RCR Training Requirements

UTIA’s Requirements for NSF RCR Compliance

Who: In response to NSF’s requirements, UTIA requires all undergraduate students, graduate students, and postdoctoral researchers who will be financially supported by NSF receive training in the RCR. These requirements do not apply to faculty.

When: Required personnel must successfully complete RCR training just one time (the training does not expire) and should do so before participating in an NSF project.

How: Unlike USDA NIFA, NSF has not specified the content for training and expects each institution to determine the appropriate RCR curriculum. Therefore, UTIA has determined that NSF RCR requirements can be met by following the same training guidelines as outlined for USDA NIFA.
Online RCR Training – Take UTIA online Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) RCR training course. See CITI registration instructions for UTIA new users. Trainees must complete the course titled “Responsible Conduct of Research” and pass the modules covering the following core areas in the UTIA RCR curriculum:
  1. Authorship
  2. Data Management
  3. Plagiarism
  4. Research Misconduct
RCR Academic Credit Course - ANSC 525 / CEM 525 / PLSC 525 – Research Ethics for the Life Sciences. See the UTK Graduate Catalog for further information.

UTIA Approved RCR Workshop - Upcoming and past workshops are at Quick links on the OSP home page and under Upcoming Events on the RCR home page.
To determine if other specific courses or workshops meet UTIA’s RCR requirements, please contact the Compliance Officer.

If you take a course or workshop other than the UTIA CITI course or a workshop hosted by the UTIA Compliance Officer, submit a UTIA RCR training record form to the Compliance Officer. 		 

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