URI CITI Guidance:
Training

CITI (Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative) Program

Required compliance training for University of Rhode Island Investigators and Study Personnel is offered through the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative, commonly called the CITI Program.

CITI training is required for:

  • Human Subjects Research: Investigators and Study Personnel conducting biomedical research and/or social/behavioral research involving human subjects. All investigators and personnel should take the learner group, “Group I (Social Behavioral)” or the Refresher Course when your CITI for this learner group is close to expiration. The Refresher Course will be available 60 days prior to the expiration of your current CITI certificate.
  • Good Clinical Practice (GCP):  Investigators and Study Personnel conducting a clinical trial as defined by NIH should take the learner group, GCP for Clinical Trials with Investigational Drugs and Medical Devices (U.S. FDA Focus).
  • Animal Subjects Research: Investigators and Study Personnel conducting research involving vertebrate animals.
  • Biosafety: Investigators and Study Personnel conducting research involving biological materials (refresher training only).
  • Financial Conflict of Interest: Investigators conducting research funded by a PHS agency or other agency following PHS Financial Conflict of Interest (FCOI) Regulations.
  • Responsible Conduct of Research: Graduate students matriculating in the fall of 2014 and after in majors with a research thesis or dissertation and post-doctoral researchers, others supported by National Science Foundation (NSF), National Institutes of Health (NIH), or U.S. Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture.
  • Export Controls: Investigators and Study using or purchasing Export Controlled equipment, software, or technology. 
  • Webinars: CITI Webinar Package includes webinars on a wide range of topics important to researchers and students.

Steps for Access to CITI’s Training

  • Go to CITI
  • Select “Register” at the top of the page.
  • Search your Participating Institution by typing “University of Rhode Island” into the search bar. A drop-down menu will appear with the university listed. Click on “University of Rhode Island SSO” and proceed to Step 2.  Quick Reference Guide for Update Email in CITI
  • Enter your First and Last name along with an email that your regularly use. Proceed to Step 3.
  • Create your Account with a User Name and Password. Proceed to Step 4.
  • Answer the gender, race, and ethnicity questions in this section.  Proceed to Step 5.
  • If you are interested in receiving Continuing Education Unit (CEU) credit for the courses you participate in, indicate “Yes” in this section. Otherwise, indicate “No” Proceed to Step 6.
  • You will be brought to a screen requesting additional registration information. Insert the requested information and hit the “Submit” button to Proceed to Step 7.
  • Answer the Course Selection Questions that are appropriate for the type of research you are participating in.
  • Select “Complete Registration”
  • You will receive a confirmatory email. Open the email, click the link, and then log into the site.
  • Complete the courses you selected by reading module text and taking quizzes.

If you have forgotten your CITI username or password, please follow the “Forgot Username or Password” link on the site as opposed to creating a new user account.

Steps to Begin CITI Training

  • Log in to your account on the CITI’s main page.
  • On the main menu, click the drop down menu named “University of Rhode Island Courses”
  • At the bottom of the page under, “My Learner Tools for University of Rhode Island” click “Add a Course or Update Learner Groups” On this page you will be presented with all of the modules available through CITI.
  • Scroll down the page to the following locations and choose the modules that fit your specific needs.

IRB: Question 1 — Human Subjects Research
RCR: Question 2 — Responsible Conduct of Research
IACUC: Question 3 — Laboratory Animal Welfare
FCOI: Question 4 — Conflicts of Interest
IBC: Question 5 — Biosafety
GCP: Question 6 — Good Clinical Practice, Drugs and Devices
IPS: Question 7 – Information Privacy Security
GCP: Question 8 – Good Clinical Practice – Social Behavioral Research for Clinical Research
EXP: Question 9 – Export Compliance
LCS: Question 10 – Laboratory Chemical Safety
HIPAA: Question 11 – Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act
CSR: Question 12 – Controlled Substances in Clinical Research Settings
Webinars: Question 13 – Webinars on a wide range of topics

CITI provides RCR training courses specific to your field of study. Any of these courses will satisfy the new RCR requirement. Choose the option that best relates to your work at URI:

RCR for Biomedical Researchers
RCR for Social/Behav/Ed Researchers
RCR for Physical Science Researchers
RCR for Engineering Researchers
RCR for Arts/Humanities Researchers

NOTE: Just because you choose a module, does not mean you necessarily have to complete it. It will only bring these modules to your main page for easy access.

  • Press “Submit” You will now be returned to the main page.
  • To begin a module, click on the name of the module.
  • When you have completed all of the required modules successfully, you will be able to print a copy of your completion report. Please retain a copy of the certificate for your records. You will be required to submit proof of completion with every protocol submitted on IRBNet. See instructions for linking your CITI completion to your IRBNet account for easy access and maintenance of records.

Completion of the CITI course for IRB, IACUC, or RCR should take just over 2 hours; however, the program need not be completed in one sitting. NOTE: Registrants who begin the course but do not log in again for 30 days will be deleted from the system and will have to re-register.

Steps to Review Completed CITI’s or Return to Unfinished Modules

To review completed modules, click the “Main Menu” or “My Reports” from the navigational bar. From here you can print your completion report(s) or return to your unfinished modules.

Please maintain a copy of your CITI completion report as proof of having successfully completed your required training course. We do not keep hard copies of your CITI completion in the Office of Research Integrity

NOTE: Please maintain a copy of your CITI completion report as proof of having successfully completed the appropriate training course. There is also the option to link your CITI completion to your IRBNet account for easy access and maintenance of records.