How do I get started?

Please note that if you have current CITI training through another institution, you may only need to complete one or two of the courses below if it was not a required module at the other institution.

If you already have a CITI account through another institution, please log in through your existing account and add PAU to the list of organizations you are affiliated with. If you do not yet have a CITI account, click on “register,” then enter Palo Alto University as your organizational affiliation and check the box indicating your agreement to the CITI Program’s terms of service.

Who should take CITI training?

Completion of human subjects training must be done by all staff working on a human subjects research project (all investigators and other study personnel, including all persons who are responsible for designing and/or conducting research, performing data analysis or reporting activities). It is required that you take the CITI training before submitting your IRB protocol for approval.

Third party (subcontract) research personnel or consultants must comply with this education requirement as well. They may satisfy this requirement at their home institutions, provided that the IRB is assured of completion of the necessary training. A letter, certificate, or email notification by a representative from the home institution will satisfy this requirement.

ALL protocol submissions MUST include documentation of human subjects training for ALL persons with access to the data relevant to the protocol. Please be advised that certificates for the CITI SBR Basic and RCR courses must be renewed every 3 years. The CITI DPRE course must be completed once.

Required Institutional Courses

Social and Behavioral Research (SBR) Basic Course - Required for everyone

This course is an introduction to social-behavioral-educational research, with historic and current information on regulations and ethical considerations relevant to research with human subjects. In addition to the required modules, you have many additional optional modules that may prove useful to you, your research team, or a class. This course must be renewed every three years.

Social and Behavioral Sciences Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) Course - Required for everyone

This course covers a broad range of ethical concerns related to the conduct of research that apply regardless of the use of human subjects, such as authorship credit, data management, plagiarism, and research misconduct. NIH and NSF require certain categories of researchers to complete RCR training. The material covered will benefit all investigators in fulfilling their roles whether as student, faculty, or staff. This course must be renewed every three years.

Disaster Planning for the Research Enterprise (DPRE) Course - Required for everyone

This course is designed to help organizations and investigators reduce the impact of, plan for, and manage responses to natural and human-made disasters. Disaster planning training is also required for organizations receiving NIH funding. This course will only be required one time – you will not need to renew this training.

Conflicts of Interest (COI) Course - Required ONLY for investigators with federal funding

This course is designed to meet the training requirements associated with Public Health Service (PHS) regulations on financial conflicts of interest. All investigators with PHS funding or expecting to receive PHS funding are required to complete this course ASAP and it must be renewed every three years.

Good Clinical Practice (GCP) Course - Required ONLY for clinical trials

This course is designed to meet the training requirements for federally funded clinical trials. To ensure all clinical trials are completed in an ethical manner, we require this course for all clinical trials (see definition here) regardless of funding source. This course must be renewed every three years.