional resources on mentoring best practices are available on ORSP’s website under Mentor Resources and on the Online Ethics Center website, recommended by NSF.
