New Investigator Tips: What are the CITI Training Requirements at VCU?
Federal regulations for the protection of human subjects contain various areas of flexibility, where institutions are allowed to set policy and procedures for certain aspects of the conduct of human research. While many aspects of conducting human research remain the same between institutions, there are certain areas that can vary between institutions. This means investigators moving from one institution to VCU may encounter new or different policies and procedures for human research.
This “New Investigator Tips” blog post series is intended to help investigators who are joining VCU learn about the nuances of VCU’s application of human subjects protections. See the other posts in this series by visiting the “new investigator tips” tag on our blog.
A common question new-to-VCU investigators have is: “What are the CITI training requirements at VCU? If I have taken CITI training at my old institution, do I need to re-take CITI training at VCU?”
The answer is, yes, even if you have taken a CITI course through a previous institution, CITI training must be re-taken with a VCU affiliation. CITI training is customized by the institution, and therefore VCU may require certain modules that other institutions do not. Because of this, VCU requires all investigators to complete the VCU-specific CITI training course before the IRB will issue approval of a study.
Credit for CITI modules taken at other institutions within the past 10 years can be transferred to your VCU CITI affiliation, which may reduce the overall number of modules you must complete in the VCU-specific CITI training course. Instructions for how to associate your CITI account with multiple institutions (thereby transferring any credits taken within the past 10 years) can be found here, or on our CITI training website.You can also learn how to sign up for a CITI account with a VCU affiliation and how to add courses to your account in this Gif Guide.
Additionally, it is important to understand that all investigators at VCU are required to first complete the VCU-specific BASIC Human Subjects Protections course in CITI. Every 2 years thereafter, investigators may take the VCU-specific REFRESHER Human Subjects Protections course, until three refresher courses have been taken. After three refresher courses, a basic course should be completed again. More information on training requirements and how to add CITI training courses to your account can be found on our CITI training website.
Categories Education and Training