5a. Responsible Conduct of Research Training
- Whom do I contact?
- How do I know if I need to complete Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) training?
- How do I complete RCR training?
- Will my training be monitored?
- Relevant policies, procedures, and links
1. Whom do I contact?
In order to meet the institutional obligation to provide Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) training, The University of Iowa has developed a RCR Plan under the joint sponsorship and responsibility of the Graduate College and the Office of the Vice President for Research.
RCR website: https://research.uiowa.edu/responsible-conduct-research
Questions and comments on the overall RCR Plan or the CITI online training may be directed to:
Mike Andrews, Research Integrity Officer,
michael-andrews@uiowa.edu, 319-335-2106
Questions on the formal course requirements may be directed to:
Shelly Campo, Administrative Fellow, Course Director, Principles of Scholarly Integrity
shelly-campo@uiowa.edu, 319-335-2136
2. How do I know if I need to complete RCR training?
Federal requirements stipulate that trainees who receive salary support from certain federal grant awards are required to complete training in the Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR).
Federal awards that require RCR training:
NSF awards: Trainees (undergraduates, graduate students, and post-doctoral fellows) who receive salary support from all new NSF grants submitted on or after January 4, 2010 are required to complete RCR training.
NIH awards: Trainees (undergraduates, predocs, postdocs, and early career faculty with K awards) who receive salary support from NIH training grants, career development grants, research education grants, and dissertation research grants submitted on or after January 25, 2010 (new and renewal applications), and for all continuation (Type 5) applications with deadlines on or after January 1, 2011 are required to complete RCR training.
NIFA awards: program directors, faculty, undergraduate students, graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and any staff participating in the research project receive appropriate training and oversight in the responsible and ethical conduct of research
The Graduate College recommends that all graduate students and postdoctoral researchers consider this training, irrespective of their source of funding. Review their policy.
Departments may have additional requirements.
3. What are the RCR training requirements?
Specific training requirements for each type of trainee are described on the RCR website.
As trainees at the University of Iowa enter a new phase of their career, they are required to obtain additional RCR training consistent with their new university position (e.g., undergraduate moving into a predoc position; predoc moving into a postdoc position; postdoc moving into a K-Award faculty position). This continuation of RCR training is mandated by NIH, NSF, and NIFA.
4. Will my training be monitored?
Yes. The Office of the Vice President for Research will monitor compliance with federal requirements. Failure by trainees to complete RCR training could result in the suspension of research activities and grant funding support.