RCR FAQs

All researchers and research-eligible UK personnel and graduate students are required to adhere to the RCR online course mandate in addition to the in-person training/discussion and it must be completed biennially.

Specifically:

• Full-time faculty
• Staff
• Graduate students (only have to complete the training once if not involved in research)
• Trainees (undergraduates, postdoctoral fellows, visiting scientists)
• Individuals supported in part or fully through research funding, grants and contracts.

If a grant is not funded by National Science Foundation (NSF) or USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), non-UK (External) personnel are not required to complete the UK RCR requirements. External personnel should adhere to their home institutional policies.

If a grant is funded by NSF or USDA NIFA, training in RECR/RCR is required for certain individuals supported by the research award. Such terms and conditions of the award flow down to subawards and subrecipients, unless the terms and conditions specify an exception. UK’s subrecipient commitment form will specify whether the subrecipient has an RECR/RCR policy compliant with NSF or USDA NIFA. For questions, please contact OSPA@uky.edu. 

To affirm our commitment to responsible conduct of research and scholarly activity, UK is now requiring that everyone who is eligible to conduct research complete the CITI RCR course and in-person RCR training/discussion session.

All research-eligible personnel and undergraduate students, as well as graduate students participating in research and scholarly activity (combined groups = more than 14,000 yearly), are required to complete each RCR training component every two years.

Required RCR training components:

1. The Online course through the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) Program provides an in-depth review of core RCR topics including:
   • ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Mentoring
   • Peer Review
   • Research Misconduct
   • Conflicts of Interest
   • Data Management
   • Reproducibility of Research Results
     
     ​​​​​​​Once you have completed all 6 modules in the initial stage of the online RCR Basic course, in two years when your certificate expires, you will complete the refresher stage of the course. In the refresher stage, you will complete two modules of your choice for credit
2. The one-hour In-Person session provides discussion-based training in a group environment.

All required individuals will receive an automatic email from RCR@uky.edu with instructions on how to complete each component.

If you are employed as research-eligible faculty, staff, student, or graduate student you are required to take both training components.

Yes, all full-time active faculty are required to complete the RCR training components. Zero Research Distribution of Effort does not necessarily mean you do not conduct work that applies to RCR. In fact, many faculty still conduct research even without DOE in that area.

Only Deans, Associate Deans for Research, and College Business Officers have access to the RCR Tracking Report. 

Yes, everyone who is eligible to conduct research at UK are required to complete both training components in addition to any other RCR training you may have completed.

No, you do not have to provide a completion certificate unless required by your college, professor, or department/unit. The Research Training Database automatically updates your RCR training information.

The mandated training has a biennial requirement. 

If you are only listed as active faculty or a graduate student and do not engage in research or scholarly work of any kind at the University, you may submit an Exemption Request for RCR ad hoc Committee review. Once a determination has been made, you will receive a notification via email. 

Yes, you do need to have both RCR training components completed before the PI may submit an IRB protocol application or an IACUC protocol application is approved.

Responsible Conduct in Research (RCR) training covers topics integral to the preparation and development of current and future scientists in all areas of research (not just human subjects). It is a University mandate and requirement of certain funding agencies such as the National Science Foundation (NSF). 

No, they are two separate requirements.

The University of Kentucky's HSP training requirement requires all study personnel conducting research involving living human subjects, or data or biological specimens derived there from, to be trained in the protection of human subjects initially and complete refresher training every three years. This training must be completed before an IRB protocol will be approved by the UK Institutional Review Board (IRB).

The RCR training requirement is mandated by the Vice President for Research (VPR). The mandatory RCR training applies to all full-time faculty, staff, graduate students or trainees (undergraduates, postdoctoral fellows, visiting scientists) who participate in research or creative work. This mandate also includes any individual supported in part or fully through research funding, grants and contracts. Basic or Refresher online Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) RCR training requirements must be completed by eligible personnel annually. As of May 1, 2022, any UK personnel listed on an IRB or Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) protocol, must complete RCR training before the protocol will be reviewed. 

Within CITI, you will choose Human Subjects Protection and/or Responsible Conduct of Research depending on your needs.

All trainees, fellows, participants, and scholars receiving support through any National Institutes of Health (NIH) training grant, career development award (individual or institutional), research education grant, or dissertation research grant must receive instruction in the Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR). See NIH RCR Update and the specific program announcement for additional information.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) requires the University to certify that it has a plan to provide appropriate training and oversight in the responsible and ethical conduct of research to undergraduates, graduate students, and postdoctoral researchers who receive NSF support to conduct research. Specific instructions are found in Chapter IV.B. Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) of the NSF Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide (PDF).

For questions regarding the NSF requirements for RCR Training, contact OSPA: Emily Bradford, emily.bradford@uky.edu, 859-257-9420.

In response to 2 CFR Part 422 (PDF), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) requires institutions that conduct USDA-funded extramural research to foster an atmosphere conducive to research integrity, bear primary responsibility for prevention and detection of research misconduct, and maintain and effectively communicate and train their staff regarding policies and procedures.  See USDA Responsible and Ethical Conduct of Research for more information.

For questions regarding the NIFA requirements for RCR Training, contact OSPA: Emily Bradford, emily.bradford@uky.edu, 859-257-9420.

If you have completed CITI RCR training in the last year under a discipline (e.g., Engineering, Physical Science, etc.), please follow step-by-step instructions on enrolling in the UK RCR (Basic) course. When you start the course, you will see a start button next to any modules that you need to complete for credit at UK (see image below). 

Once the new modules have been completed and you have an overall passing score of 80% or more, your training will automatically update in our database.