Instructions
A link to the CITI online course is provided following the instructions (just above the FAQs). PLEASE READ these instructions to avoid completing the wrong course.
New Learners:
If you never registered before on the CITI site, register as a New User.
Registration Section
Please choose the University of North Carolina Wilmington as the participating institution. This allows your certificate of completion to be emailed directly to the IRB office. You may affiliate with UNCW even if you are not employed here, if you are collaborating with UNCW researchers on human subjects research.
TIP: Make note of your username and password, as it may take you multiple sessions to complete all of the required modules.
Member Information Section
Most of the items in this section are self-explanatory. You may skip anything that does not have an asterisk (*). Common problems that arise are addressed below. You may contact the IRB office (910-962-7774) if you have a question not addressed here.
It is very important for you to select the correct option for the last question of this section so that you complete the correct course!
Which course do you plan to take?
Choose the Basic Human Subjects Protection course. You should NOT select either of the refresher courses UNLESS you can provide documentation to the IRB office that you have already completed the basic course and qualify for the refresher course.
PLEASE NOTE: The IRB does NOT require human subjects researchers to complete the Responsible Conduct of Research course. If you select this course, you should do so only if you have interest in learning more about this topic or if your professor has assigned it as a course requirement. As of January 4, 2010, this course is required for students (undergrad, grad, or Post-doc) supported in any way by National Science Foundation (NSF) grant funds.
Role in human subjects & animal welfare research.
Choose the most appropriate role. If you are taking this course because it has been assigned to you as part of a class requirement, you may choose Research Assistant or Student Researcher. If you are a member of a research study team and are not sure what your role is on the research project, please ask the principal investigator of the study or contact the IRB office at 910-962-7774.
CITI Course Enrollment Section:
Scroll down on this page until you see the CITI Course Enrollment Questions.
It is very important for you to select the correct enrollment questions so that you complete the correct course!
Question 1. Choosing your Learner Group:
Select the most appropriate learner group. The Social and Behavioral Research Investigators group is appropriate for most research conducted at UNCW. If you are in the clinical trials program or School of Nursing, the Biomedical Research Investigators group may be most appropriate. DO NOT select the IRB Member learner group unless you have been specifically instructed to do so by the regulatory compliance officer to qualify for serving on the Institutional Review Board.
Question 2. Refresher Course Option
Select N/A (the last option). You should NOT select any of the refresher course options UNLESS you can provide documentation to the IRB office that you have already completed the basic course for human subjects protections and therefore qualify for the refresher course. The UNCW IRB does not currently have a requirement for periodic refresher training.
Question 3. Laboratory Animals
You may skip all of the options under question 3 unless you also plan to conduct research on live, vertebrate animals.
Question 4. Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR)
While the IRB encourages completion of the RCRcourse, this course is NOT required for human subjects researchers. If you select this course, you should do so only if you have interest in learning more about this topic or if your professor has assigned it as a course requirement. As of January 4, 2010, this course is required for students (undergrad, grad, or Post-doc) supported in any way by National Science Foundation (NSF) grant funds.
Select your institution or organization:
Select "No" unless you need to add an institutional affiliation other than UNCW.
Main Menu
You will now see your main menu (also called the Learner's Menu). Here you can find the courses you need to complete, update your profile information, add a new course, etc. Enter your human subjects course and complete the quizzes for each module. You must achieve an overall score of at least 80% to qualify for a completion certificate. You may go back and retake quizzes to improve your overall score. Please retain a copy of your completion certificate for your records. The IRB office receives emails from the CITI program twice a day when training is completed.
Returning Learners:
If you are returning to the site to continue working on your modules or if you are returning to change to a different learner group, login with the username and password you already have. The Main Menu (also called the Learner's Menu) allows you to choose a new learner group or go to the grade book to see which modules you have already completed.
Go to the CITI website to register for required IRB training for human subject researchers
IRB Training FAQs
1. How often do I need to renew my training?
At this time there is no expiration to your completion certificate. However, since the new training course has refresher courses available, this may change in the future.
2. Who do I send my completion certificate to?
If you are a research assistant on a project, the principal investigator may ask you to provide him or her with a hard copy of the completion certificate. You are strongly encouraged to keep a hard copy for your own records as well.
You are no longer required to submit a hard copy of your completion certificate to ORSSP if you complete the CITI training and identify the University of North Carolina Wilmington as the participating institution. When you complete the course for which you registered, the regulatory compliance officer will receive an email notification directly from CITI. This notification is considered "official" documentation of your training.
However, if you completed the CITI training through a participating institution other than the University of North Carolina Wilmington, ORSSP will not be able to access those records. There are several options available for this situation and you should contact the regulatory compliance officer, Leanne Prete, to see what is best for you (962-7774 or pretel@uncw.edu).
Also, if you completed training through the National Cancer Institute site you must still provide a hard copy of your completion certificate if it is not already on file with ORSSP, since there is no other way for ORSSP to obtain this documentation. Please send completion certificates to Leanne Prete, Regulatory Compliance Officer, ORSSP, Campus Box 5973.
3. Are Institutional Review Board members required to complete additional training?
The IRB Member learner group has more modules than any other group. IRB members must complete all of the required modules. If a new IRB member previously completed the Social & Behavioral Research Investigator learner group, the IRB member only needs to complete the additional modules required for IRB members
If you have any confusion or difficulty with these instruction, please contact Lee Prete at 962-7774 or pretel@uncw.edu.
