Illinois State University is committed to providing appropriate training to campus researchers, including training on ethics, regulatory compliance, and research techniques. The Research Ethics and Compliance office provides face-to-face instruction for departments or other groups, and coordinates ISU's participation in the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) program. Specific training requirements for Human Subjects research may be found here. Training requirements for Vertebrate Animal research may be found here. Information on biosafety, chemical safety, and other laboratory safety training may be found on the "Research" page of the ISU Environmental Health and Safety website.
CITI Training
ISU is one of hundreds of colleges and universities across the country that subscribe to CITI to provide computer-based instruction and testing on various areas of research ethics and regulatory compliance. CITI courses are free to all members of the ISU community. ULIDs are not required to enroll. In addition to meeting specific IRB or IACUC requirements, instructors are encouraged to use CITI courses to enhance their research methods curriculum.
Courses cover human subjects research, vertebrate animal research, good clinical practice, HIPAA, and the responsible conduct of research (including academic integrity topics such as plagiarism and falsification of data).. A complete description of the various training courses available at ISU through CITI can be found on the CITI Training Instructions page. The courses do not have to be completed in one session. They are presented in a series of modules and may be exited and reentered as often as needed to complete the selected curriculum, with all progress being saved after each exit.
Once a course is completed, a completion report is available for printing from the learner's menu. This completion report remains in the system and can be accessed by the learner at any time. The completion report number, also referred to as the Reference Number, must be provided for all personnel on all new IRB protocol forms and on all new IACUC protocol forms, modification requests, and continuation requests.
Human subjects courses are valid for three years. Vertebrate Animal courses are valid for five years. After the expiration of the required Basic course, individuals must either take the refresher course or retake the basic course. If you have completed CITI training through another institution, please contact the Research Ethics and Compliance Office at 438-2529 to determine if additional modules may be required.
External Training Opportunities
Training programs are also available from many federal agencies and other organizations, including:
Office for Human Research Protection (OHRP) provides training on research using human subjects.
National Institutes of Health (NIH) provides training on a wide variety of research topics, including human subjects, vertebrate animal, biosafety, responsible conduct of research, and conflicts of interest.
Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare (OLAW) offers workshops, webinars, and a variety of other training on the ethical use of vertebrate animals in research.