As a mission-driven land grant university, The Ohio State University is committed to fostering cutting-edge research. In alignment with the university's shared values, Ohio State is also committed to being a leader in the effort to ensure the highest standards of research integrity, including training in the Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR). Since December 2017, Ohio State has required all faculty, staff and students eligible to conduct research at Ohio State to be trained in RCR.
All faculty, staff including postdoctoral researchers and fellows, students, and trainees eligible to conduct research at Ohio State.
Ohio State is committed to ensuring that appropriate RCR training occurs based on federal and university requirements. As such, Ohio State requires all faculty, staff, and students eligible to conduct research at Ohio State to be trained in RCR. All research eligible individuals must take the online Collaborative Institutional Training Institute (CITI) RCR course within 60 days of being assigned to the course, and every four years thereafter. In addition to the CITI RCR course, there are additional requirements that may need to be completed depending on the funding source of the awards (refer to Ohio State Required Training Matrix Table).
RCR training is a federal requirement for researchers funded by National Science Foundation (NSF), National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the United States Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA NIFA). Ohio State meets these requirements by a combination of online CITI RCR training, in-person RCR courses/workshops offered by Ohio State, and BuckeyeLearn modules.
| Career Stage | Funding Type - All funding (Sponsored, Industry, Internal, Unfunded) | Funding Type - NIH Training and Career Awards | Federal Awards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Faculty | CITI RCR | Training faculty may contribute to formal instruction in RCR as discussion leaders, speakers, and/or course directors. Some grant types also require early career faculty to complete 8 hours of in-person RCR training. | Annual BuckeyeLearn Research Security module |
| Senior/Key Personnel/All Personnel Named or Funded | CITI RCR | In-person course (8 hours minimum) | Annual BuckeyeLearn Research Security module |
| Post Doctoral Researchers/Fellows | CITI RCR | In-person course (8 hours minimum) | Annual BuckeyeLearn Research Security module |
| Graduate Students (Ph.D. and Masters) | CITI RCR | In-person course (8 hours minimum) | Annual BuckeyeLearn Research Security module |
| Undergraduate Students | CITI RCR | In-person course (8 hours minimum) | Annual BuckeyeLearn Research Security module |
Funding Type – NIH Training and Career Awards: Requirement for in-person training in addition to online CITI course and applies to individuals with the following type of NIH awards: D43, D71, F05, F30, F31, F32, F33, F34, F37, F38, K01, K02, K05, K07, K08, K12, K18, K22, K23, K24, K25, K26, K30, K99/R00, KL1, KL2, R25, R36, T15, T32, T34, T35, T36, T37, T90/R90, TL1, TU2, and U2R grants.
Available in-person courses list as Appendix A.
Principal Investigators (PI) are responsible for ensuring that everyone in their research group has completed the required training and if listed on or supported on an applicable grant, the appropriate in-person training. The PI is also responsible for ensuring that course attendance is monitored, and training records are maintained to document that all NIH or NSF supported trainees, fellows, and scholars received the required instruction. The PI must also comply with the specific reporting requirements in continuation applications. The instructional plan should include coursework with significant face-to-face interaction and participation by research faculty members. Analysis of relevant case studies is recommended. While on-line instruction may be used as a component of the training program, it is not sufficient to meet the NIH requirement for RCR instruction, except in special or unusual circumstances.
PI's may want to use the online CITI RCR training course as part of their instructional plan. All the NIH required subject areas are addressed in the CITI RCR coursework. If used, the most relevant, discipline-specific CITI RCR course (Biomedical Research, Social and Behavioral Research, Physical Science, Humanities, or Engineering) should be specified. The CITI RCR course also offers online case studies that can be used for face-to-face discussion. Please note CITI alone is not sufficient to meet NSF or NIH requirements.
