Research involving the use of human subjects is overseen by the Institutional Review Board (IRB). To facilitate new training requirements established by the IRB, ISU has subscribed to a comprehensive research ethics training program called the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI).
Effective August 1, 2010, all IRB Executive Committee members and IRB Department Representatives must complete the "Institutional Review Board (IRB) Member” (Basic) course. It includes all of the modules required for investigators as well as additional material pertinent to protocol review. Executive Committee members and Departmental Representatives must also participate in annual on campus, university-sponsored IRB training in order to be eligible to review protocols. Committee members and department representatives are notified annually of training requirements and dates.
Effective January 1, 2011, principal investigators and co-PIs, as well as key personnel on new IRB protocols will be required to have completed the “Educational, Social and Behavioral Research with Human Subjects” (Basic) CITI course. Please note that the "Social/Behavioral Responsible Conduct of Research Course," although similarly titled, does not cover human subjects research and therefore does not fulfill the IRB training requirements. Key personnel include, for example, anyone participating in the consent process, interacting with subjects, or analyzing identifiable data. Note: Students who are co-PIs should refer to the next paragraph for their requirements. Persons not affiliated with ISU, but named in a protocol, are eligible to enroll in CITI training through our site.
Also effective January 1, 2011, all undergraduate and graduate students listed as co-PIs or additional personnel on new protocols that are designated as Exempt or Expedited Review will be required to have completed either the “Educational, Social and Behavioral Research with human subjects” course or the “Students conducting no more than minimal risk research” course. Please note that the "Social/Behavioral Responsible Conduct of Research Course," although similarly titled, does not cover human subjects research and therefore does not fulfill the IRB training requirements. Students on new protocols that are designated as Full Review will be required to have completed the full “Educational, Social and Behavioral Research with human subjects” basic course.
Completion report number(s) must be provided on the protocol form or a copy of the completion report(s) will need to be attached to all new IRB protocols submitted after January 1, 2011. Protocols lacking this information will be returned to the PI.
For detailed enrollment and course selection instructions, click here. If you have completed CITI training through another institution, please contact the REC office at 438-2529 to determine if additional modules may be required.
Human subjects CITI courses are valid for three years, after which either refresher courses must be taken or the basic courses must be retaken to continue research.
Although the courses listed above are required, additional training may be completed as well. For human subjects, following is the complete list of courses offered by ISU:
Basic Courses (for new learners):
Refresher Courses (to be taken only after the basic course above):
Additional courses (optional):
Please note that falsification of CITI training completion reports is a violation of Illinois State University's Research Integrity Policy, and if discovered, will be responded to accordingly. The REC Office is able to verify the authenticity of CITI Training completion reports. If you have any questions about the training requirements, please contact the REC Office at 438-2529.