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Office of Research and Innovation 
Research Administration and Compliance

RCR Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

While other CITI courses, such as the Social/Behavioral Research course and the Human Subjects Research course, cover some of the topics relevant to Responsible Conduct of Research, they do not address all of them.  Therefore they are NOT acceptable substitutions for the RCR course.

In order for CITI RCR training through another university to be considered, the following must be true:

  • You have provided a record of completion listing the modules and score (via email to rcr-administrator@ncsu.edu);
  • It must have been completed within the last 3 years and;
  • It must include all the modules listed below in order to meet NC State’s requirements.

The CITI Responsible Conduct of Research (NC State University) course consists of eight modules:

  • Plagiarism
  • Authorship
  • Collaborative Research
  • Conflicts of Interest
  • Data Management
  • Mentoring
  • Peer Review
  • Research Misconduct

Because NIH RCR requirements are program specific and face to face training is required, RCR compliance documentation is maintained at the program level. You should consult the NC State program director about your specific requirements.  NIH Fellows do not receive notifications to complete CITI RCR training.   To see more information about the NIH RCR requirements, see NOT-OD-10-019: Update on the Requirement for Instruction in the Responsible Conduct of Research.

Per RULE 10.15.01, Participants who have not taken one of the approved courses within the previous three (3) years are required to take either the online CITI Responsible Conduct of Research course within six (6) weeks from the date of appointment or enroll in one of the face-to-face courses the semester following their appointment on a NSF or NIFA – funded grant.

If you have already completed the CITI Responsible Conduct of Research (NC State University) within the last three years, simply contact the RCR Administrator directly at  rcr-administrator@ncsu.edu and provide a copy of your record of completion from your CITI account

The CITI RCR course currently consists of eight modules. A quiz is given after each. To successfully pass the course, you must complete all 8 required modules and achieve an average score of at least 80% on all quizzes. The course should take between 2 and 4 hours to complete.

Section 10337 of the Act directed NSF to expand the requirement for responsible conduct in research training to include faculty and other senior personnel on NSF awards and expands the scope of such training to include mentoring training and training to raise awareness of research security risks as well as Federal export control, disclosure, and reporting requirements. In the PAPPG 23-1, NSF has added the mentorship topic and implemented the requirement for faculty and other senior personnel to also complete the RCR training for new proposals submitted on or due on or after July 31, 2023.  The RCR CITI course meets the current NSF requirements.

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