For all faculty, staff and students eligible to conduct research who do not complete the CITI RCR training within 60 days of appointment to an NIH, NSF, or USDA NIFA award, continued access to certain university systems and processes related to research will be suspended until RCR training is completed. This includes, but is not limited to, submission of IBC, IRB, and IACUC protocols and amendments; new project award set-up; project amendment processing; and access to certain internal funding programs.
Upon CITI RCR course completion, a copy of the completion certificate will be available in CITI to print and retain for a researcher's records. The CITI system keeps track of all completion data, and completion status is provided nightly to ERIK and reported through Ohio State's Reporting and Analytics Environment. This information is used by automated processes to verify RCR completion and to set the appropriate status within the Training Database. Ohio State offers several in-person academic courses, including GRADSCH 8000, which meet NIH training requirements. Completion records for in-person courses are tracked by the unit offering the course. A list of these courses can be found in Appendix A.
Courses should aim to include the following topics.
The Principal Investigator (PI) must develop a discipline-specific, tailored plan for RCR training that meets the NIH requirements. The instructional plan is evaluated as a component of the NIH funding proposal and applications lacking an RCR instructional plan may be delayed in the review process or not reviewed. NIH has provided a sample NIH RCR training plan template here: sample NIH RCR training plan template
Ohio State meets NIH RCR requirements by having all students/trainees engaged in the required NIH grant types complete an approved in-person RCR training provided by the college or grant directors in addition to completing CITI. A list of current Ohio State RCR courses and workshops is included as Appendix A. ERIK also has developed an in-person RCR course designed to fulfill NIH requirements (GRADSCH 8000). This 1-credit hour in-person course is open to all Ohio State graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, faculty, and staff members. Postdoctoral fellows may enroll by the graduate non-degree mechanism to allow for tuition coverage. GRADSCH 8000 utilizes the flipped classroom model and provides content and case studies for students to complete before class. The pre-course content is provided from subject matter experts from ERIK, while in-person discussions are facilitated by Ohio State faculty and trainee grant directors on a rotating basis based on expertise.
NSF requires the university to certify that it has a plan to provide appropriate RECR training and oversight to undergraduates, graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, faculty, and other senior/key personnel who receive NSF support to conduct research. Certification of University compliance is done by an authorized Ohio State representative as part of the institutional proposal approval process (e.g., when a sponsored program officer submits the proposal in FastLane). Specific instructions are found in Chapter IX.B.1 Responsible and Ethical Conduct of Research (RECR) of the NSF Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide. Expanded NSF guidelines for RECR also require that training cover mentor training and mentorship. CITI modules have been expanded to include mentorship and a list of supplemental mentoring resources available at Ohio State can be found in Appendix B. RECR training must also raise awareness of potential research security threats, and Federal export control, disclosure, and reporting requirements.
All students and postdoctoral researchers supported by NSF sponsored projects must complete the CITI online course in the Responsible Conduct of Research within 60 days of appointment. The PI is responsible for ensuring that all students and postdocs complete the CITI RCR course and begin a dialogue on the responsible conduct of research. The PI is also required to complete the CITI RCR training. PI's should not include any specific information on RCR training within proposals. Training records are subject to monitoring by NSF auditors.
Ohio State designates the Senior Vice President of Research Operations, ERIK, and the Senior Director of Research Compliance, Office of Research Compliance, and their designated staff to oversee compliance with the RECR training requirement.
Contact rcrinfo@osu.edu with any questions related to RCR.
OHIO STATE IN-PERSON COURSES (Note these courses have not been formally reviewed or audited for their fulfillment of NIH requirements but course syllabi indicate they would meet NIH requirements for subject area, format, and duration). To get added to this list, course instructors may submit course syllabi to ORC (rcrinfo@osu.edu) for review and endorsement. Ethics courses alone typically are not sufficient to meet RCR requirements.
Article ID: 140
Created: June 29, 2026
Last Updated: June 29, 2026
Online URL: https://ohiostateresearch.knowledgebase.co/article/rcr-institutional-training-plan-140.html